Mindfulness may be associated with less prosocial engagement among high intelligence individuals
Author: Qingke Guo1,2, Sisi Li3, Jingu Liang3, Xinxin Yu4, Yiqing Lv5
Affiliation:
1 Department of Psychology, Guangxi Normal University, Guilin, 541004, China. guoqingke@163.com.
2 Department of Psychology, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, 250014, China. guoqingke@163.com.
3 Department of Psychology, Guangxi Normal University, Guilin, 541004, China.
4 Department of Psychology, Guangxi Normal University, Guilin, 541004, China. 563097259@qq.com.
5 Department of Psychology, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, 250014, China.
Conference/Journal: Sci Rep
Date published: 2023 Mar 14
Other:
Volume ID: 13 , Issue ID: 1 , Pages: 4208 , Special Notes: doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-31039-3. , Word Count: 152
This study examined the role of dispositional mindfulness in the association between intelligence and prosocial behavior. A total of 759 college students (mean age is 22.03; 477 females) participated in exchange for extra credit in psychology course. The results confirmed a positive relationship between intelligence and prosocial behavior as revealed by many studies, with empathy serving as a potential mediator. Mindfulness negatively moderated all the hypothesized pathways between research variables. Specifically, with the increase of the levels of dispositional mindfulness, (1) the intelligence-prosociality association changed from positive to negative, (2) the intelligence-empathy association changed from positively significant to insignificant, (3) the empathy-prosociality association changed from stronger to weaker. These findings may suggest some limitations of mindfulness. That is, present moment awareness and acceptance of the status quo may result in reduced arousal when witnessing others suffering, thereby preventing high intelligence individuals from helping the sufferers to get rid of trouble.
PMID: 36918613 PMCID: PMC10015037 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-31039-3
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