Mindfulness meditation can reduce avoidance of negative information and improve decision-making skills

Law, Economics and Data scientists at ETH Zurich in Switzerland have found that people who practice meditation daily are less likely to avoid negative news. The researchers recruited 261 participants via an online platform and randomly divided them into two groups. One group practiced meditation for 15 minutes a day for two weeks, while the other group spent their time listening to relaxing music. Before and after the experiment, participants had to answer a set of standardized questions to determine how well they processed negative information and the intensity of their emotional responses. For example, participants were asked whether they would like to receive potentially negative information about their health, financial investments, or personal relationships. Every meditation class begins with a brief introduction. Next, the coach leads the participants through a three-stage meditation: 1) asking them to focus on the present moment; 2) mindful breathing; 3) body scan. The coach instructs the participants through audio recording. The results showed that participants could reduce their tendency to avoid negative information, improve their ability to cope with negative emotions, and accept negative news calmly by practicing mindfulness meditation regularly. In contrast, no such positive effect was observed in the control group. The findings, published in Economics Letters, show that practicing mindfulness meditation makes people more resilient to uncomfortable emotions, allowing them to process negative information more objectively. People who can handle negative emotions also wonder what problems a particular decision may cause. In other words, meditation training can help people make better decisions.