The View From The Cushion: Zen Challenges To duality In The Contemporary Practice Situation1

Based on participant-observation fieldwork, interviews with western Zen practitioners, public dharma talks and personal interviews given by two contemporary Sōtō Zen teachers (Hōgen Yamahata and Ekai Korematsu), this paper explores the challenges to ‘everyday’ dualistic thought structures that Zen practice poses to the questioning student and the ontological and epistemological significance of these challenges to the worldview of the experiencing student. First, the teaching styles and non-dual emphases of the two teachers in the context of teacher/student exchanges are examined; and, secondly, the experiential challenges and changes in worldview from the practitioner's point of view are phenomenologically explored. By teasing out the parallels and links between the phenomenology of Zen practice and the philosophical underpinnings of Zen practice instructions, foundational philosophical tenets can be shown ‘in action’ in the contemporary practice situation and a window is opened on the ontological and epistemological significance of the experiential impact of Zen teachings.     

Understanding physical activity behavior and cognitions in pregnant women: An application of self-determination theory

ObjectivesAlthough regular exercise during pregnancy is linked with improved health outcomes for both mother and foetus, many pregnant women are inactive. The purpose of this study was to use organismic integration theory (OIT) as the guiding theory for examining the relationship between autonomous and controlled motives for (a) exercise behavior reported over a typical week and barriers to exercise and (b) exercise and stage of pregnancy (i.e., trimester).DesignCross-sectional.MethodsParticipants (N = 75) were pregnant women who completed a multi-component, Internet-based survey.ResultsMultiple regression analyses showed that identified regulation predicted greater exercise behavior and fewer exercise barriers, irrespective of trimester. Further analyses indicated that women in the first trimester reported significantly higher identified regulation compared to women in either second or third trimesters.ConclusionsOverall, these findings reinforce the importance of distinguishing controlled from autonomous exercise motives and demonstrate the tenability of OIT for enhancing our understanding of exercise behavior and barriers during pregnancy.     

Five-Factor Measure of Borderline Personality Traits

This study provides psychometric data for a new self-report measure of borderline personality traits from the perspective of the Five-factor model (FFM) of general personality. Subscales were constructed in an undergraduate sample (n = 109) to assess maladaptive variants of 12 FFM traits (e.g., Affective Dysregulation as a maladaptive variant of FFM Vulnerability). On the basis of data from a second undergraduate sample (n = 111), the Five Factor Borderline Inventory (FFBI) subscales were shown to have good internal consistency, convergent, discriminant, and incremental validity. These psychometric results were replicated in a clinical sample of female residents at a substance abuse treatment facility (n = 94).     

Comparison of Two Tests of Executive Functioning

In order to investigate the effects of a difficult vs. easier task on state-trait anxiety in emotionally disturbed children (N = 30 boys and girls), older (mean age 12.81) and younger (mean age 9.89) groups were exposed to two lists of nonsense syllables, varying on meaningfulness (0% vs. 100%) with measures of A-State and A-Trait anxiety being obtained during a no-stress period and immediately after each list. The results indicated that the younger group did not show any difference in A-State following the two lists, while the older group showed significantly more A-State increase following the difficult list. Results were discussed in terms of previous research, and in terms of possible explanations for the differences between the reactions of the older and younger children.     

Life Events and Prosocial Behaviors Among Young Adults: Considering the Roles of Perspective Taking and Empathic Concern

The authors examined the altruism born of suffering model in a culturally diverse sample of young adults. They hypothesized that major life events would interact with perspective taking to predict empathic concern, which would predict multiple types of prosocial behaviors among young adults. The sample included 202 young adults (M age = 20.94?years; 76.5% girls; 36.5% White, 50.5% Latino) who reported on their exposure to major life events, perspective taking and empathic responding, and tendency to engage in six forms of prosocial behaviors. Life events indirectly, positively predicted prosocial behaviors via empathic concern. Empathic concern and perspective taking also interacted to predict empathic responding. The results demonstrated links that support the altruism born of suffering model, suggesting that life stressors might not always be negative and might promote resilience and social connection among young adults under specific conditions.     

Innovation in Technology-Aided Psychotherapy Through Human Factors/Ergonomics: Toward a Collaborative Approach

Technologies are being used increasingly to aid psychotherapy and are becoming an integral part of mental health treatment. Although prior studies compared technology-aided psychotherapy (TAP) to traditional treatments, there are insufficient studies of the impact that specific design parameters and use of the technologies may have on the client and therapist, and treatment outcomes. This requires an understanding of human–technology interaction, which is the focus of the field of Human Factors and Ergonomics (HF/E). The goal of this article is to raise awareness of the importance of the human–technology interaction in TAP, and to foster collaborations between psychotherapists and HF/E professionals. Toward these aims, this article examines the implications of findings in HF/E for the use of technologies (videoconferencing, text-based communication, and virtual environments) in psychotherapy. It is suggested that the manner in which technologies are designed and used may have important effects on the therapeutic alliance and treatment outcomes, and in some cases (side effects of virtual reality) the health and safety of the client. Future research should examine effects of specific design factors on treatment including variables such as the visibility of gestures and degree of eye contact during videoconferencing, response delays during text-messaging, and presence and adverse effects when using virtual environments. Studies that compare TAP to traditional methods should report as much detail as possible about the human–technology interaction. It is essential that psychotherapists and HF/E professionals conduct research collaboratively to develop effective and innovative technologies and, ultimately, design principles for TAP.     

Prospective Risk Factors for Adolescent PTSD: Sources of Differential Exposure and Differential Vulnerability

There are two types of risk factors for developing PTSD: factors that increase the likelihood of experiencing a potentially traumatizing event and factors that increase the likelihood of developing symptoms following such events. Using prospective data over a two-year period from a large, diverse sample of urban adolescents (n?=?1242, Mean age?=?13.5), the current study differentiates these two sources of risk for developing PTSD in response to violence exposure. Five domains of potential risk and protective factors were examined: community context (e.g., neighborhood poverty), family risk (e.g., family conflict), behavioral maladjustment (e.g., internalizing symptoms), cognitive vulnerabilities (e.g., low IQ), and interpersonal problems (e.g., low social support). Time 1 interpersonal violence history, externalizing behaviors, and association with deviant peers were the best predictors of subsequent violence, but did not further increase the likelihood of PTSD in response to violence. Race/ethnicity, thought disorder symptoms, and social problems were distinctly predictive of the development of PTSD following violence exposure. Among youth exposed to violence, Time 1 risk factors did not predict specific event features associated with elevated PTSD rates (e.g., parent as perpetrator), nor did interactions between Time 1 factors and event features add significantly to the prediction of PTSD diagnosis. Findings highlight areas for refinement in adolescent PTSD symptom measures and conceptualization, and provide direction for more targeted prevention and intervention efforts.     

The influence of red on impression formation in a job application context

Recent research has shown that the color red can influence psychological functioning. In the present research we tested the hypothesis that red influences impression formation related to another person’s abilities. We conducted three experiments examining the influence of red on the evaluation of male target persons. In Experiment 1, participants viewing red, relative to green, on the shirt of a person presented on a photograph perceived him to be less intelligent. This effect was strongest in a job application context compared to other contexts. In Experiment 2, focusing solely on the job application context, participants viewing red, relative to blue, on an applicants’ tie perceived him to have less earning and leadership potential. In Experiment 3, participants viewing red, relative to green, on a job applicants’ tie rated him as less likely to be hired, and perceptions of ability and leadership potential mediated this effect. Both the conceptual and applied implications of these findings are discussed.