Research indicates that the culturally responsive teaching strategies outlined in this book accelerate literacy, language development, and academic growth for students in grades K-8, particularly for English language learners. Completely revised and updated, this bestselling resource speaks to the social-emotional needs of learners and helps teachers support each child's development of a positive self-concept. The authors present best practices, aligned with reading and content standards, and tools for developing academic talk and instructional conversations in the classroom. Special emphasis is placed on using student culture and language as a means for promoting meaningful relationships among communities of learners. The text includes tips for using the strategies for parental involvement, gathering knowledge of the student's background, and promoting social-emotional learning. A companion website provides new video of the strategies being used in classrooms. Book features include: (1) Connections to ELP standards and skills with emphasis on processes that foster reading, writing, and comprehension skills; (2) Guidance to help teachers move beyond static grouping structures and instead utilize responsive opportunities for collaboration and instructional conversations to introduce, rehearse, and review content; (3) Technology connections that help teachers maximize the strategies as systematic learning tools for students; (4) Detailed steps and instructional tips for strategy implementation; and (5) Access to teacher-in-action video clips that demonstrate key strategies in practice. [Foreword by Ester J. de Jong.]
Traditional expressive writing (EW) and EW augmented by emotion-acceptance instructions (EWEA) were compared to non-emotional control writing for their ability to forestall depression symptoms in undergraduates with high or low initial levels of depression symptomatology. EWEA instructions encouraged participants to take a more accepting, “emotion friendly” approach toward expressive writing, stressing the importance of “staying present” with difficult emotional experiences non-judgmentally and with openness. Writing condition interacted significantly with initial depression such that at the 5-week posttest, EWEA was more beneficial than control writing for participants with low to mild initial depression symptoms (CESD <17) and EW was more beneficial than control writing for participants with very low initial depression symptoms (CESD <8). But for the EW condition, this effect was reversed such that participants in this condition with high initial depression (CESD >26) fared worse at posttest than those in the control group.
This chapter summarizes the results of nearly 100 years of research on school-based social and emotional learning (SEL). The SEL field has grown out of research in many fields and subfields with which educators, researchers, and policymakers are familiar, including the promotion of social competence, bullying prevention, prevention of drug use and abuse, civic and character education, emotional intelligence, conflict resolution, social skills training, and 21st-century skills. The chapter begins with a historical summary of theoretical movements and research trends that have led to today's inclusion of SEL as part of many schools' curricula, policies, and practices. Contemporary approaches that represent current policy and societal concerns are discussed in comparative terms. Based on the converging research evidence, this chapter identifies design elements and implementation quality characteristics of effective approaches to SEL. Recommendations for future practice, policy, and research are provided.
Crutzen and Stoermer’s (2000) naming of the ‘Anthropocene’ has provoked lively debate across the physical and social sciences, but, while the term is gradually gaining acceptance as the signifier of the current geological epoch, it remains little more than a roughly defined place-holder for an era characterized by environmental and social uncertainty. The term invites deeper considerations of its meaning, significance, and consequences for thought and politics. For this Forum, we invited five scholars to reflect on how the Anthropocene poses challenges to the structures and habits of geography, politics, and their guiding concepts. The resulting essays piece together an agenda for geographic thought – and political engagement – in this emerging epoch. Collectively, they suggest that geography, as a discipline, is particularly well suited to address the conceptual challenges presented by the Anthropocene.
Objective:
The purpose of the study was to examine the association of temporal factors, in particular days of the week and seasons of the year and death from suicide in the United States.
Method:
Data were pooled from the Multiple Cause of Death Files. Hierarchical logistic regression models were fitted to all deaths occurring in 2000 through 2004 by suicide.
Results:
The incidence of suicide was significantly higher on Wednesdays, compared to Sunday. Specifically, individuals were 99% more likely to kill themselves on Wednesday than on Sunday. Suicides were more prevalent in the summer months, and they were less likely to occur in winter. The state suicide rate significantly elevated individual suicide risk. The results held even after controlling for the potentially confounding effects of socio-economic and demographic variables at both the individual and state levels.
Conclusion:
It was concluded that the observed association between seasonality and suicide cannot be discounted as a mere coincidence. Future research ought to focus on integrating individual level data and contextual variables when testing for seasonality effects.
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This dissertation is a contemplative narration of my lived experience of bringing mindfulness into my teaching. The dissertation first portrays the process of entering into the dialogic space of mindfulness as a Buddhist concept intersecting with the scientific, educational, and public domains. I then describe the contemplative reflection process I used to explore my incorporation of mindfulness into my teaching praxis. From this, I wrote contemplative reflections during a year and half. In this way, I tried to embody mindfulness in my methodology. I used the same process to contemplate these reflections to deepen my understanding and identify themes.The two main themes I arrived at are an openhearted quality (bodhichitta) and a newfound openness that resulted from bringing mindfulness to my professional spaces. I illustrate these themes through six contemplative narratives that portray my heightened consciousness of how my embodiment of mindfulness has influenced my classroom presence and opened my heart. Each contemplative reflection narrates the quality of open awareness towards my own and others' emotions--good and bad. Each narrative also includes a reflective aspect that explores the themes that emerged. My contemplative reflections illustrate how mindfulness helped me stay open to both the joy and the pain of teaching. Mindfulness practices also provided me with the social and emotional awareness and tools to confront the highly emotional and sometimes volatile space of public schools. My contemplative reflections depict the lived experience of mindfully working through the positive and negative experiences of daily life in public school. Coming from the place of an open heart makes teaching much more rich and full of joy, but at the same time also makes the painful parts of teaching and working in a public, bureaucratic institution more palpable. However, by using my mindfulness practices to delve into that pain, I felt my connection to others, which brought about compassion and a desire to help. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
Be. Still. Move: Creative Contemplative Movement employs movement, storytelling, and art to discover students’ embodied knowledge towards developing a connection to personal body/mind insights and the internalization of new knowledge, leading to open awareness and acceptance of academic and educational obstacles.
OBJECTIVES: Fatigue and other treatment-related symptoms (e.g., sleep disturbance) are critical targets for improving quality of life in patients undergoing chemotherapy. Yoga may reduce the burden of such symptoms. This study investigated the feasibility of conducting a randomized controlled study of a brief yoga intervention during chemotherapy for colorectal cancer.DESIGN: We randomized adults with colorectal cancer to a brief Yoga Skills Training (YST) or an attention control (AC; empathic attention and recorded education).
SETTING: The interventions and assessments were implemented individually in the clinic while patients were in the chair receiving chemotherapy.
INTERVENTIONS: Both interventions consisted of three sessions and recommended home practice.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was feasibility (accrual, retention, adherence, data collection). Self-reported outcomes (i.e., fatigue, sleep disturbance, quality of life) and inflammatory biomarkers were also described to inform future studies.
RESULTS: Of 52 patients initially identified, 28 were approached, and 15 enrolled (age Mean = 57.5 years; 80% White; 60% Male). Reasons for declining participation were: not interested (n = 6), did not perceive a need (n = 2), and other (n = 5). Two participants were lost to follow-up in each group due to treatment changes. Thus, 75% of participants were retained in the YST and 71% in the AC arm. Participants retained in the study adhered to 97% of the in-person intervention sessions and completed all questionnaires.
CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated the feasibility of conducting a larger randomized controlled trial to assess YST among patients receiving chemotherapy for colorectal cancer. Data collected and challenges encountered will inform future research.
Becoming more consciously embodied! How do you get from PhD in political science to writing books and being a leader in the yoga community? Listen and hear this wonderful woman opened to the deeper dynamics of the mind-body practice. She is living the dream bigger than she has ever planned!Taking your practice to another level by remembering that we are not just our bodies. How to stay grounded in practice and in life with a regular practice.
How do I find the right yoga class? Mind, movement and breath together!
We close with an amazing discussion on mindfulness and meditations. Wow, I love this!
Bio:
Carol Horton, Ph.D., is the author of Yoga Ph.D.: Integrating the Life of the Mind and the Wisdom of the Body (2012) and Race and the Making of American Liberalism (2005). She served as the lead editor of 21st Century Yoga: Culture, Politics, and Practice (2012) and Best Practices for Yoga with Veterans (2016). Currently, she is editing Best Practices for Yoga in the Criminal Justice System (forthcoming 2017). Carol serves as Vice President of the Yoga Service Council, and was a co-founder of Chicago’s Socially Engaged Yoga Network (SEYN). A Certified Forrest Yoga teacher, Carol has taught yoga in Cook County Jail, a drop-in center for homeless women, a residential foster care facility, a community health center, and several studios in Chicago. A former college professor, Carol holds a doctorate in political science from the University of Chicago. For more information, visit her website, carolhortonphd.com.
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Cities are human creations where many of the emissions causing climate change originate. Every aspect of daily life in cities, which spans buildings, transit, food, energy, and water, relies on fossil fuels that materially contribute to climate change. This paper explores the need for research to better uncover the processes driving urbanization in order to develop novel ways to mitigate climate impacts on Earth. Areas of fruitful research include better quantification of teleconnections between cities and their hinterlands and coupling those to the socio-economic drivers and organization of those relationships; the financialization of much urban policy; understanding where cities fit in the global economic order and their role in generating economic growth, and the ways in which they are also seen as leaders of sustainability and climate actions, but constrained in so-doing by the nested and tiered layers of institutions they operate within. This paper concludes by outlining ways for cities to transition toward nurturing human well-being and reducing their impacts on planetary processes resulting in the proposed new Earth epoch – the Anthropocene.
Background: Traditional Indian Ayurvedic medicine uses complex treatment approaches, including manual therapies, lifestyle and nutritional advice, dietary supplements, medication, yoga, and purification techniques. Ayurvedic strategies are often used to treat osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee; however, no systematic data are available on their effectiveness in comparison with standard care. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of complex Ayurvedic treatment in comparison with conventional methods of treating OA symptoms in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Methods and design: In a prospective, multicenter, randomized controlled trial, 150 patients between 40 and 70 years, diagnosed with osteoarthritis of the knee, following American College of Rheumatology criteria and an average pain intensity of >= 40 mm on a 100 mm visual analog scale in the affected knee at baseline will be randomized into two groups. In the Ayurveda group, treatment will include tailored combinations of manual treatments, massages, dietary and lifestyle advice, consideration of selected foods, nutritional supplements, yoga posture advice, and knee massage. Patients in the conventional group will receive self-care advice, pain medication, weight-loss advice (if overweight), and physiotherapy following current international guidelines. Both groups will receive 15 treatment sessions over 12 weeks. Outcomes will be evaluated after 6 and 12 weeks and 6 and 12 months. The primary endpoint is a change in the score on the Western Ontario and McMaster University Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) after 12 weeks. Secondary outcome measurements will use WOMAC subscales, a pain disability index, a visual analog scale for pain and sleep quality, a pain experience scale, a quality-of-life index, a profile of mood states, and Likert scales for patient satisfaction, patient diaries, and safety. Using an adapted PRECIS scale, the trial was identified as lying mainly in the middle of the efficacy-effectiveness continuum. Discussion: This trial is the first to compare the effectiveness of a complex Ayurvedic intervention with a complex conventional intervention in a Western medical setting in patients with knee osteoarthritis. During the trial design, aspects of efficacy and effectiveness were discussed. The resulting design is a compromise between rigor and pragmatism.
OBJECTIVE: To conduct a pilot trial of internet-based, cancer-adapted yoga for women receiving breast cancer treatment.DESIGN: Women undergoing radiation or chemotherapy for breast cancer were recruited for 12, 75-min, biweekly, cancer-adapted yoga classes delivered via internet-based, multipoint videoconferencing. Data were collected on feasibility and acceptability, including qualitative feedback from participants and the yoga instructor.
RESULTS: Among 42 women approached, 13 declined eligibility screening, and 23 were ineligible. All 6 women who were eligible provided consent, but 2 withdrew prior to beginning yoga classes. The remaining 4 participants attended 1-11 of 12 online yoga classes. In post-intervention interviews, participants and the instructor agreed that internet-based yoga classes hold great potential for increasing access and improving psychological outcomes in adults with cancer. Qualitative feedback from participants revealed suggestions for future trials of internet-based, cancer-adapted yoga classes, including: continued use of group format; offering more varied class times to accommodate patients' demanding schedules and fluctuating symptoms; enrolling patients after they have acclimated to or completed cancer treatment; streamlining the technology interface; and careful attention to participant burden when designing surveys/forms. The instructor recommended closed session courses, as opposed to rolling enrollment; teaching the same modified poses for all participants, rather than individual tailoring; and using a large screen to allow closer monitoring of students' class experience.
CONCLUSIONS: Internet delivery may increase patients' access to cancer-adapted yoga classes, but cancer-related and technological barriers remain. This study informs how to optimally design yoga classes, technology, and research procedures to maximize feasibility and acceptability in future trials.
Cued spatial attention modulates functionally relevant alpha rhythms in visual cortices in humans. Here, we present evidence for analogous phenomena in primary somatosensory neocortex (SI). Using magnetoencephalography, we measured changes in the SI mu rhythm containing mu-alpha (7–14 Hz) and mu-beta (15–29 Hz) components. We found that cued attention impacted mu-alpha in the somatopically localized hand representation in SI, showing decreased power after attention was cued to the hand and increased power after attention was cued to the foot, with significant differences observed 500–1100 ms after cue. Mu-beta showed differences in a time window 800–850 ms after cue. The visual cue also drove an early evoked response beginning ∼70 ms after cue with distinct peaks modulated with cued attention. Distinct components of the tactile stimulus-evoked response were also modulated with cued attention. Analysis of a second dataset showed that, on a trial-by-trial basis, tactile detection probabilities decreased linearly with prestimulus mu-alpha and mu-beta power. These results support the growing consensus that cue-induced alpha modulation is a functionally relevant sensory gating mechanism deployed by attention. Further, while cued attention had a weaker effect on the allocation of mu-beta, oscillations in this band also predicted tactile detection.
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This article presents the development and evaluation of a measurement device designed to assess elementary-aged students' social-emotional learning needs. A sample of 633 fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade elementary students from 11 public schools in a midsized Midwestern U.S. city was used to evaluate the reliability and validity of the 20-item Social-Emotional Learning Scale (SELS) for the sample. A correlated three-factor model consisting of the factors Task Articulation, Peer Relationships, and Self-Regulation was fit using maximum likelihood estimation and found to be adequate. For the sample, the SELS demonstrated evidence of both precision and accuracy, including internal consistency as well as convergent and discriminant validity. Potential applications for the SELS and further research are discussed. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.)
A comprehensive collection of classic texts, contemporary interpretations, guidelines for activists, issue-specific information, and materials for environmentally-oriented religious practice. Sources and contributors include Basho, the Dalai Lama, Thich Nhat Hanh, Gary Snyder, Chögyam Trungpa, Gretel Ehrlich, Peter Mathiessen, Helen Tworkov (editor of Tricycle), and Philip Glass.
This article tests the hypothesis that children's learning environment will improve through a social and emotional learning (SEL) intervention that provides preschool teachers with new skills to manage children's disruptive behavior by reporting results from the Foundations of Learning (FOL) Demonstration, a place-randomized, experimental evaluation conducted by MDRC. Research Findings: Findings demonstrate that the FOL intervention improved teachers' ability to address children's behavior problems and to provide a positive emotional climate in their classrooms. Importantly, the FOL intervention also improved the number of minutes of instructional time, although the quality of teachers' instruction was not improved. Finally, FOL benefited children's observed behavior in classrooms, with lower levels of conflictual interactions and, at the trend level, higher levels of engagement in classrooms activities, relative to similar students randomly assigned to control classrooms. Practice or Policy: This study is one of an emerging body of research on the efficacy of SEL programs for preschool children living in poverty. Understanding the value-added of these programs (e.g., in increased instructional time and increased classroom engagement) as well as their limitations (e.g., in teachers' instructional quality and children's academic skills) will help us design the next set of more effective interventions for low-income children.
Stephanie Sarkis, an author and expert in ADHD, anxiety disorders, autism spectrum disorder and chronic pain, brings a unique perspective to her work because she herself struggles with ADHD and anxiety. Working mostly with adults, from college-age on up, Sarkis said she began recommending mindfulness meditation to her clients and then began a practice herself when she read about the possible benefits and saw positive changes in those she treated.
Background
Behavioral paradigms applied during human recordings in electro- and magneto- encephalography (EEG and MEG) typically require 1–2 hours of data collection. Over this time scale, the natural fluctuations in brain state or rapid learning effects could impact measured signals, but are seldom analyzed.
Methods and Findings
We investigated within-session dynamics of neocortical alpha (7–14 Hz) rhythms and their allocation with cued-attention using MEG recorded from primary somatosensory neocortex (SI) in humans. We found that there were significant and systematic changes across a single ∼1 hour recording session in several dimensions, including increased alpha power, increased differentiation in attention-induced alpha allocation, increased distinction in immediate time-locked post-cue evoked responses in SI to different visual cues, and enhanced power in the immediate cue-locked alpha band frequency response. Further, comparison of two commonly used baseline methods showed that conclusions on the evolution of alpha dynamics across a session were dependent on the normalization method used.
Conclusions
These findings are important not only as they relate to studies of oscillations in SI, they also provide a robust example of the type of dynamic changes in brain measures within a single session that are overlooked in most human brain imaging/recording studies.
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During selective attention, ∼7–14 Hz alpha rhythms are modulated in early sensory cortices, suggesting a mechanistic role for these dynamics in perception. Here, we investigated whether alpha modulation can be enhanced by “mindfulness” meditation (MM), a program training practitioners in sustained attention to body and breath-related sensations. We hypothesized that participants in the MM group would exhibit enhanced alpha power modulation in a localized representation in the primary somatosensory neocortex in response to a cue, as compared to participants in the control group. Healthy subjects were randomized to 8-weeks of MM training or a control group. Using magnetoencephalographic (MEG) recording of the SI finger representation, we found meditators demonstrated enhanced alpha power modulation in response to a cue. This finding is the first to show enhanced local alpha modulation following sustained attentional training, and implicates this form of enhanced dynamic neural regulation in the behavioral effects of meditative practice.
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Context: Youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) demonstrates impairment in the ability to socially and emotionally relate to others that can limit participation in groups, interaction with peers, and building successful life relationships.Aims: The aim of this exploratory study was to examine the effects of a novel multimodal Mandala yoga program on social and emotional skills for youth with ASD.
Subjects and Methods: Five males with ASD attended 1 h yoga sessions, twice a week for 4 weeks. Multimodal Mandala yoga comprised 26 circular partner/group poses, color and tracing sheets, rhythmic chanting, yoga cards, and games. Treatment and Research Institute for ASD Social Skills Assessment (TSSA) scores were collected before and after the eight yoga sessions. The Modified Facial Mood Scale (MFMS) was used to observe mood changes before and after each yoga class. Paired sample t-tests were conducted on TSSA and MFMS scores to compare social and emotional differences post the 4-week camp. Narrative field notes were documented after each of the eight yoga sessions.
Results: A significant improvement from pre- to post-test was found in overall TSSA (t(4) = -5.744, P = 0.005) and on respondent to initiation (t(4) = -3.726, P = 0.020), initiating interaction (t(4) = -8.5, P = 0.039), and affective understanding and perspective taking subscales (t(4) = -5.171 P = 0.007). Youth's MFMS scores increased from 80% to 100% at the end of eight yoga sessions demonstrating a pleasant or positive mood. Thematic analysis of the narrative notes identified three key factors associated with the yoga experience: (a) enhanced mood and emotional expression, (b) increased empathy toward others, and (c) improved teamwork skills.
Conclusion: This multimodal Mandala yoga training has implication for developing positive social and emotional skills for youth with ASD.
To investigate the existence of true altruism, the authors assessed the link between empathic concern and helping by (a) employing an experimental perspective-taking paradigm used previously to demonstrate empathy-associated helping and (b) assessing the empathy-helping relationship while controlling for a range of relevant, well-measured nonaltruistic motivations. Consistent with previous research, the authors found a significant zero-order relationship between helping and empathic concern, the purported motivator of true altruism. This empathy-helping relationship disappeared, however, when nonaltruistic motivators (oneness and negative affect) were taken into account: Only the nonaltruistic factors of oneness (merged identity with the victim) and negative affect mediated helping, whereas empathic concern did not. Evidence for true altruism remains elusive.
OBJECTIVE: Pulmonary rehabilitation improves exercise tolerance in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, many patients do not have access to pulmonary rehabilitation programs. We hypothesized that an alternative to pulmonary rehabilitation to improve exercise tolerance is the practice of pranayama, or yoga breathing, which could be done independently at home. We also sought to determine whether yoga nonprofessionals could adequately teach pranayama to patients.DESIGN: Proof-of-concept, randomized, double-blind, controlled pilot trial.
SETTINGS/LOCATION: Two academic pulmonary practices.
SUBJECTS: Forty-three patients with symptomatic, moderate-to-severe COPD.
INTERVENTIONS: Twelve weeks of pranayama plus education versus education alone. Two yoga professionals trained the research coordinators to conduct all pranayama teaching and monitored the quality of the teaching and the practice of pranayama by study participants.
OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was a change in the 6-min walk distance (6MWD). Secondary outcomes included changes in lung function, markers of oxidative stress and systemic inflammation, and measures of dyspnea and quality of life.
RESULTS: The 6MWD increased in the pranayama group (least square mean [95% confidence interval] = 28 m [-5 to 61]) and decreased in the control group (-15 m [-47 to 16]), with a nearly significant treatment effect (p = 0.06) in favor of pranayama. Pranayama also resulted in small improvements in inspiratory capacity and air trapping. Both groups had significant improvements in various measures of symptoms, but no overall differences in respiratory system impedance or markers of oxidative stress or systemic inflammation.
CONCLUSION: This pilot study successfully demonstrated that pranayama was associated with improved exercise tolerance in patients with COPD. Lay personnel were able to adequately teach patients to practice pranayama. These results suggest that pranayama may have significant clinical benefits for symptomatic patients with COPD, a concept that needs to be confirmed in future, larger clinical trials.
Objective: Pulmonary rehabilitation improves exercise tolerance in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, many patients do not have access to pulmonary rehabilitation programs. We hypothesized that an alternative to pulmonary rehabilitation to improve exercise tolerance is the practice of pranayama, or yoga breathing, which could be done independently at home. We also sought to determine whether yoga nonprofessionals could adequately teach pranayama to patients. Design: Proof-of-concept, randomized, double-blind, controlled pilot trial. Settings/Location: Two academic pulmonary practices. Subjects: Forty-three patients with symptomatic, moderate-to-severe COPD. Interventions: Twelve weeks of pranayama plus education versus education alone. Two yoga professionals trained the research coordinators to conduct all pranayama teaching and monitored the quality of the teaching and the practice of pranayama by study participants. Outcome measures: The primary outcome was a change in the 6-min walk distance (6MWD). Secondary outcomes included changes in lung function, markers of oxidative stress and systemic inflammation, and measures of dyspnea and quality of life.Results: The 6MWD increased in the pranayama group (least square mean [95% confidence interval] = 28 m [-5 to 61]) and decreased in the control group (-15 m [-47 to 16]), with a nearly significant treatment effect ( p = 0.06) in favor of pranayama. Pranayama also resulted in small improvements in inspiratory capacity and air trapping. Both groups had significant improvements in various measures of symptoms, but no overall differences in respiratory system impedance or markers of oxidative stress or systemic inflammation.
Conclusion: This pilot study successfully demonstrated that pranayama was associated with improved exercise tolerance in patients with COPD. Lay personnel were able to adequately teach patients to practice pranayama. These results suggest that pranayama may have significant clinical benefits for symptomatic patients with COPD, a concept that needs to be confirmed in future, larger clinical trials.
There is disagreement in the literature about the exact nature of the phenomenon of empathy. There are emotional, cognitive, and conditioning views, applying in varying degrees across species. An adequate description of the ultimate and proximate mechanism can integrate these views. Proximately, the perception of an object's state activates the subject's corresponding representations, which in turn activate somatic and autonomic responses. This mechanism supports basic behaviors (e.g., alarm, social facilitation, vicariousness of emotions, mother-infant responsiveness, and the modeling of competitors and predators) that are crucial for the reproductive success of animals living in groups. The Perception-Action Model (PAM), together with an understanding of how representations change with experience, can explain the major empirical effects in the literature (similarity, familiarity, past experience, explicit teaching, and salience). It can also predict a variety of empathy disorders. The interaction between the PAM and prefrontal functioning can also explain different levels of empathy across species and age groups. This view can advance our evolutionary understanding of empathy beyond inclusive fitness and reciprocal altruism and can explain different levels of empathy across individuals, species, stages of development, and situations.
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