Episode 36: Berlin's CovSocial project: Comparing mindfulness and partner-based support practices

Listen at goAMRA.org

I am joined by Tania Singer, Ph.D., Professor of Social Neuroscience and the head of the Max Planck Society’s Social Neuroscience Lab in Berlin. Her expertise lies in compassion and empathy, focusing her research on the hormonal, neuronal, and developmental foundations of human sociality, empathy, and compassion. She explores their adaptability through mental training. Notably, she spearheaded one of the most extensive meditation-based secular mental training studies on compassion, known as the ReSource project. Additionally, she leads the CovSocial project, a substantial study examining stress, resilience, and social cohesion among Berliners during the COVID-19 crisis. She has authored over 160 scientific articles and book chapters. She co-edited two books, "Caring Economics" (2015) and "Power and Care" (2019), alongside Mathieu Ricard. In our discussion, we delve into her CovSocial project and specifically explore results comparing mindfulness training against a dyad interventions regarding thought and affect patterns.