AbstractThis study aimed to investigate the efficacy of an attention training technique (ATT) on pain ratings, threshold and tolerance during the cold pressor task. One hundred and three undergraduate students were randomly assigned to receive either threat-alleviating or threat-inducing information
Accumulating evidence indicates that time spent in natural environments promotes creativity, but few researchers have considered how this occurs. We evaluate two candidate mechanisms, attention restoration and mind wandering. We compare the accounts in terms of attentional focus, brain network activation, cognitive effects, and the temporal progression of these processes across the stages of creativity. Based on this analysis, we propose that (1) gentle shifts between externally oriented soft fascination and internally oriented mind wandering can occur during nature experience; (2) this provides the basis for mutually reinforcing pathways that enhance attention control following nature experience; and (3) mind wandering might support additional benefits for creativity, including flexibility and new associations of ideas. We propose research to test the proposed pathways, including the conditions under which environments influence creativity, the ebb and flow of attention orientation during environmental experience, and the links between attentional focus, brain network activation and creativity.
Theoretical models suggest that social networks influence the evolution of cooperation, but to date there have been few experimental studies. Observational data suggest that a wide variety of behaviors may spread in human social networks, but subjects in such studies can choose to befriend people with similar behaviors, posing difficulty for causal inference. Here, we exploit a seminal set of laboratory experiments that originally showed that voluntary costly punishment can help sustain cooperation. In these experiments, subjects were randomly assigned to a sequence of different groups to play a series of single-shot public goods games with strangers; this feature allowed us to draw networks of interactions to explore how cooperative and uncooperative behaviors spread from person to person to person. We show that, in both an ordinary public goods game and in a public goods game with punishment, focal individuals are influenced by fellow group members’ contribution behavior in future interactions with other individuals who were not a party to the initial interaction. Furthermore, this influence persists for multiple periods and spreads up to three degrees of separation (from person to person to person to person). The results suggest that each additional contribution a subject makes to the public good in the first period is tripled over the course of the experiment by other subjects who are directly or indirectly influenced to contribute more as a consequence. These results show experimentally that cooperative behavior cascades in human social networks.
<p>This article looks at how most TIbetan transactions were handled by means of barter until contact between Tibet and China increased during the 13th century. Up until this point currency was only somtimes necessary in urban communities that surrounded the larger monasteries. (Mark Premo-Hopkins 2004-04-19)</p>
Experimental dictator games have been used to explore unselfish behaviour. Evidence is presented here, however, that subjects’ generosity can be reversed by allowing them to take a partner’s money. Dictator game giving therefore does not reveal concern for consequences to others existing independently of the environment, as posited in rational choice theory. It may instead be an artefact of experimentation. Alternatively, evaluations of options depend on the composition of the choice set. Implications of these possibilities are explored for experimental methodology and charitable donations respectively. The data favour the artefact interpretation, suggesting that demand characteristics of experimental protocols merit investigation, and that economic analysis should not exclude context-specific social norms.
<p>S. L. Shapiro and colleagues (2006) have described a testable theory of the mechanisms of mindfulness and how it affects positive change. They describe a model in which mindfulness training leads to a fundamental change in relationship to experience (reperceiving), which leads to changes in self-regulation, values clarification, cognitive and behavioral flexibility, and exposure. These four variables, in turn, result in salutogenic outcomes. Analyses of responses from participants in a mindfulness-based stress-reduction program did not support the mediating effect of changes in reperceiving on the relationship of mindfulness with those four variables. However, when mindfulness and reperceiving scores were combined, partial support was found for the mediating effect of the four variables on measures of psychological distress. Issues arising in attempts to test the proposed theory are discussed, including the description of the model variables and the challenges to their assessment. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol 65: 1–14, 2009.</p>
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Palaeontologists characterize mass extinctions as times when the Earth loses more than three-quarters of its species in a geologically short interval, as has happened only five times in the past 540 million years or so. Biologists now suggest that a sixth mass extinction may be under way, given the known species losses over the past few centuries and millennia. Here we review how differences between fossil and modern data and the addition of recently available palaeontological information influence our understanding of the current extinction crisis. Our results confirm that current extinction rates are higher than would be expected from the fossil record, highlighting the need for effective conservation measures.
If smartphones are harming our ability to focus, how should teachers change their methods to give children the skills they need?
Using data for 25,780 species categorized on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List, we present an assessment of the status of the world’s vertebrates. One-fifth of species are classified as Threatened, and we show that this figure is increasing: On average, 52 species of mammals, birds, and amphibians move one category closer to extinction each year. However, this overall pattern conceals the impact of conservation successes, and we show that the rate of deterioration would have been at least one-fifth again as much in the absence of these. Nonetheless, current conservation efforts remain insufficient to offset the main drivers of biodiversity loss in these groups: agricultural expansion, logging, overexploitation, and invasive alien species.Though the threat of extinction is increasing, overall declines would have been worse in the absence of conservation.
Though the threat of extinction is increasing, overall declines would have been worse in the absence of conservation.
OBJECTIVE: A Mental Health Task Force (MHTF) was implemented in 2016 by a collegiate-based emergency medical services (CBEMS) organization to (1) improve mental health emergency response and to (2) address concerns for the mental health of CBEMS providers.PARTICIPANTS: Skidmore College EMS is a Basic Life Support First Response service staffed by volunteer undergraduate students.
METHODS: In coordination with faculty and staff, students in the MHTF developed trainings, peer support structures, community events, policies, and informational resources.
RESULTS: Sixteen students joined the MHTF within 1 year. Over 35 Skidmore College EMS members received training on mental health emergency response, peer-support, and self-care. Debriefing programs, mindfulness-based events, shift-length limitations, and access to informational resources promoted the mental health of Skidmore College EMS members.
CONCLUSIONS: Implementing an MHTF is an innovative, student-led approach to coupling education on emergency response with programming that supports the mental health of CBEMS providers.
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Cognitive theorists describe mindfulness as a form of attention-awareness in which thoughts can be observed in non-judging, de-centered, and non-attached ways. However, empirical research has not examined associations between mindfulness and responses to negative automatic thoughts, such as the ability to let go of negative cognition. In the first study reported in this article, measures of dispositional mindfulness were negatively correlated with negative thought frequency and perceptions of the ability to let go of negative thoughts in an unselected student sample. In the second study reported, these associations were replicated in a treatment-seeking student sample, where participation in a mindfulness meditation-based clinical intervention was shown to be associated with decreases in both frequency and perceptions of difficulty in letting-go of negative automatic thoughts. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.
<p>Sonam Wangfel Laden La was a unique personality on the India Tibet frontier during the first three decades of the twentieth century. Born into a Sikkimese lama family, long established in Darjeeling, he was initially educated in the Nyingmapa Buddhist tradition as a novice monk in Pemayangtse Monastery. He was then sent to Darjeeling, to be educated by Christian Jesuit priests, alongside British boys. At the same time he lived at Ghum Monastery in Darjeeling, where he learned the Gelugpa Buddhist traditions. After a short time working in the Tibetan Section of the Bengal Secretariat Press, he joined the Imperial Police, as the first local boy in Darjeeling to be accorded officer rank. This education in two cultures, European and Tibetan, was probably a conscious effort by the British administrators to create a man who could not only be a local community leader in Darjeeling, but who could also act as an intermediary between the British in India and the Tibetans across the Himalayas; a man who could help break down the barriers in Transhimalayan communication that had existed throughout the nineteenth century.</p>
<p>Several scholars have identified Laden La as an important subject for study, but have been hampered by a lack of original material. Deki Rhodes, as the granddaughter of S.W.Laden La, and her husband Nicholas Rhodes, have had access to many family papers, and have written this short biography of their grandfather. Much new historical material is brought to light, and some unpublished family photographs are used, making this little book an important contribution to the studies of both the development of the Darjeeling District, and of the relations between Tibet and British-India during the early part of the twentieth century.</p>
The Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) is one of the most popular measures of mindfulness, exhibiting promising psychometric properties and theoretically consistent relationships to brain activity, mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) outcomes, and mediation of MBI effects. The present study investigated the response patterns and scale properties in a large sample of undergraduate students (N=414) using Item Response Theory analyses. The findings suggest that general statements of “automatic inattentiveness” or “automatic pilot” confer greater statistical information about the underlying latent trait. Evidence of limited abilities to report on mindlessness and of response bias to “mindfulness-absent” items suggests challenges to the construct validity of the MAAS. The current findings, along with pre-existing data, suggest that reverse-scoring the scale may be inadequate to represent intentional attention or awareness. Further research is needed to determine which variations, components, and correlates of the numerous operationalizations of mindfulness are theoretically consistent and most salient to positive outcomes, especially in psychopathology.
Say namaste to Meddy Teddy, a rising star in the yogi world, in his debut picture book!Media and social media sensation Meddy Teddy is a cuddly, yoga pant-clad, completely poseable plush bear that introduces meditation and mindfulness practices to little yogis. In this first-ever companion book, Meddy encourages readers to try yoga poses as he comes out of hibernation, greets the springtime, and teaches his forest friends how to mindfully get through a variety of situations. On each page, Meddy shows how to execute a pose, including downward-facing dog, tree pose, the Warrior, and more. The youngest yogis, and their families and friends, will rejoice as they master each one, and work up to completing the whole sequence!
Yoga and mindfulness have proven benefits for kids: they help them become aware of their own bodies, and deal with feelings like anxiety, frustration, confusion, fear, and sadness in a healthy way. Meddy Teddy is perfect for introducing kids (and grown ups) of all ages to the practice of yoga.
This chapter focuses on randomized controlled clinical trials in order to examine the highest level of evidence for the use of meditation and relaxation as adjuncts to psychotherapy for common DSM conditions. It identifies a set of techniques that are either empirically supported or probably effective for specific problems. The strategy for reviewing the literature for this chapter involves searching the Medline, Cochrane, DARE, and PsychInfo databases for keywords such as meditation, mindfulness, TM, Zen, relaxation, relaxation techniques, and stress management. It then culled the results and extracted those that included randomized clinical trials (either by keyword or by perusal of the methodologies) or randomized trials with subjects who met interview or psychometric criteria of pathology (i.e., subjects recruited in the media who scored in clinical ranges of depression inventories). It then excluded studies of patients with primarily physical problems (i.e., interventions on pain in cancer patients). If relevant, it included studies referenced that did not appear in computer searches as long as they met the other inclusion requirements. It provides a set of randomized controlled trials on patients or subjects primarily with DSM axis 1 diagnoses.
This review aims to integrate the constructs of mindfulness and emotion regulation. Research into both of these areas is relatively new, and while several reviews have emerged for each area independently, none has directly proposed a conceptual integration. The current review explores how key axioms and assumptions of traditional psychological models of emotion regulation and the psychological interventions that are derived from them (e.g., cognitive behavior therapy) differ fundamentally from mindfulness-based approaches in terms of the underlying processes they address. Accordingly, mindfulness and emotion regulation are each reviewed, followed by a conceptual integration. Fundamental difficulties arising from the attempt to integrate the two domains are highlighted, especially as to the “reality” of thoughts, the relationship between thoughts and emotions, and the need to move beyond a valence model of emotion. Finally, a model is proposed outlining the likely critical processes and mechanisms that underlie “mindful emotion regulation.”
The incidence of major depression increases markedly during adolescence and early adulthood. There is therefore an increased need for effective emotion regulation (ER) capacities during this period. The present study explored the relative benefits of dispositional mindfulness compared to other commonly researched ER strategies, cognitive reappraisal, and expressive suppression, in a sample of youth with major depression presenting to a clinical service. Results demonstrated that mindfulness is distinct from these other ER strategies and is associated with lower cross-sectional levels of depression, anxiety, rumination and dysfunctional attitudes, and improved quality of life. Greater dispositional mindfulness also predicted greater recovery from these symptoms. It was concluded that a greater tendency to use mindfulness as an ER strategy is associated with positive mental health outcomes and better quality of life. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)
The incidence of major depression increases markedly during adolescence and early adulthood. There is therefore an increased need for effective emotion regulation (ER) capacities during this period. The present study explored the relative benefits of dispositional mindfulness compared to other commonly researched ER strategies, cognitive reappraisal, and expressive suppression, in a sample of youth with major depression presenting to a clinical service. Results demonstrated that mindfulness is distinct from these other ER strategies and is associated with lower cross-sectional levels of depression, anxiety, rumination and dysfunctional attitudes, and improved quality of life. Greater dispositional mindfulness also predicted greater recovery from these symptoms. It was concluded that a greater tendency to use mindfulness as an ER strategy is associated with positive mental health outcomes and better quality of life. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)
The present study was designed to examine mindfulness and stress levels in beginner and advanced practitioners of Hatha Yoga. Participants (N = 52) were recruited through Hatha Yoga schools local to western Massachusetts. Beginner practitioners (n = 24) were designated as those with under 5 years (M = 3.33) experience and advanced practitioners (n = 28) as those with over 5 years (M = 14.53) experience in Hatha Yoga. The participants completed the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS; Brown and Ryan 2003) and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS; Cohen et al. 1983) directly preceding a regularly scheduled Hatha Yoga class. Based on two independent-samples t-tests, advanced participants scored significantly higher in mindfulness levels (P < .05) and significantly lower in stress levels (P < .05) when compared to beginner participants. Additionally, a significant negative correlation (r = —. 45, P = .00) was found between mindfulness and stress levels. No significant correlations were found between experience levels and mindfulness and stress levels. Hatha Yoga may be an effective technique for enhancing mindfulness and decreasing stress levels in practitioners.
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During the past two decades, mindfulness meditation has gone from being a fringe topic of scientific investigation to being an occasional replacement for psychotherapy, tool of corporate well-being, widely implemented educational practice, and “key to building more resilient soldiers.” Yet the mindfulness movement and empirical evidence supporting it have not gone without criticism. Misinformation and poor methodology associated with past studies of mindfulness may lead public consumers to be harmed, misled, and disappointed. Addressing such concerns, the present article discusses the difficulties of defining mindfulness, delineates the proper scope of research into mindfulness practices, and explicates crucial methodological issues for interpreting results from investigations of mindfulness. For doing so, the authors draw on their diverse areas of expertise to review the present state of mindfulness research, comprehensively summarizing what we do and do not know, while providing a prescriptive agenda for contemplative science, with a particular focus on assessment, mindfulness training, possible adverse effects, and intersection with brain imaging. Our goals are to inform interested scientists, the news media, and the public, to minimize harm, curb poor research practices, and staunch the flow of misinformation about the benefits, costs, and future prospects of mindfulness meditation.
Mindfulness, a construct that entails moment-to-moment effort to be aware of present experiences and positive attitudinal features, has become integrated into the sciences. The Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), one popular measure of mindfulness, exhibits different responses to positively and negatively worded items in nonmeditating groups. The current study employed confirmatory factor analysis with a large undergraduate sample to examine the validity of a hierarchical mindfulness model and whether response patterns related to item wording arose from method effects. Results indicated that a correlated facets model better explained the data and that negative and positive wording constituted substantive method effects. This study suggests that the FFMQ measures components that may relate to, but do not seem to directly reflect, a latent variable of mindfulness. The authors recommend against the use of an FFMQ total score, favoring individual scale scores, and further examination of method effects in mindfulness scales.
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