Developing sustainability mindsets: A Rct on the efficacy of cognitive training and meditation

Abstract

Addressing sustainable development challenges for organizations requires fundamental shifts in the individual capacity to anticipate and embed the long-term and joint consequences of decisions and actions for the organization’s stakeholders. However, we currently do not have established theories and empirical evidence related to the emergence of such sustainability-oriented mindsets. How do they emerge? How effective are learning interventions to this end? In a multidisciplinary effort, we develop and test the relative effectiveness of cognitive training and meditative practices on the development of sustainability related decision outcomes, as well as their neuro-psychological antecedents. Cognitive training exercises were designed to extend the time horizon in decision-making contexts. Meditative practice was chosen for its potential impact on the scope of self-consciousness, critical to gain a common value perspective in decision-making. We conducted a randomized controlled trial with 82 graduate students and found evidence for significant efficacy of a specific type of yoga meditation practice on sustainable decision-making as well as the density of grey matter in relevant neural structures (inferior frontal gyrus), character traits (self-transcendence, cooperativeness), and ethical beliefs. On the other hand, brain-training shows no such effects, with unexpected negative influence on ethical traits and sustainable decision-making.