Virtual Mindfulness Fosters Interethnic Dating: The Mediating Role of Connectedness

Virtual Reality (VR) has recently emerged as a promising tool for promoting positive intergroup relations by enabling immersive intergroup contact experiences. Building on this line of research, the present study investigates whether a brief, virtual mindfulness scenario can foster interethnic closeness, specifically interethnic dating intentions as a proxy for interethnic closeness, through enhanced connectedness (i.e., a sense of oneness with others and the whole world). Using a within-subject experimental design, 136 participants were exposed to two immersive 360-degree VR interethnic scenarios involving the same multi-ethnic group of youths (while experiencing a mindfulness audio-track vs. without experiencing a mindfulness audio-track). Results showed a significant indirect effect of the mindfulness-based scenario on interethnic dating intentions via connectedness. These findings suggest that mindfulness elicits a state of psychological connectedness, which represents a key process facilitating intergroup openness. Implications for future research and for practical applications are discussed.