BackgroundResting state functional connectivity (RSFC) research among adults indicates abnormalities within and between neural networks during acute depressive episodes, some of which are likely to remain into remission. The examination of RSFC among adolescents within the remitted state of MDD may implicate markers of illness course during a critical developmental window wherein secondary prevention can be implemented.
Methods
RSFC data were collected on a 3.0T GE scanner from adolescents (12–18, M=15.61, SD=1.90; 57% female) in full or partial remission from MDD (rMDD; n=23) and age- and gender-matched healthy controls (HC; n=10). RSFC data were examined using seed-based connectivity of the left amygdala, left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), and left posterior cingulate cortex (PCC). These seeds were chosen to probe the emotional salience, cognitive control, and default mode networks, respectively.
Results
rMDD adolescents demonstrated relative hyperconnectivity from the left amygdala to the right PCC, as well as from the left dlPFC to the right middle frontal and left inferior frontal gyri (MFG, IFG). Amygdala to PCC connectivity was correlated with greater rumination, dlPFC to MFG connectivity was positively associated with depression severity, and dlPFC to IFG connectivity was inversely associated with mindfulness.
Conclusions
Aberrant functional connectivity within and between neural networks responsible for salience attribution, introspective thought, and executive control can be observed among adolescents in the remitted phase of MDD and is associated with residual clinical symptoms. These patterns may confer risk for future relapse or alternatively, support wellness.
Although the neural mechanisms underlying altruism remain unknown, empathy and its component abilities, such as the perception of the actions and intentions of others, have been proposed as key contributors. Tasks requiring the perception of agency activate the posterior superior temporal cortex (pSTC), particularly in the right hemisphere. Here, we demonstrate that differential activation of the human pSTC during action perception versus action performance predicts self-reported altruism.
This accessible book is the first introduction to the idea of altruism. It explores how we have come to be altruistic, and considers why it is important to remain altruistic, not just for the sake of others, but in order maintain the fragile fabric of human society.The book surveys the history of the concept of altruism and examines it from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, including moral philosophy, evolutionary biology, psychology, economics and political science. It then attempts to bring together the distinct issues and concerns of these disciplines to arrive at a unified understanding of altruism.
The rational self-interested individual of economics is compared with the altruist who exhibits the virtues of empathy, compassion and benevolence. The book also discusses heroic altruism, such as that displayed by rescuers of Jews in Nazi-occupied Europe, and psychological experiments which seek to identify the altruistic trait. Scott and Seglow argue that altruism is easily extinguished and hard to nourish, but vital for a fundamentally human future.
Academics and students in social sciences and philosophy will find Altruism of great interest. So too will professionals in the voluntary and charitable sectors and journalists involved in communicating social scientific and philosophical ideas to the public.
Abstract Ecopsychologists theorize that a sense of connection to nonhuman nature inspires empathy that should lead to proenvironmental behavior. Widely used measures of connectedness to nature consist largely of items we suspect may be endorsed by individuals who feel affectively or spiritually connected to nature yet rarely, if ever, subjectively experience their fundamental physical interdependence with the larger ecosystem. In this paper, we borrow the phrase ?participation in nature? (PIN; Elpel, 1999) to refer to activities that involve unmediated intimate interaction with, and immersion in, the wild ecosystem for the purpose of meeting one's basic survival needs. We suggest that these activities represent a form of corporeal connection to nature that is not captured by existing conceptualizations and measures. To explore the relationship between PIN, existing measures of connectedness to nature, and environmental behavior, we surveyed 50 participants at a weeklong earth-living skills gathering, some of whom participate in nature as a lifestyle. As predicted, PIN was significantly positively correlated with connection measures and, like other forms of connection, predicted self-reported environmental decision making. Importantly, regression analyses revealed PIN to be the only significant predictor of green decision making for this particular sample; thus, we consider it a valuable addition to the ecological connection construct. Results of this study and other researchers' recent work point to the importance of conceptually and operationally teasing apart affective, cognitive, and behavioral connections to nature. Key Words: Ecopsychology?Measurement?Connectedness to nature?Primitive skills?Quantitative research.
Love it or hate it, the Anthropocene is emerging as an inescapable word for (and of) the current moment. Popularized by Eugene Stoermer and Paul Crutzen, Anthropocene names an age in which human industry has come to equal or even surpass the processes of geology, and in which humans in their attempt to conquer nature have inadvertently become a major force in its destruction (Crutzen & Stoermer 2000; Steffen et al. 2011). This is the tragedy of the Anthropocene. But this tragedy also holds an odd, even schizophrenic, promise; namely the promise of scientific renewal and insight. For in the Anthropocene, nature is no longer what conventional science imagined it to be. And if the notion of a pure nature-an-Sich has died in the Anthropocene and been replaced by natural worlds that are inextricable from the worlds of humans, then humans themselves can no longer be what classical anthropology and human sciences thought they were. Arguably, the Anthropocene challenges us all to radically what nature, humans as well as the political and historical relationship between them might be at the end of the world, peppering its message of environmental doom with the promise of scientific renewal (and global survival) through trans-disciplinary collaboration. This bipolar message of a new science and a new politics amidst ruins is exhilarating for some, and seems to come at an opportune moment. Certainly, the notion that human lives and politics are producers of/produced by natural worlds gels with a growing attention within anthropology and neighboring disciplines to the diverse multispecies worlds that humans and non-humans cohabit. And yet, the Anthropocene may still be, as Bruno Latour puts it in...
Yoga involves a combination of many stress management techniques in one. Learn the benefits of yoga for stress relief and overall health.
Dr. Brecher is a clinical psychologist who uses cognitive behavioral strategies to buffer students against the pervasive depression and anxiety present in higher education. We talk about her science-informed recommendations, which include positive psychological activities designed to increase mindfulness, character strengths, self-efficacy, optimism, gratitude, and more. We discuss the mechanisms through which these interventions work, some of the many benefits they promote, how they can be implemented in schools, and some changes in academic culture that can improve student well-being.
Contemplative approaches to higher education have been gaining in popularity and application across a wide range of disciplines. Spurring conferences, a growing body of literature, and several academic programs or centers, these approaches promise to contribute significantly to higher education in the years to come. This volume provides an overview of the current landscape of contemplative instruction, pedagogy, philosophy, and curriculum from the perspectives of leading researchers and scholar-practitioners. Contributors come from a variety of disciplines, including education, management and leadership studies, humanities, social sciences, the arts, and information science. Drawing on diverse contexts, the essays reveal the applicability of contemplative studies as a watershed field, capable of informing, enriching, and sustaining the many disciplines and instructional contexts that comprise higher education. Chapters discuss the theoretical aspects of the field; the details, experiences, and challenges of contemplative approaches; and the hopes and concerns for the future of this field.
<p>This chapter is part of a volume which presents the personality and psychotherapeutic theories of all the major religions. Organized according to topics within modern psychology, the author looks at how Buddhism has its own theories of personality, distress, and therapy. After beginning the chapter with a short look at the history of the Buddha's life and an overview of the three-fold division of Buddhism into Hinayāna, Mahayāna, and Vajrayāna Buddhism, the author illustrates the many angles by which the Buddhist tradition has defined personality according to the Buddhist divisions of the five aggregates (form, feeling, perception-impulse, conceptualization, and consciousness), the six realms (the realms of the gods, the realm of the jealous gods, the human realm, the animal realm, the realm of hungry ghosts, and the realm of hell beings), the six psychological states associated with the six realms, and the five Buddha families. The Buddhist theory of distress is explained according to the Buddha's teaching on the Four Noble Truths.</p>
<p>The remainder of the chapter, which covers more than 2/3 its entire length, opens into a discussion of the various ways Buddhism elaborates its own form of psychotherapy, as well as how Buddhist ideas relate to other forms of psychotherapy. According to the author, the priniciples of Buddhist psychotherapy are acceptance, the adoption of "right view," the focus on the here and now, and the affirmation of unity between the mind and body. The Buddhist tradition also describes stages of healing according to the theory of the ten bhūmis or grounds and the six pāramitās or perfections (giving, morality, patience, joyous energy, awareness, and superknowledge). The practice of psychotherapy can be found in the practices contained within the "Eightfold Path," as well as in various forms of Buddhist meditation such as shamatha-vipashyana (practices aimed at developing concentration and insight), tong len (a Tibetan Buddhist practice centered on taking on suffering and giving away personal happiness to another), lojong (a family of Tibetan teachings based on aphorisms for training the mind in cultivating virtue throughout all of one's experiences), and koans (paradoxical sayings in Zen and Ch'an Buddhism).</p>
<p>Throughout the chapter, the author, a clinical psychologist, draws on a wide variety of concepts throughout multiple areas of psychological theory, such as group therapy, Freudian psychotherapy, Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Bateson's cybernetic epistemology, family therapy (which aim to understand the individual within the system he or she is embedded), and hypnosis. The chapter ends with a case study using Buddhist principles of psychology to treat a middle aged woman experiencing major depression. (Zach Rowinski 2005-01-13)</p>
In this chapter, we the three authors take a hard look at higher education, and propose an analytic framework of the three-fold relationality by which we both account for the failure of higher education and point towards its redress. Our framework posits three-fold human relationality: self-to-self; self-to-human other; self-to-Nature.
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Scholars have cited an antiracist identity as an ideal development status for Whites seeking to change systemic racism (Helms, 1995). However, little is known regarding the lived complexities of antiracist work itself. This article examines the experiences of one group of Whites (N = 10) committed to antiracist action. Outcomes indicate challenges that include backlash and struggles to identify more effective antiracist tactics. Coping mechanisms are considered in relation to counseling and counselor training practices.
This chapter focuses on self-regulatory and meditative techniques, and their effect on mental health. Relaxation and concentration exercises are self-regulatory techniques that induce the physiological states that are the foundation of meditation. There are a wide variety of relaxation and self-regulatory techniques that, in general, induce a physiologic relaxation within the person practicing them. The effect is largely mediated through the nervous system but has profound effects on all the organ systems of the body. The field of psychoneuroimmunology has demonstrated the beneficial physiology of self-regulatory techniques. Self-regulatory techniques can be used to benefit many psychological and physical disorders, including cardiovascular disease, respiratory dysfunction, immune dysregulation, pain, irritable bowel, depression, anxiety, and many others. Some examples of self-regulatory techniques include the relaxation response, autogenic training, guided imagery, abdominal breathing, chanting, and mindfulness. Self-regulatory techniques have been shown to be effective in the treatment of psychosomatic illness, pain disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, attention deficit disorder, substance abuse, anxiety disorders, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
The article discusses the psychological notion of mindfulness, which denotes focusing on the present and ignoring unhelpful thoughts, in relation to Christian beliefs. It notes the Buddhist origins of the term in the context of meditation, the relation between mindfulness and the self, and the use of Focused Breathing Awareness (FBA) techniques.
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- Contexts of Contemplation Project,
- Buddhist Contemplation by Applied Subject,
- Contemplation by Applied Subject,
- Contemplation by Tradition,
- Psychology and Buddhist Contemplation,
- Science and Buddhist Contemplation,
- Interreligious Contemplation,
- Psychology and Contemplation,
- Science and Contemplation,
- Christian Contemplation,
- Buddhist Contemplation
Mental noise can be defined as less reliable information processing. Individuals with high levels of mental noise are thought to be disadvantaged in cognitive, emotional, and behavioural realms. The present five studies (total N=298) investigated such potential disadvantages among normally functioning college undergraduates. Mental noise was operationalised in terms of the reaction time coefficient of variation (RTCV), a measure of RT variability that corrects for average levels of mental speed. Individuals with higher RTCV exhibited less effective cognitive control (Studies 1 and 5), less controlled behaviour (Study 2), and were more prone to negative emotional experiences (Study 3) and depressive symptoms (Study 4). Study 5 extended these results and found that individuals higher (versus lower) in RTCV were more adversely affected by their attentional lapses in daily life. Results converge on the idea that mental noise is an important individual difference dimension with multiple adverse correlates and consequences.
This volume contains examples of how cognitive therapists working in varied settings with groups of adult clients have applied the cognitive model in their domain. Cognitive therapy has much broader application than the traditional area of depression; contributors illustrate the way they work by using extended case material, readers will hear the voices of the clients and empathise with both client and therapist as they seek to build a collaborative relationship. Areas discussed range from drug abuse and eating disorders to obsessive behaviour. Any therapist, however experienced, will learn from `listening in' on the cases presented and students will find it essential reading.
Research has shown that members of racial and ethnic minority groups experience greater cumulative stress burden. Because a high cumulative stress burden increases the likelihood of mental health disorders, community health coaches trained in techniques to help community members manage stress more effectively could be an important step toward improving mental health in minority populations. As a pilot project, we invited individuals from organizations representing five minority populations to receive training in Mind–Body Bridging (MBB), a mindfulness approach that teaches skills to calm the mind and relax the body. Participants included community health coaches, organizational leaders, and community members. Surveys of quality of life and self-efficacy were conducted at the beginning and completion of training, and at 9 months following completion. A focus group was also held at training completion to solicit perceptions of the usefulness of MBB among the participants’ respective communities. Eleven participants completed the training. Overall, participants reported regular use of MBB techniques to manage their own stress and showed some moderate improvements in both quality of life and self-efficacy. MBB was generally perceived to be a useful tool for community health coaches, with perceived strengths including the ease of teaching it to others and increased ability to empower community members to handle their own problems more efficiently. Next steps include longitudinal tracking of the coaches’ use of MBB as a coaching tool and monitoring outcomes among the community members receiving the coaching.
Self-compassion, mindfulness, and psychological inflexibility, constructs associated with mindfulness-based interventions, have demonstrated associations with multiple aspects of psychological health. However, a very limited body of research has analyzed the relative predictive strength among mindfulness-related constructs. Regression analyses were performed to determine the common and unique variance in psychological health predicted by these constructs and to compare their relative predictive strength in a nonclinical sample of 147 undergraduate students at a Mid-Atlantic university. Consistent with previous research, self-compassion demonstrated a stronger ability than single-factor mindfulness to predict variance in psychological health. However, results were mixed when a multifaceted measure of mindfulness was considered. Self-compassion predicted greater variance than multifaceted mindfulness when prediction was based on one total score, but not when individual subscales were analyzed. Psychological inflexibility predicted greater variance than did self-compassion for negative indicators of psychological health. Results suggest that self-compassion and psychological inflexibility may demonstrate greater associations with psychological health than single scores of mindfulness and that important predictive power is lost, particularly from the nonreactivity facet, when multifaceted mindfulness is consolidated into a single score.
Most of the policy debate surrounding the actions needed to mitigate and adapt to anthropogenic climate change has been framed by observations of the past 150 years as well as climate and sea-level projections for the twenty-first century. The focus on this 250-year window, however, obscures some of the most profound problems associated with climate change. Here, we argue that the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, a period during which the overwhelming majority of human-caused carbon emissions are likely to occur, need to be placed into a long-term context that includes the past 20 millennia, when the last Ice Age ended and human civilization developed, and the next ten millennia, over which time the projected impacts of anthropogenic climate change will grow and persist. This long-term perspective illustrates that policy decisions made in the next few years to decades will have profound impacts on global climate, ecosystems and human societies — not just for this century, but for the next ten millennia and beyond.
A wide-ranging consideration of the emerging field of contemplative education.Contemplative approaches to higher education have been gaining in popularity and application across a wide range of disciplines. Spurring conferences, a growing body of literature, and several academic programs or centers, these approaches promise to contribute significantly to higher education in the years to come. This volume provides an overview of the current landscape of contemplative instruction, pedagogy, philosophy, and curriculum from the perspectives of leading researchers and scholar-practitioners. Contributors come from a variety of disciplines, including education, management and leadership studies, humanities, social sciences, the arts, and information science. Drawing on diverse contexts, the essays reveal the applicability of contemplative studies as a watershed field, capable of informing, enriching, and sustaining the many disciplines and instructional contexts that comprise higher education. Chapters discuss the theoretical aspects of the field; the details, experiences, and challenges of contemplative approaches; and the hopes and concerns for the future of this field.
Contemplative approaches to higher education have been gaining in popularity and application across a wide range of disciplines. Spurring conferences, a growing body of literature, and several academic programs or centers, these approaches promise to contribute significantly to higher education in the years to come. This volume provides an overview of the current landscape of contemplative instruction, pedagogy, philosophy, and curriculum from the perspectives of leading researchers and scholar-practitioners. Contributors come from a variety of disciplines, including education, management and leadership studies, humanities, social sciences, the arts, and information science. Drawing on diverse contexts, the essays reveal the applicability of contemplative studies as a watershed field, capable of informing, enriching, and sustaining the many disciplines and instructional contexts that comprise higher education. Chapters discuss the theoretical aspects of the field; the details, experiences, and challenges of contemplative approaches; and the hopes and concerns for the future of this field.
The prevailing conception and practice of education perpetuates a civilization saturated with a deep sense of ontological disconnect and axiological crisis in all dimensions of human life. We examine the disconnect from body, senses, and world in the practice of education. We explore the possibilities in the burgeoning contemplative education movement for reconnection offered by holistic, experiential approaches to learning, in particular, contemplative practices that manifest the arts of somatic, sensuous, relational, and contextual awareness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]; La conception et la pratique dominantes en education perpetuent tine civilisation saturee d'un profond sentiment de detachement ontologique et tine crise axiologique dans toutes les dimensions de Ia vie humaine. Nous nous penchons sur la pratique pedagogique pour y examiner le detachenzent du corps, des sens et du monde. Nous etudions les possibilites offertes par le mouvement conteniplatifqui prend de l'ampleur dans le milieu de l'education et qui vise tine reconnexion par le biais d'approches holistiques et experimen tales a l'enseignement, notamment des pratiques contemplatives reposant stir les arts de la sensibilisation somatique, sensuelle, relationnelle et contextuelle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]; Copyright of Alberta Journal of Educational Research is the property of Alberta Journal of Educational Research and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
This chapter contains sections titled:Egosystem Motivation, Implications for Self-Regulation, Contingencies of Self-Worth and Self-Regulation, Self-Image Goals and Self-Regulation, Contingencies of Self-Worth and Self-Image Goals, Compassionate Goals and Self-Regulation, Future Directions, Conclusions, References
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