This project will investigate the effect of nonattachment on social inclusion operationalized as (1) enhanced self-reported valuing of racial/ethnic diversity; (2) reduced linguistic intergroup bias – a tendency to describe outgroup behaviors more negatively and concretely than ingroup behaviors; and (3) reduced ingroup favoritism at the expense of the outgroup while allocating rewards to ingroup and outgroup members. It will also examine empathy with outgroup members as a mediator of the effect of nonattachment on the three markers of social inclusion. The studies will focus on a wide range of groups from arbitrary minimal groups created in the lab to racial/ethnic groups existing in real life. The project will make a unique contribution to theory and research in contemplative science as it will allow translation of the practice of nonattachment, as understood and used by people in the real world, into ecologically sound laboratory protocols.
