This study examined relationships between mindfulness and indices of happiness and explored a five-factor model of mindfulness. Previous research using this mindfulness model has shown that several facets predicted psychological well-being (PWB) in meditating and non-meditating individuals. The current study tested the hypothesis that the prediction of PWB by mindfulness would be augmented and partially mediated by self-compassion. Participants were 27 men and 96 women (mean age=20.9years). All completed self-report measures of mindfulness, PWB, personality traits (NEO-PI-R), and self-compassion. Results show that mindfulness is related to psychologically adaptive variables and that self-compassion is a crucial attitudinal factor in the mindfulness–happiness relationship. Findings are interpreted from the humanistic perspective of a healthy personality.
Objectives: Addressing the challenges of teaching psychotherapy experientially in large undergraduate classes, this study evaluated a personal practice psychotherapy curriculum. A novel element of the third-year university psychotherapy course was the reflective self-practice psychotherapy techniques.Method: Primary outcomes were reflective learning, self-awareness, mental helpseeking, self-care, and wellbeing. Secondary outcomes were self-practice and psychological flexibility. One hundred and nineteen undergraduate psychology students completed an online survey at the start and end of a semester. Fifty-four students were enrolled in the psychotherapy course, and 65 students not enrolled in the course constituted the comparison group. Psychotherapy students also completed an end-of-course feedback survey.
Results: Relative to the comparison group, psychotherapy students improved on all primary and secondary outcomes. Self-practice and psychological flexibility mediated improvements on primary outcomes. Students reported integrating psychotherapy strategies acquired through self-practice exercises into daily-living. Feedback indicated personal practice fostered: personal development, self-care, learning psychotherapies, managing stress, and career enhancement.
Conclusion: These preliminary findings support a personal practice-informed undergraduate psychotherapy curriculum.
The experience of pain arises from both physiological and psychological factors, including one's beliefs and expectations. Thus, placebo treatments that have no intrinsic pharmacological effects may produce analgesia by altering expectations. However, controversy exists regarding whether placebos alter sensory pain transmission, pain affect, or simply produce compliance with the suggestions of investigators. In two functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiments, we found that placebo analgesia was related to decreased brain activity in pain-sensitive brain regions, including the thalamus, insula, and anterior cingulate cortex, and was associated with increased activity during anticipation of pain in the prefrontal cortex, providing evidence that placebos alter the experience of pain.
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Techniques of mental visualization, and the visualization of the body of the Buddha in particular, are central to many Buddhist meditational practices. The paper begins with a description of a Tibetan healing ritual centred on the visualization of the Buddha in his healing form. This is followed by two accounts of the meaning of this practice: first as elucidated within the Buddhist philosophical framework, and second, from a sociological standpoint. Core elements of the Buddhist philosophy of the body underpinning this practice are elucidated: ideas relating to the provisional nature of reality, interdependence and the central concept of the mutability of the self. Recent theorizing within the sociology of the body views the self as being charged with emotions, discusses body image and aims to deconstruct our notions of materiality. The paper draws out the similarities between aspects of Buddhist philosophy and current sociological thinking about the body. It calls for the need to understand these practices in their own terms in order to fully appreciate their importance.
<p>A review by Kenneth Lieberman of A. Klien, <em>Knowledge and Liberation: Tibetan Epistemology in Support of Transformative Religious Experience</em>.</p>
What does it mean for teachers to understand their students? For those of who teach gifted and talented students, teachers strive to understand how they think differently than their age-peers typically do. These teachers develop curriculum that fosters what is unique about their thinking. But to understand students fully, they need also to understand how they feel--feel about their learning, about their talents, about their place in the classroom. This article is an introduction to a special issue on social and emotional development of gifted students to the readers of "Gifted Child Today" ("GCT"). The collection of articles in this special issue makes the point that whenever students' minds are engaged, their social/emotional needs are engaged also.
This article describes the results of three pilot studies that were conducted to evaluate the recently developed "Strong Kids" and "Strong Teens" social-emotional learning programs in increasing students' knowledge of healthy social-emotional behavior and decreasing their symptoms of negative affect and emotional distress. The first study included 120 middle school students (in grade 5) from a general education student population. The second study included 65 general education students in grades 7-8. The third study included 14 high school students (grades 9-12) from a regional special education high school, who were identified as having emotional disturbance. The three groups participated in either the "Strong Kids" (groups 1 and 2) or "Strong Teens" (group 3) programs, receiving one-hour lessons and associated assignments once a week for 12 weeks. Social-emotional knowledge and negative emotional symptoms of participants were assessed using brief self-report measures, in pretest-posttest intervention designs. All three studies showed that, following participation in the respective programs, students evidenced statistically significant and clinically meaningful changes in desired directions on the target variables. Implications for future research are discussed, as is the importance of social and emotional learning as a prevention and intervention strategy to promote mental health among students in schools. (Contains 1 table.)
"This book provides essential resources for implementing social and emotional learning (SEL) in any K-12 setting. Numerous vivid examples illustrate the nuts and bolts of this increasingly influential approach to supporting students' mental health, behavior, and academic performance. Helpful reproducibles are included."--Jacket.
"This book provides essential resources for implementing social and emotional learning (SEL) in any K-12 setting. Numerous vivid examples illustrate the nuts and bolts of this increasingly influential approach to supporting students' mental health, behavior, and academic performance. Helpful reproducibles are included."--Jacket.
A survey study was conducted to examine teachers' knowledge, perceptions, and practices regarding social and emotional learning (SEL) in the classroom. Teachers from two states (N = 263) provided a range of responses regarding how to promote SEL in their classrooms, increase the effectiveness of SEL, and reduce barriers to implementation. Results indicated that many teachers believe that SEL is important, schools should take an active role, receiving training/support from a variety of professionals would be helpful, and current academic demands decrease the opportunity for SEL. In addition to broadening the very limited research in this area, this study provides important new information regarding teachers' knowledge and practices of SEL in classrooms. This information is useful to school psychologists, other specialists, and administrators in helping set the stage for establishing social-emotional learning practices in schools. (Contains 6 tables.)
The authors examined the initial and follow-up effect of Strong Kids, a social and emotional learning (SEL) curriculum, among a sample of 106 third- and fourth-grade students. Students were assigned to either the treatment or the wait-list condition and completed questionnaires on SEL knowledge and perceived use of SEL skills across 3 assessment periods (pretest, posttest, and follow-up). The classroom teachers also completed a social functioning questionnaire on each student at each assessment period. The classroom teachers implemented 12 weekly lessons from September to December, and 1 booster session in January. Generalization of SEL skills was promoted with verbal praise by treatment teachers to students outside of the lessons and by reminders to students to use the SEL skills they were learning. Fidelity of implementation was more than 85% and was measured by observing the number of components of the curriculum implemented. Analyses revealed that the treatment group had greater positive gains across all of the dependent measures from pre to posttest. These gains maintained at the 2-month follow-up period. The authors discuss the results in a schoolwide prevention framework and with implications for school psychologists. (Contains 4 tables and 4 figures.)
OBJECTIVE: Does spending money on others (prosocial spending) improve the cardiovascular health of community-dwelling older adults diagnosed with high blood pressure?METHOD: In Study 1, 186 older adults diagnosed with high blood pressure participating in the Midlife in the U.S. Study (MIDUS) were examined. In Study 2, 73 older adults diagnosed with high blood pressure were assigned to spend money on others or to spend money on themselves.
RESULTS: In Study 1, the more money people spent on others, the lower their blood pressure was 2 years later. In Study 2, participants who were assigned to spend money on others for 3 consecutive weeks subsequently exhibited lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure compared to participants assigned to spend money on themselves. The magnitude of these effects was comparable to the effects of interventions such as antihypertensive medication or exercise.
CONCLUSIONS: Together, these findings suggest that spending money on others shapes cardiovascular health, thereby providing a pathway by which prosocial behavior improves physical health among at-risk older adults. (PsycINFO Database Record
Social-emotional competence--it is a critical part of every child's school success, and just like any academic subject, children need instruction in it. Developed by a top expert, these proven curricula will help promote the social-emotional competence and resilience of children and adolescents. Divided into four age levels from kindergarten through high school, these innovative social and emotional learning curricula are filled with engaging, thought-provoking class activities that help students develop vital skills they will use for the rest of their lives: understanding emotions, managing anger, relieving stress, solving interpersonal problems, and much more. Lessons in each curriculum include optional, easily adaptable scripts, sample scenarios and examples, creative activities, and "booster" lessons that reinforce what students learned. Every school and early intervention program will benefit from the lasting effect of these four curricula: strong, resilient students with fewer mental health and behavior problems and better academic outcomes. Following contents of the accompanying CD-ROM, about the author, contributors, foreword (Hill M. Walker, Ph.D.) and acknowledgments, this book is divided into two sections. Section I, Introduction and Overview, presents: (1) About Strong Kids--Grades 6-8; (2) Design and Evidence; (3) Preparing Your Lessons and Your Students; and (4) Overview of the Lessons. Section II, The Strong Kids--Grades 6-8 Curriculum, concludes with: (Lesson 1) About Strong Kids: Emotional Strength Training; (Lesson 2) Understanding Your Emotions 1; (Lesson 3) Understanding Your Emotions 2; (Lesson 4) Dealing with Anger; (Lesson 5) Understanding Other People's Emotions; (Lesson 6) Clear Thinking 1; (Lesson 7) Clear Thinking 2; (Lesson 8) The Power of Positive Thinking; (Lesson 9) Solving People Problems; (Lesson 10) Letting Go of Stress; (Lesson 11) Behavior Change: Setting Goals and Staying Alive; and (Lesson 12) Finishing UP! The following is appended: Strong Kids Booster: Pulling It All Together.
Social-emotional competence--it is a critical part of every child's school success, and just like any academic subject, children need instruction in it. Developed by a top expert, these proven curricula will help promote the social-emotional competence and resilience of children and adolescents. Divided into four age levels from kindergarten through high school, these innovative social and emotional learning curricula are filled with engaging, thought-provoking class activities that help students develop vital skills they will use for the rest of their lives: understanding emotions, managing anger, relieving stress, solving interpersonal problems, and much more. Each Strong Kids curriculum is: (1) easy for non-mental-health experts; (2) evidence-based; (3) a great way to boost academic skills; (4) brief enough to fit into any program; (5) age-appropriate; (6) effective for all children in any setting; and (7) low-cost and low-tech. Lessons in each curriculum include optional, easily adaptable scripts, sample scenarios and examples, creative activities, and "booster" lessons that reinforce what students learned. Every school and early intervention program will benefit from the lasting effect of these four curricula: strong, resilient students with fewer mental health and behavior problems and better academic outcomes. After a foreword (Hill M. Walker), this book is divided into three sections: (1) Introduction and Overview; (2) The "Strong Start" Curriculum; and (3) Appendices, consisting of "Strong Start" Booster Lesson 1; "Strong Start" Booster Lesson 2; and recommended "Strong Start" Literature List.
Social-emotional competence--it is a critical part of every child's school success, and just like any academic subject, children need instruction in it. Developed by a top expert, these proven curricula will help promote the social-emotional competence and resilience of children and adolescents. Divided into four age levels from kindergarten through high school, these innovative social and emotional learning curricula are filled with engaging, thought-provoking class activities that help students develop vital skills they will use for the rest of their lives: understanding emotions, managing anger, relieving stress, solving interpersonal problems, and much more. Each Strong Kids curriculum is easy for non-mental-health experts, evidence-based, a great way to boost academic skills, brief enough to fit into any program, age-appropriate, effective for all children in any setting, and low-cost and low-tech. Lessons in each curriculum include optional, easily adaptable scripts, sample scenarios and examples, creative activities, and "booster" lessons that reinforce what students learned. Every school and early intervention program will benefit from the lasting effect of these four curricula: strong, resilient students with fewer mental health and behavior problems and better academic outcomes. After a foreword (Hill M. Walker), this book is divided into two sections: (1) Introduction and Overview; and (2) The "Strong Teens" Curriculum. "Strong Teens" Booster: Pulling It All Together is appended. [This book was written with assistance from Dianna Carrizales, Laura Feuerborn, Barbara A. Gueldner, and Oanh K. Tran.]
"Strong Start K-2" is a social-emotional learning curriculum, designed for use with children in kindergarten through grade 2. The objectives of this study were twofold. First, authors aimed to evaluate the feasibility and quality of "Strong Start" implementation. Additionally authors examined the effect of "Strong Start" on first grade students' perceptions of emotion and teacher ratings of social behavior and affect. Results suggested that "Strong Start" was implemented with integrity, and that significant increases in student knowledge about emotion situations and significant decreases in student internalizing behaviors were associated with exposure to the program. Limitations of this study as well as directions for future research are discussed.
<p>Abstract Two studies examined whether emotional comparison and distraction with emotion congruent and incongruent art would improve the well-being of dysphoric undergraduates. In both studies, subjects: (1) imagined a sad event; (2) compared their mood to that expressed by incongruent art (upward comparison) or congruent art (downward comparison); or focused on technical features of incongruent art (incongruent distraction) or congruent art (congruent distraction); and (3) rated their emotions and life satisfaction. The incongruent distraction group reported feeling more positive and more satisfied, and the downward comparison group reported feeling more satisfied, than the upward comparison or congruent distraction groups. Thus, comparison and distraction can improve well-being when directed towards emotion congruent and incongruent art, respectively.</p>
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Ecosystems are capital assets: When properly managed, they yield a flow of vital goods and services. Relative to other forms of capital, however, ecosystems are poorly understood, scarcely monitored, and--in many important cases--undergoing rapid degradation. The process of economic valuation could greatly improve stewardship. This potential is now being realized with innovative financial instruments and institutional arrangements.
Qigong is an integrated mind-body healing method that has been practiced with remarkable results in China for thousands of years. The Chinese have long treasured qigong for its effectiveness both in healing and in preventing disease, and more recently they have used it in conjunction with modern medicine to cure cancer, immune system disorders, and other life-threatening conditions. Now in this fascinating, comprehensive volume, renowned qigong master and China scholar Kenneth S. Cohen explains how you too can integrate qigong into your life--and harness the healing power that will help your mind and body achieve the harmony of true health.
This dissertation uses a Zen koan as a foundation for discussing teacher training and development. It suggests that teacher training attends to issues of theory, pedagogy, and technology, and it contends that teacher training and development does not adequately attend to the intrapersonal aspect of teaching. In spite of the use of reflective techniques in teacher education, teachers are not trained in a significant way to navigate, negotiate, or manage the issues of identity, the issues of self-belief, the patterns of thought, and/or the emotional patterns, which affect their teaching and their classrooms. This work looks at research regarding the importance of the intrapersonal aspect of teaching in relation to teacher effectiveness and classroom climate; it considers current practices in pre-service and in-service teacher training; and it reviews research related to the efficacy of mindfulness and contemplative practices, such as meditation. It argues that the intrapersonal aspect of teaching is relevant to teacher effectiveness and classroom climate; that contemplative and mindfulness practices may offer systems that support and sustain teachers as they navigate, negotiate, and manage the intrapersonal aspect of teaching; and that pre-service and in-service professional development may provide vehicles to deliver this training.
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