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.
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We hypothesized that partisans who represent power and the status quo would judge their opponents less accurately than would partisans seeking change, who would be stereotyped as extremists. We surveyed the attitudes and book preferences of traditionalist and revisionist English professors, who differed in their inclinations to preserve or change the literary status quo. Both groups overestimated the differences in their attitudes and book preferences, the extremity of their opponent's conviction, and the numerical balances of the two sides. Consistent with the status quo hypotheses, traditionalists were more prone to polarize the two sides' attitudes and underestimate the book preferences they shared with their opponents, and both sides attributed more extreme convictions to revisionists. Discussion focused on mechanisms related to power-related biases.
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Social neuroscience research has resulted in changing views of the theory of mind (ToM) construct. Theory of mind is no longer viewed as a unitary construct, but rather as a multidimensional construct comprising cognitive and affective ToM and interpersonal and intrapersonal ToM, each of which has differing neurophysiological/neuroanatomical foundations and behavioral manifestations. Clinicians working with persons with social communication/pragmatic communication disorders should consider evaluating these dimensions of ToM and the cognitive, social–emotional, and language components underlying them. Then they might use this information to develop a ToM profile for each client so they are better able to implement specific intervention strategies to target the linguistic and cognitive/affective foundations for ToM development. In this article, we describe the characteristics of developmental stages of affective and cognitive and interpersonal and intrapersonal ToM and how to match intervention goals and strategies to those stages. Some activities and strategies have empirical support; others are based on what is known about typical development and patterns of impairment.
Given the current necessity of retaining qualified nurses, a self-care program consisting of Yoga, Tai Chi, Meditation classes, and Reiki healing sessions was designed for a university-based hospital. The effectiveness of these interventions was evaluated using self-care journals and analyzed using a Heideggerian phenomenological approach. Outcomes of the self-care classes described by nurses included: (a) noticing sensations of warmth, tingling, and pulsation which were relaxing, (b) becoming aware of an enhanced problem solving ability, and (c) noticing an increased ability to focus on patient needs. Hospitals willing to invest in self-care options for nurses can anticipate patient and work related benefits.
OBJECTIVE: This study was undertaken to identify brain structures associated with emotion in normal elderly subjects.
METHOD: Eight normal subjects aged 55-78 years were shown film clips intended to provoke the emotions of happiness, fear, or disgust as well as a neutral state. During emotional activation, regional cerebral blood flow was measured with the use of [15O]H2O positron emission tomography imaging, and subjective emotional responses were recorded. Data were analyzed by subtracting the values during the neutral condition from the values in the various emotional activations.
RESULTS: The stimuli produced a general activation in visual pathways that included the primary and secondary visual cortex, involving regions associated with object and spatial recognition. In addition, the specific emotions produced different regional limbic activations, which suggests that different pathways may be used for different types of emotional stimuli.
CONCLUSIONS: Emotional activation in normal elderly subjects was associated with increases in blood flow in limbic and paralimbic brain structures. Brain activation may be specific to the emotion being elicited but probably involves complex sensory, association, and memory circuitry. Further studies are needed to identify activations that are specific for emotion.
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Background. In the earlier stages of prostate cancer, effective treatments have created a need for research to focus on practices that may improve quality of life throughout survivorship. Physical activity is a significant supportive care management strategy for prostate cancer survivors, though the optimal modality is not yet understood. Hypotheses. The authors hypothesized that yoga would be a feasible physical activity option for prostate cancer survivors and their support persons and that the incorporation of social support would increase physical activity adherence. Methods. This 14-week feasibility study involved a 7-week class-based yoga program (adherence phase), followed by 7 weeks of self-selected physical activity (maintenance phase). Demographic information, physical activity behavior, quality of life, fatigue, stress, mood, and fitness variables were assessed at 3 time points. Prostate cancer survivors' perceived social support was rated during yoga and after yoga. Results. Class attendance was 6.1 and 5.8 for prostate cancer survivors (n = 15) and their support persons (n = 10), respectively, for the 7 classes. Levels of perceived social support were higher for those who brought a support person. Significant improvements with regard to stress, fatigue, and mood before and after yoga class (all Ps < .05) were reported by all participants. No clinically significant changes were noted on prostate cancer survivor's quality of life or fatigue over the course of the 14-week study. Conclusions. Yoga is a feasible physical activity option for prostate cancer survivors. The program had a promising uptake rate, high program adherence rate, and there were acute program benefits with regard to stress, fatigue, and mood for all participants. Future examination is warranted with regard to chronic benefits and group cohesion influences on levels of perceived social support.
BACKGROUND: In the earlier stages of prostate cancer, effective treatments have created a need for research to focus on practices that may improve quality of life throughout survivorship. Physical activity is a significant supportive care management strategy for prostate cancer survivors, though the optimal modality is not yet understood.HYPOTHESES: The authors hypothesized that yoga would be a feasible physical activity option for prostate cancer survivors and their support persons and that the incorporation of social support would increase physical activity adherence.
METHODS: This 14-week feasibility study involved a 7-week class-based yoga program (adherence phase), followed by 7 weeks of self-selected physical activity (maintenance phase). Demographic information, physical activity behavior, quality of life, fatigue, stress, mood, and fitness variables were assessed at 3 time points. Prostate cancer survivors' perceived social support was rated during yoga and after yoga.
RESULTS: Class attendance was 6.1 and 5.8 for prostate cancer survivors (n = 15) and their support persons (n = 10), respectively, for the 7 classes. Levels of perceived social support were higher for those who brought a support person. Significant improvements with regard to stress, fatigue, and mood before and after yoga class (all Ps < .05) were reported by all participants. No clinically significant changes were noted on prostate cancer survivor's quality of life or fatigue over the course of the 14-week study.
CONCLUSIONS: Yoga is a feasible physical activity option for prostate cancer survivors. The program had a promising uptake rate, high program adherence rate, and there were acute program benefits with regard to stress, fatigue, and mood for all participants. Future examination is warranted with regard to chronic benefits and group cohesion influences on levels of perceived social support.
<p>People's capacities to categorize, interpret, and go "beyond the information given" readily lead to the stereotyping and dehumanization that escalate and entrench group conflict. This paper focuses on opposing partisans' tendency to exaggerate their opponent's extremism and the magnitude of their conflict. It is possited that opposing partisans follow a straightforward inferential path--here called "naive realism"--To conclusions about their opponent's attitudes and preferences. In testing this naive realism hypothesis, the attitudes of opposing partisans to the conflicts over abortion, racial violence, criminal justice, government budget cuts, and the Western Canon are surveyed. The paper first presents research documenting bias, then considers how imagined extremism intensifies social conflicts, and then concludes by discussing how partisans with power, compared to those without, judge their conflicts in more biased ways but themselves are judged more accurately.</p>
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<p>While the subject matter of this article is Chaucer's <em>Canterbury Tales,</em> the content focuses on issues related to critical editions in general. Among these are the relationship between multiple editions of a text and, based on these, conclusions that can drawn about the original text. Thus, the article presents a discussion of critical editions, structured around the following topics: Conclusions about Relations among All the Texts in the Tradition; Conclusions about the Earliest State of the Text; and Conclusions about the Value of Individual Manuscripts.</p>
<p><strong>Note:</strong> this article is available only by subscription (such as through an academic institution); it is not available to the general public.</p>
Meditation is not a tool or technique and yet it can be a gateway into the deeper dimensions of learning. Contained in this personal narrative are the revelations of a graduate student in international education as she carries out cross-cultural empowerment fieldwork with Cambodian women refugees on the Thai-Cambodian border. After a disorienting rejection by a Cambodian-American colleague she discovers the value of Buddhist meditation practice in navigating the difficult terrain of her attachment to a belief system based on theories about oppression and her attitude toward engagement in participatory educational methods. In the moment-to-moment awareness of meditation practice is revealed the constructed nature of the egoic self and the ways in which belief structures are solidified, defended, and let go. The implications of the contemplative journey for transformative and integrative learning are investigated in the light of insight gleaned from this experience.
Meditation is not a tool or technique and yet it can be a gateway into the deeper dimensions of learning. Contained in this personal narrative are the revelations of a graduate student in international education as she carries out cross-cultural empowerment fieldwork with Cambodian women refugees on the Thai-Cambodian border. After a disorienting rejection by a Cambodian-American colleague she discovers the value of Buddhist meditation practice in navigating the difficult terrain of her attachment to a belief system based on theories about oppression and her attitude toward engagement in participatory educational methods. In the moment-to-moment awareness of meditation practice is revealed the constructed nature of the egoic self and the ways in which belief structures are solidified, defended, and let go. The implications of the contemplative journey for transformative and integrative learning are investigated in the light of insight gleaned from this experience.
Meditation is not a tool or technique and yet it can be a gateway into the deeper dimensions of learning. Contained in this personal narrative are the revelations of a graduate student in international education as she carries out cross-cultural empowerment fieldwork with Cambodian women refugees on the Thai-Cambodian border. After a disorienting rejection by a Cambodian-American colleague she discovers the value of Buddhist meditation practice in navigating the difficult terrain of her attachment to a belief system based on theories about oppression and her attitude toward engagement in participatory educational methods. In the moment-to-moment awareness of meditation practice is revealed the constructed nature of the egoic self and the ways in which belief structures are solidified, defended, and let go. The implications of the contemplative journey for transformative and integrative learning are investigated in the light of insight gleaned from this experience.
PURPOSE: To determine whether non-physical activity mind and body practices reduce the severity of fatigue in patients with cancer or hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) recipients compared to control interventions. METHODS: We included randomized trials which compared non-physical activity mind and body practices compared with control interventions for the management of fatigue in cancer and HSCT patients. RESULTS: Among 55 trials (4975 patients), interventions were acupuncture or acupressure (n=12), mindfulness (n=11), relaxation techniques (n=10), massage (n=6), energy therapy (n=5), energizing yogic breathing (n=3) and others (n=8). When combined, all interventions significantly reduced fatigue severity compared to all controls (standardized mean difference -0.51, 95% confidence interval -0.73 to -0.29). More specifically, mindfulness and relaxation significantly reduced fatigue severity. CONCLUSIONS: Mindfulness and relaxation were effective at reducing fatigue severity in patients with cancer and HSCT recipients. Future studies should evaluate how to translate these findings into clinical practice across different patient groups.
"What if depression could lead to positive change? Written by acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) cofounder Kirk Strosahl and Patricia Robinson, this revised edition of the best-selling classic, The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Depression includes updated research on self-compassion, mindfulness, and neuroscience to help you live a more meaningful life. If you suffer from depression, you may feel like you are living under a perpetual raincloud, even when it's sunny outside. If left untreated, clinical depression can damage relationships, cause problems at work, lead to substance abuse, and even make it more difficult to overcome physical illnesses. You may feel too tired and scared to reach out for help, or you may try to avoid your feelings altogether. But you should know that there are little, effective ways you can overcome your depression, one day at a time. This fully revised and updated second edition of The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Depression will show you how changing daily behaviors and practicing new mindfulness skills can literally reshape your brain. Rather than fruitlessly trying to avoid your depression, you'll learn to focus on living a productive life by accepting your feelings. There are hundreds of books that will try to help you overcome or put an end to depression. But what if you could use your depression to change your life for the better? Your symptoms may be signals that something in your life needs to change. Learning to understand and interpret these signals is much more important than ignoring or avoiding them--approaches that only make the situation worse. This workbook uses techniques from acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to offer a new treatment plan for depression that will help accept your feelings instead of fruitlessly trying to avoid them. This new edition will include skills based on new research and contributions from mindfulness, self-compassion, and neuroscience. Using the skills outlined in this book, you'll be able to work through your depression, experience greater peace and well-being, and go on to create a better life"--
"What if depression could lead to positive change? Written by acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) cofounder Kirk Strosahl and Patricia Robinson, this revised edition of the best-selling classic, The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Depression includes updated research on self-compassion, mindfulness, and neuroscience to help you live a more meaningful life. If you suffer from depression, you may feel like you are living under a perpetual raincloud, even when it's sunny outside. If left untreated, clinical depression can damage relationships, cause problems at work, lead to substance abuse, and even make it more difficult to overcome physical illnesses. You may feel too tired and scared to reach out for help, or you may try to avoid your feelings altogether. But you should know that there are little, effective ways you can overcome your depression, one day at a time. This fully revised and updated second edition of The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Depression will show you how changing daily behaviors and practicing new mindfulness skills can literally reshape your brain. Rather than fruitlessly trying to avoid your depression, you'll learn to focus on living a productive life by accepting your feelings. There are hundreds of books that will try to help you overcome or put an end to depression. But what if you could use your depression to change your life for the better? Your symptoms may be signals that something in your life needs to change. Learning to understand and interpret these signals is much more important than ignoring or avoiding them--approaches that only make the situation worse. This workbook uses techniques from acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to offer a new treatment plan for depression that will help accept your feelings instead of fruitlessly trying to avoid them. This new edition will include skills based on new research and contributions from mindfulness, self-compassion, and neuroscience. Using the skills outlined in this book, you'll be able to work through your depression, experience greater peace and well-being, and go on to create a better life"--
"What if depression could lead to positive change? Written by acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) cofounder Kirk Strosahl and Patricia Robinson, this revised edition of the best-selling classic, The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Depression includes updated research on self-compassion, mindfulness, and neuroscience to help you live a more meaningful life. If you suffer from depression, you may feel like you are living under a perpetual raincloud, even when it's sunny outside. If left untreated, clinical depression can damage relationships, cause problems at work, lead to substance abuse, and even make it more difficult to overcome physical illnesses. You may feel too tired and scared to reach out for help, or you may try to avoid your feelings altogether. But you should know that there are little, effective ways you can overcome your depression, one day at a time. This fully revised and updated second edition of The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Depression will show you how changing daily behaviors and practicing new mindfulness skills can literally reshape your brain. Rather than fruitlessly trying to avoid your depression, you'll learn to focus on living a productive life by accepting your feelings. There are hundreds of books that will try to help you overcome or put an end to depression. But what if you could use your depression to change your life for the better? Your symptoms may be signals that something in your life needs to change. Learning to understand and interpret these signals is much more important than ignoring or avoiding them--approaches that only make the situation worse. This workbook uses techniques from acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to offer a new treatment plan for depression that will help accept your feelings instead of fruitlessly trying to avoid them. This new edition will include skills based on new research and contributions from mindfulness, self-compassion, and neuroscience. Using the skills outlined in this book, you'll be able to work through your depression, experience greater peace and well-being, and go on to create a better life"--
In this chapter, we begin to explore the wealth of research and theory on the implications of mindfulness for emotional experience by examining a variety of models of mindfulness and how they inform mindful emotion regulation. Then, we provide an empirical overview of the role of mindfulness in general emotional states, emotional reactions to stimuli and events, and emotions over time. Within this overview, we provide evidence for several distinct avenues through which mindfulness benefits emotion regulation, including increased willingness to experience negative emotions, reduced reactivity to emotional stimuli and situations, a decentered perspective, and increased emotional stability; we also highlight some research which suggests the neurological underpinnings of mindful emotion regulation. Finally, we link the impact of mindfulness on emotion regulation to behavioral change. Specifically, by highlighting research on smoking, alcohol use, and other addictive behaviors, we demonstrate that emotion regulation serves as a key mechanism in the relationship between mindfulness and some domains of behavioral regulation.
Neuroticism’s prediction of negative emotional outcomes has been linked to negative reactivity tendencies. Dispositional mindfulness, defined in terms of being attentive and aware (versus not) of present-moment reality, appears to mitigate negative reactivity tendencies. The present two studies, involving 289 undergraduate participants, sought to integrate these two personality-processing perspectives. Neuroticism was an inverse predictor of mindfulness and both neuroticism and mindfulness independently predicted trait anger (Study 1) and depressive symptoms (Study 2). Of more importance, neuroticism–outcome relations were stronger (weaker) among individuals low (high) in mindfulness. The results document the role that dispositional mindfulness appears to play in moderating neuroticism’s pernicious correlates. Results are discussed from personality, cognitive, emotional, social, and clinical perspectives.
One perspective on social conflict asserts that attitudes and behavior are relatively independent, thus suggesting that opposing partisans may differ minimally in concrete actions, but may assume great differences in attitude and ideology Alternatively, we proposed that partisans' concrete preferences are linked to ideology, and that partisans would exaggerate the ideological extremity of their opposition These hypotheses were tested within the “Western Canon debate” by asking revisionist and traditionalist partisans (English faculty) to select from a list of 50 books a syllabus of 15 books they would teach in an introductory course and 15 books that they believed their ideological counterparts would choose Consistent with the hypotheses, traditionalists selected books of more traditionalist ideology than did revisionists (who chose more books by female and minority authors) and exaggerated the extremity of revisionists' preferences Revisionists made less ideological book selections and judged traditionalists more accurately This asymmetry may reflect the standing of the two groups relative to the status quo
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Neuroticism is an individual difference variable reflecting proneness to negative emotional experiences. High levels of neuroticism are often associated with impulsivity and behavioral dysregulation. Three studies, involving a total of 226 undergraduate participants, were conducted in an effort to better understand the relationship between neuroticism and behavioral dysregulation. Based on relevant theory, it was hypothesized that relations between neuroticism and behavioral dysregulation would be mediated by individual differences in mindfulness. As hypothesized, neuroticism was an inverse predictor of mindfulness and higher levels of mindfulness were associated with (a) lower levels of impulsivity and (b) higher levels of self-control, both assessed in dispositional terms. Furthermore, mindfulness fully mediated the relations between neuroticism and these outcome variables. On the basis of the findings, then, a mindfulness-mediation perspective of neuroticism's behavioral correlates was supported. Implications focus on personality-process perspectives of neuroticism, clinical considerations, and the role of mindfulness in behavioral self-regulation.
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