Mindfulness-based programs,perceived stress and well-being at work: The preferential use of informal practices

IntroductionOrganizations which engage in the promotion of well-being are likely to prevent mental health issues in workers. Mindfulness-based interventions offer new perspectives to increase well-being at work. However, the issue of finding time and framework to practice at work is important. Recent studies suggested that informal mindfulness practices could be useful in reducing stress and increasing well-being.ObjectiveThe present study aimed to study how the duration and type of mindfulness practice may enhance employees’ well-being.MethodA multi-method (qualitative and quantitative), controlled pre/post design study (N = 72) was conducted to collect data about the type of preferred mindfulness practices used during an 8-week MBSR program, and to analyse the effects of the program on employees’ well-being. Number of sessions, number of days of practice, and practice time per day were used as moderators.ResultsParticipants reported a preferential use of brief, informal practices. Employees who followed the MBSR program reported higher levels of well-being compared to the wait-list control group (η² = .194). Those who preferentially used informal practices showed the same increase in well-being as those who reported preferentially using formal practices. The number of days of practice did not moderate the effect of the intervention on well-being.ConclusionBrief and informal mindfulness practices appear to be a promising means of increasing well-being in everyday life. Further research is needed to compare an 8-week mainly informal mindfulness-based program to a classical MBSR program to identify whether informal practices may be sufficient to increasing employees’ well-being.     

Direct social perception of others’ subjective time

In this paper, I deploy Gallagher et al.’s theory of Direct Social Perception (DSP) to help explain how we perceive others’ subjective time. This process of second-person temporal perception plays an important role in interpersonal interaction, yet is often glossed over in discussions of intersubjectivity. Using A.D. Craig (2009) ‘awareness’ model of subjective time to unify converging evidence that subjective time is embodied, affective, and situated, I argue that subjective time cannot be considered as a hidden or invisible aspect of a private mind, but is partially externally visible through our gestures, expressions, and other behaviours as they unfold within a particular context. My central thesis is that, in face to face interactions, we are able to directly perceive these visible components of other people’s subjective time. This is made possible by our “enculturated” (Menary, 2015) and enactive perceptual faculties. The process of social perception is not a passive, unidirectional affair where static information about one person’s subjective time is transmitted to the other, but rather inextricably linked with action (both at the personal and subpersonal level) and interaction effects produced by a dynamic coupling between participants. Such an enactive perspective reveals how others’ subjective time can be perceived in everyday interactions.     

拖延行为的发展认知机制及神经基础

拖延是指尽管预见到拖延会带来不利后果, 人们仍自愿推迟开始或完成某一计划好的任务。研究表明, 不同文化背景下有15%~20%的成年人存在慢性拖延, 超过70%的学生承认自己存在学业拖延, 部分学生还会形成特质性拖延。严重的拖延不仅影响人们的学业、工作和生活, 甚至还会危害到人们的身心健康。鉴于目前对于拖延产生的核心机制、形成的关键期以及发展认知神经机制还不是很清楚, 本项目拟从拖延的时间决策理论出发, 首先系统探明拖延决策的核心机制, 尤其是远期价值评估、延迟折扣和自我控制能力等在拖延决策过程中的认知加工机制和神经基础; 其次结合行为-环境变量-脑的多模态数据, 从发展角度探究拖延形成的关键期(敏感期)、影响因素以及发展认知神经机制; 最后从行为干预和脑的可塑性角度出发, 试图制定各关键年龄阶段拖延预防与干预的临床方案。本研究的开展对于把握拖延形成的认知机制、神经基础及其发展规律具有重要的科学价值, 对于拖延行为的预防和干预也具有直接的现实意义。     

不患不均？容忍和支持经济不平等的心理学解释

不断加剧的经济不平等问题对个体和社会有着巨大危害,然而人们对经济不平等却有着较高的容忍性。基于个体心理的研究证据,本文提出认知和动机双重路径模型来解释个体容忍和支持经济不平等问题。在认知路径上,个体倾向于低估当前社会的经济不平等程度和将经济不平等评价为公平的;在动机路径上,个体预期经济不平等将带来自我利益的增加。未来研究应进一步整合多重心理机制间的关系,并探索有效干预手段以增加人们对减少经济不平等的支持。     

特征信息和呈现时间对异族面孔知觉的影响

为了探讨面孔认知中内部特征和加工时间对种族判断的影响,采用面孔种族评价任务,选用被试内设计,通过操纵内部特征替换部位,刺激呈现时间,以及种族三个自变量进行研究.结果发现:对中国被试来说,面孔种族信息的获取是一个随时间不断累积信息的过程.在此过程中鼻和口特征并不能提供有效的亚洲和高加索种族信息,眼部特征和构型信息在加工中...     

廖平的《左传》研究

随着今文经学的复兴,晚清学术在今古文学的激烈冲突中展开。在这一过程中,《左传》研究一直是核心的内容。晚清《左传》研究主要呈现出刘逢禄、康有为为代表的今文学与章太炎为代表的古文学两大学派争论的态势。廖平的《左传》研究,与两派的学术路径既有联系,有呈现出不同的学术特色,在晚清学术研究中独树一帜,值得关注。     

Opposite strain-dependent differences for intermale aggressive behavior elicited by individual housing and housing with a female in the mouse

Male mice of the C57BL/6 strain show a significant increase in aggression toward a nonaggressive male conspecific following 72 hr of individual housing. However, this increase was no longer evident following 2 weeks of individual housing. When housed with a female, C57BL/6 mice show significantly more aggression than singly housed mice of the same strain after 72 hr as well as 2, 4, 8 weeks of differential housing. Male C57BL/6 mice housed with a female also show significantly higher levels of aggression than DBA/2 mice living in the same housing condition after 4 or 8 weeks of differential housing. Finally, male DBA/2 mice individually housed for 8 weeks are significantly more aggressive than mice of the same strain housed with a female for the same time. These results indicate that the increase in aggressive behavior observed following isolation and cohabitation with a female in the mouse is not the same phenomenon. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.