The stereotypical gender traits used in self-descriptions could contribute to shape ambivalent sexist attitudes toward women, including antipathy toward women who appear to threaten the gender hierarchy (i.e., hostile sexist attitudes) and affection for women who embrace traditional feminine roles (i.e., benevolent sexism). Empirical evidence associates more stereotypically feminine traits with benevolent sexism and masculine traits with hostile sexism but does not offer a clear picture, likely because of the non-controlled effect of social desirability and other gender traits in those relationships. We examine whether self-ascribed masculine traits moderate the modulating influence of social desirability in the linkage between feminine traits and benevolent sexism, and whether self-ascribed feminine traits moderate the modulating effect of social desirability in the association between masculine traits and hostile sexist attitudes. Results reveal that stereotypical gender traits and social desirability are connected to benevolent and hostile sexism, although differently. The gendered profile of those with benevolent attitudes (i.e., participants who self-attribute largely feminine traits) is different from those with hostile attitudes (i.e., participants who self-ascribe mainly masculine traits). In addition, the need to gain others’ approval or, more importantly, to avoid their disapproval, leads individuals to offer more socially desirable responses that mask their hostility toward women, whereas this need is less evident when hiding benevolent attitudes. As benevolent sexism is more pervasive in society and, unlike hostile sexism, is not easily recognized as a type of prejudice, it is harder to counteract and, therefore, to eliminate.

The change in moral attitude due to discrimination of the degree of reality of thought is an unexplored potential effect of mindfulness training. In this article we examine whether the mindfulness training of novices reduces the defensive reaction to normative transgressions when the threatening thought is salient, that is, a thought that stands out regardless of the objective reality that threatens self-survival. To test the study hypotheses, we used a bifactorial design mindfulness training (pre vs. post) x threatened thought salience (low vs high) in a sample of 115 participants. The dependent variable (punishment of social norm transgression) was measured on two different occasions: (1) pre-training (T1), (2) after training (T2). One group receives training in mindfulness in the threatened thought salience low condition (N = 47), and a second group receives the same training in the threatened thought salience high condition (N = 38). A third group did not receive training in threatening thought salience high condition (N = 30). The results show that training mindfulness reduces moral punishment with high threatening thought salience and reduces moral judgment with low threatening thought salience. The shift in reactivity (punishment) is more representative of a MT effect than the shift in moral judgment (seriousness). Implications of the results and limitations of the study are also explored

Background: This study analyses the effect on depression of the subjective perception of loneliness in groups of younger (<55 years) and older (≥55 years) adults, and the moderating role of trait mindfulness or mindfulness skill. Methods: A cross-sectional study is carried out in the general population with a sample of 647 people, divided into two groups according to age: younger than 55 years (323 subjects) and 55 years and older (324 subjects). The differences between these two age groups are explored. Results: The results reveal no significant differences in the perception of subjective loneliness according to age; significant differences were found in depressive symptoms, however, with higher rates among the younger age group. Differences are also observed in terms of trait mindfulness: in the older group this skill is more developed. Conclusions: Trait mindfulness does not moderate between the variables but can serve as a predictor for depression.

The self-centrality principle holds that contemplative practices activate self-salience, encouraging moral self-enhancement, rather than the expected effect of acceptance hypothesized by the ego-quieting principle ( Gebauer et al., 2018 ). However, meditation may favor ego-quieting by inhibiting the disposition to judge and/or react to defend more equanimously a self that feels threatened ( Brown et al., 2007 ). In this study, we propose that meditation helps to reduce behaviors based on self-interest by limiting the defensive sense of the ego when the self is salient. We carry out three experimental studies to test this proposal. The first one tests the effect of meditation on a salient self with a proximal threat to their physical survival ( N = 400). The second study tests the effect of meditation in the case of distal defensiveness in a salient self whose physical survival is threatened ( N = 200). The third study evaluates the effect of proximal defensiveness when the integrity of the self-concept of the salient self is threatened ( N = 200). Our results provide evidence that practicing meditation quiets the ego, or tends to do so, when attention is focused on a self-threatened by a context based on a thought.

The change in moral attitude due to discrimination of the degree of reality of thought is an unexplored potential effect of mindfulness training. In this article we examine whether the mindfulness training of novices reduces the defensive reaction to normative transgressions when the socio-moral threatened thought is salient. To test the study hypotheses we used a bifactorial design mindfulness training (pre vs. post) x threatened thought salience (low vs high). The dependent variable (punishment of social norm transgression) was measured on two different occasions: 1) pre-training (T1), 2) after training (T2). One group receives training in mindfulness in the threatened thought salience low condition, and a second group receives the same training in the threatened thought salience high condition. The results show that training mindfulness reduces moral punishment with high threatened thought salience, and reduce moral jugdment with low threatened thought salience. Thought of threatened socio-moral norms affects socio-moral reactivity, but does not affect soico-moral judgment. Implications of the results and limitations of the study are also explored.

This study takes the perspective of the theory of ethical witnessing. We analyse whether there is a difference in a discourse transmitted in a frame of reference based on ethical witnessing versus a discourse transmitted in the frame of hegemonic discourse based on the hierarchical testimony. This study tests the hypothesis that discourses diverging from the communication hierarchy and, consequently, from the interpretation frame established about gender-based violence, transform the elaboration, comprehension, and structure of questioning the victim’s suffering. The sample comprised 300 individuals, 85 identifying as male and 215 identifying as female. This study adopted a two-factorial (2 × 2) design comparing the testimony of gender-based violence (ethical witnessing vs. hierarchical testimony) and familiarity with the victim’s testimony (Yes vs. No). The results show that communications based on the ethical witnessing format are more effective in transforming the perception of gender-based violence than those using a hierarchical format. This study adopts the framework of ethical witnessing to examine whether discourse differs when conveyed through this lens, compared to discourse shaped by a hegemonic, hierarchical testimony. We test the hypothesis that narratives which deviate from traditional communication hierarchies—and thus from dominant interpretative frameworks surrounding gender-based violence—significantly influence how the victim’s suffering is processed, understood, and questioned. The global resonance of the #MeToo movement exemplifies the transformative potential of ethical testimony, as it amplified the voices of survivors while challenging traditional hierarchies of credibility and authority in public discourse.