Cooperation is central to human social behaviour1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9. However, choosing to cooperate requires individuals to incur a personal cost to benefit others. Here we explore the cognitive basis of cooperative decision-making in humans using a dual-process framework10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18. We ask whether people are predisposed towards selfishness, behaving cooperatively only through active self-control; or whether they are intuitively cooperative, with reflection and prospective reasoning favouring ‘rational’ self-interest. To investigate this issue, we perform ten studies using economic games. We find that across a range of experimental designs, subjects who reach their decisions more quickly are more cooperative. Furthermore, forcing subjects to decide quickly increases contributions, whereas instructing them to reflect and forcing them to decide slowly decreases contributions. Finally, an induction that primes subjects to trust their intuitions increases contributions compared with an induction that promotes greater reflection. To explain these results, we propose that cooperation is intuitive because cooperative heuristics are developed in daily life where cooperation is typically advantageous. We then validate predictions generated by this proposed mechanism. Our results provide convergent evidence that intuition supports cooperation in social dilemmas, and that reflection can undermine these cooperative impulses.
"The practice of contemplation is one of the great spiritual arts," writes Martin Laird in A Sunlit Absence. "Not a technique but a skill, it harnesses the winds of grace that lead us out into the liberating sea of silence." In this companion volume to his bestselling Into the Silent Land, Laird focuses on a quality often overlooked by books on Christian meditation: a vast and flowing spaciousness that embraces both silence and sound, and transcends all subject/object dualisms. Drawing on the wisdom of great contemplatives from St. Augustine and St. Teresa of Avila to St. Hesychios, Simone Weil, and many others, Laird shows how we can uncover the deeper levels of awareness that rest within us like buried treasure waiting to be found. The key insight of the book is that as our practice matures, so will our experience of life's ordeals, sorrows, and joys expand into generous, receptive maturity. We learn to see whatever difficulties we experience in meditation--boredom, lethargy, arrogance, depression, grief, anxiety--not as obstacles to be overcome but as opportunities to practice surrender to what is. With clarity and grace Laird shows how we can move away from identifying with our turbulent, ever-changing thoughts and emotions to the cultivation of a "sunlit absence"--the luminous awareness in which God's presence can most profoundly be felt. Addressed to both beginners and intermediates on the pathless path of still prayer, A Sunlit Absence offers wise guidance on the specifics of contemplative practice as well as an inspiring vision of the purpose of such practice and the central role it can play in our spiritual lives.
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BackgroundThe Support, Education, and Research in Chronic Heart Failure (SEARCH) study was designed to assess the impact of a mindfulness-based psychoeducational intervention on clinical outcomes, depression, and quality of life in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). Although research has shown that psychosocial factors including depression are important risk factors for adverse events in patients with CHF, no large clinical trials have investigated the efficacy of psychosocial interventions to reduce these factors in this population.
Methods
This was a prospective cohort study of 208 adults with left ventricular ejection fraction ≤40% and CHF geographically assigned to treatment or control groups with follow-up at 3, 6, and 12 months. Treatment groups met weekly for 8 consecutive weeks for training in mindfulness meditation, coping skills, and support group discussion.
Results
Subjects had a mean age of 61 years, left ventricular ejection fraction 26%, and median New York Heart Association class II. The majority were treated with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (80%) and β-blockers (86%). At baseline, patients in the treatment group had more severe CHF with higher New York Heart Association class (P = .0209) and more severe psychological distress (Center of Epidemiology—Depression, Profile of Mood States; P < .05). When compared with controls, treatment resulted in lower anxiety (Profile of Mood States, P = .003), depression (Center of Epidemiology—Depression, P = .05), improved symptoms (Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire symptom scale, P = .033) and clinical scores (Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire clinical score, P = .024) over time. There were no treatment effects on death/rehospitalization at 1 year.
Conclusions
An 8-week mindfulness-based psychoeducational intervention reduced anxiety and depression; this effect was attenuated at 1 year. Importantly, the intervention led to significantly better symptoms of CHF at 12 months compared to control subjects. Our results suggest that interventions of this type might have a role in optimal therapy for CHF.
What does it mean to live a good life in a time when the planet is overheating, the human population continues to steadily reach new peaks, oceans are turning more acidic, and fertile soils the world over are eroding at unprecedented rates? These and other simultaneous harms and threats demand creative responses at several levels of consideration and action.Written by an international team of contributors, this book examines in-depth the relationship between sustainability and the good life. Drawing on wealth of theories, from social practice theory to architecture and design theory, and disciplines, such as anthropology and environmental philosophy, this volume promotes participatory action-research based approaches to encourage sustainability and wellbeing at local levels. It covers topical issues such the politics of prosperity, globalization, and indigenous notions of "the good life" and happiness". Finally it places a strong emphasis on food at the heart of the sustainability and good life debate, for instance binding the global south to the north through import and exports, or linking everyday lives to ideals within the dream of the good life, with cookbooks and shows.
This interdisciplinary book provides invaluable insights for researchers and postgraduate students interested in the contribution of the environmental humanities to the sustainability debate.
Background: Mindfulness-based interventions such as Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness Cognitive Behavior Therapy (MCBT) have been used to treat adults with psychiatric disorders. This article describes initial modification and development of a mindfulness-based intervention group program for adolescents with psychiatric disorders. It was hypothesized that the intervention would improve mindfulness, mental health outcomes and decrease psychological distress and symptoms.
Method: Adolescents from a mental health clinic attended a 5-week group pilot mindfulness-based intervention. Adolescents and parents completed questionnaires at pre- and post-intervention and at 3-month follow-up. Baseline measures indicated moderate to severe range of mental health symptoms.
Results: After the intervention, adolescents reported significant decreases in psychological distress and increases in mindfulness and self-esteem. Qualitative data revealed the intervention to be engaging and beneficial. Parents also reported significant overall improvements of adolescents’ functioning.
Conclusions: These promising preliminary results suggest that the intervention was feasible, acceptable and offered positive impact on mental health problems, and the intervention warrants further research in a randomized controlled study.
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INTRODUCTION: Herbal medicine and other forms of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) are used to treat symptoms of psychiatric disorders in the United States, including anxiety and mood problems. In Traditional Tibetan Medicine anxiety and depression are commonly treated with an herbal compound known as Agar-35.OBJECTIVE: The objective of this pilot study was to explore whether Agar-35 tea would improve anxiety, affect, stress, and rumination.
METHODS: Undergraduate psychology students (N=14) were randomized to drink either Agar-35 tea (n=6) or placebo tea (n=8) for 7 nights.
RESULTS: The results indicated that Agar-35 significantly reduced participants' negative affect compared to placebo, U = 6.0, p = .019, effect size, r = .63. Further, Agar-35 also reduced anxiety (trending toward significance), U = 10.0, p = .071, effect size, r = .48.
CONCLUSION: In accordance with its use in Tibetan Medicine, these preliminary findings suggest that Agar-35 may benefit aspects of psychological health.
Previous research has demonstrated that depressive symptoms are positively linked to early maladaptive schemas and negatively linked to trait mindfulness. However, the role trait mindfulness may play in buffering the effect of early maladaptive schemas on depressive symptoms has not yet been studied. Therefore, in the current study, we examined whether trait mindfulness moderates this relationship. Specifically, using a community sample of 207 Australian adults, we administered the Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale, the Young Schema Questionnaire-Short Form-3rd Edition, and the Depression subscale of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale. Results revealed that trait mindfulness moderated the relationship between early maladaptive schema endorsement and depressive symptoms. The findings are consistent with the proposition that trait mindfulness acts as a protective mechanism in limiting depressive symptomatology. Theoretical implications are discussed, with a focus on understanding how and why mindfulness-based affect regulation strategies can be used to help buffer the effect of early maladaptive schemas on depression.
Objective: Pregnancy-related lumbopelvic pain is a major problem for the majority of pregnant women. Complementary medicine has been used to alleviate pain, and yoga is one of the most commonly chosen alternative methods. The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of Hatha yoga in the reduction of lumbopelvic pain in pregnancy. Methods: A randomized controlled trial with 60 pregnant women (age range, 14-40 years) who reported lumbopelvic pain at 12 to 32 weeks of gestation was conducted from June 2009 to June 2011. Pregnant women who had twin pregnancies, had medical restrictions for exercise, used analgesics, and participated in physical therapy were excluded from the study. Pregnant women were divided into two groups: the yoga group, practicing exercises guided by this method, and the postural orientation group, performing standardized posture orientation according to instructions provided in a pamphlet. Treatment in each group lasted 10 weeks. A visual analog scale (VAS) was used to measure pain intensity. Lumbar pain and posterior pelvic pain provocation tests were used to confirm the presence of pain. Statistical analysis included the Mann-Whitney test, the McNemar test, a paired Wilcoxon test, and analysis of covariance. Results: The median pain score was lower in the yoga group (p < .0058) than the postural orientation group. Lumbar pain provocation tests showed a decreased response in relation to posterior pelvic pain provocation tests and a gradual reduction in pain intensity during 10 yoga sessions (p < .024). Conclusions: The yoga method was more effective at reducing lumbopelvic pain intensity compared with postural orientation.
Simultaneous crop failures throughout the world will be the most immediate threat from rising temperatures, scientists warn
<p>This paper argues that contemporary experiences of social exclusion and interethnic conflict in the Tibetan areas of Western China are interrelated and revolve around three processes – population, growth and employment – all of which centre on the urban areas. In this setting, the critical factors generating exclusion and fuelling conflict are the differentials between groups, such as urbanisation rates and education levels, rather than base line characteristics, such as population shares or poverty levels. The paper starts with a brief overview of ethnic conflict in the Tibetan areas, followed by an analysis of population issues and the economic fundamentals of exclusionary growth. It closes with some reflections on the role that ethnic conflict plays within these processes. (from the paper's abstract)</p>
An estimated 20 % of the global population experiences chronic pain, and comorbidity with emotional disorders such as depression is high. While the use of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) as an intervention for recurrent depression is escalating in both popularity and evidence-based success, MBCT is being increasingly utilised in a range of areas including chronic pain management. The current study was designed to conceptualise chronic pain patients’ perceived benefits of an MBCT programme. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 chronic pain patients who had participated in MBCT group training within a public hospital pain unit between 8 and 50 months previously. The recorded interviews were transcribed and interpreted using thematic analysis to identify key themes in participants’ comments. Four overarching themes were extracted: patients’ belief in the programme, patients’ perception of control, patients’ struggles and patients’ acceptance of the presence of pain. Participants who perceived benefits from the MBCT programme were most motivated to continue mindfulness practice. Identifying patients’ perspectives on their pain and the benefits of ongoing mindfulness practice following participation in an MBCT group intervention provided opportunity to discuss ways to best assist patients in developing and consolidating their practice. Clinical and research implications are discussed.
An estimated 20 % of the global population experiences chronic pain, and comorbidity with emotional disorders such as depression is high. While the use of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) as an intervention for recurrent depression is escalating in both popularity and evidence-based success, MBCT is being increasingly utilised in a range of areas including chronic pain management. The current study was designed to conceptualise chronic pain patients’ perceived benefits of an MBCT programme. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 chronic pain patients who had participated in MBCT group training within a public hospital pain unit between 8 and 50 months previously. The recorded interviews were transcribed and interpreted using thematic analysis to identify key themes in participants’ comments. Four overarching themes were extracted: patients’ belief in the programme, patients’ perception of control, patients’ struggles and patients’ acceptance of the presence of pain. Participants who perceived benefits from the MBCT programme were most motivated to continue mindfulness practice. Identifying patients’ perspectives on their pain and the benefits of ongoing mindfulness practice following participation in an MBCT group intervention provided opportunity to discuss ways to best assist patients in developing and consolidating their practice. Clinical and research implications are discussed.
While extant research suggests that holding biospheric values may foster environmentally friendly behavior, we need to learn more about the development of such values at an individual level. Our conceptual framework proposes that individual environmental identity could play a role in the formation of a biospheric value orientation. We conducted two cross-sectional surveys (N = 494, N = 107) and a quasi-experimental study (N = 271) in the US and Europe and with demographically different samples to investigate this conceptual linkage. Our findings show that stronger (vs. weaker) self-nature connections in individuals are related to stronger (vs. weaker) biospheric value orientations, which in turn are associated with various forms of sustainable behavior. Our research links two major literature streams in environmental psychology (i.e., research on self-nature connections and biospheric values) by proposing a developmental account of the relations between environmental identity and relevant values.
Since 2009, the Working Group on the ‘Anthropocene’ (or, commonly, AWG for Anthropocene Working Group), has been critically analysing the case for formalization of this proposed but still informal geological time unit. The study to date has mainly involved establishing the overall nature of the Anthropocene as a potential chronostratigraphic/geochronologic unit, and exploring the stratigraphic proxies, including several that are novel in geology, that might be applied to its characterization and definition. A preliminary summary of evidence and interim recommendations was presented by the Working Group at the 35th International Geological Congress in Cape Town, South Africa, in August 2016, together with results of voting by members of the AWG indicating the current balance of opinion on major questions surrounding the Anthropocene. The majority opinion within the AWG holds the Anthropocene to be stratigraphically real, and recommends formalization at epoch/series rank based on a mid-20th century boundary. Work is proceeding towards a formal proposal based upon selection of an appropriate Global boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP), as well as auxiliary stratotypes. Among the array of proxies that might be used as a primary marker, anthropogenic radionuclides associated with nuclear arms testing are the most promising; potential secondary markers include plastic, carbon isotope patterns and industrial fly ash. All these proxies have excellent global or near-global correlation potential in a wide variety of sedimentary bodies, both marine and non-marine.
This study suggests that yoga can be of benefit to patients (and carers) in palliative care settings. Complementary therapies have been employed in our day care unit for several years--aromatherapy, reflexology and massage--and have grown in popularity, enabling relaxation and a feeling of well-being. For patients striving to remain physically fit and, in consultation with our physiotherapist, we felt there may be a role for a gentle form of yoga. A study of the literature yielded information on yoga and cancer but little evidence of its use in palliative care. Having identified a form of yoga that could be adapted for those with physical frailties-- Dru yoga--a 12-week pilot project was introduced into the day care unit. This proved to be highly successful and has now been incorporated as part of our therapeutic service.
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