Principal Findings
The main aim of this RCT was to compare 2 daily app-delivered practices—a solitary mindfulness-based practice and a partner-based socioemotional practice, the Affect Dyad [Indeed, we found evidence that daily 12-minute app-delivered practice over 10 weeks could increase empathy on the EmpaToM task and self- and other-related compassion in a variety of questionnaires. Meanwhile, cognitive perspective-taking abilities (eg, ToM) did not change from before to after the intervention, indicating divergent validity of socioaffective and sociocognitive measures and their differential trainability through contemplative practices. Furthermore, the findings speak to differential intensities in practice effects on self-report and more objective computer task measures, with the latter producing weaker effects. Finally, we found differential psychological processes underlying the 2 interventions, specifically with regard to the development of self-compassion—training-related changes were mediated by a decrease in empathic distress in the mindfulness-based group and were associated with an increase in acceptance in the socioemotional dyad group.