The eternal yearning

Parker Palmer defines spirituality as ‘the eternal yearning to be connected with something larger than our own egos’ (2003, 121). This yearning is an innate human need that transcends age, culture, ethnicity and belief. Despite deficit assumptions about young people, they are drawn to this need to surmount the ego and contribute to something larger than their own wants and needs. Two counter stories of young people involved in social activism outline how this is achieved. These are stories of contribution, compassion, empathy and understanding. Implications for schools are outlined including the range of learning that social activism inspires.     

Social and political perspectives on the psychotherapy and counselling profession: Returning caravelles

The counselling and psychotherapy profession is changing. For the first time in its history, it has begun to receive substantial Government funding in the UK and it also has to contend with the principles of evidence-based practice and the policies of the New Public Management systems in many countries. This paper argues that such recent developments present challenges to the profession’s historical apolitical standpoint. More importantly, it argues that the present social and political climate offers many opportunities such as the possibility of learning from psychosocial practices in other countries. The paper will look, in particular, at what can be learned from Latin America and India where mental health care and psychological therapy have adopted grassroots involvement, health-focused approaches and innovatory therapeutic methods.     

The empathetic mind: the essence of human spirituality

The discovery of mirror neurons has led to some exciting research into the role of the brain and human empathy. Empathy is a significant element in human relationality and, therefore, human spirituality. This article will focus on the links between mirror neurons and human empathy and education. It will then examine how technology may be a factor in causing the erosion of empathy in today’s world, leading to school violence and bullying. It will conclude by offering some guidelines for educational programmes which may lead to the nurturing of children’s empathy.     

Spiritual sensitivity in the classroom: a teaching experiment in Finnish upper secondary religious education

The interest to research spirituality in the classroom has been constant over the last decade. However, empirical research into classroom pedagogy and the lived experience of religious education has been scarce. This study describes a small-scale intervention that aimed to promote students’ spiritual reflection in Finnish upper secondary school RE classes by using stimulating tasks. One class (N?=?23) of upper secondary school students (16–18?years of age) participated in the study. Analysis of students’ responses after the silent reflection moments suggested that the tasks were successful in eliciting some level of spiritual reflection for most of the students. In this article, we describe the experiment and the content and nature of this reflection, as well as discuss the advantages and challenges of spiritually sensitive teaching methods in a classroom of heterogeneous worldviews.     

Associations between symptoms of maternal postpartum depression,gestational age and infant social withdrawal: A longitudinal study in a community cohort

Infant social withdrawal is a risk factor for non-optimal child development; thus, it is important to identify risk factors associated with withdrawal. In a large community sample (N = 19,017), we investigate whether symptoms of maternal and partner postpartum depression (PPD; measured with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale) and prematurity are predictors of infant social withdrawal (measured with the Alarm Distress Baby Scale). Withdrawal was assessed at 2–3, 4–7 and 8–12 months postpartum. Linear regressions showed that prematurity predicted higher infant social withdrawal at all time points, and maternal symptoms of PPD were positively associated with withdrawal at 2–3 months. Logistic regressions showed that odds for elevated social withdrawal were increased with elevated levels of maternal symptoms of PPD at 2–3 and 8–12 months. Partner's symptoms of PPD were not associated with withdrawal. Future studies should investigate how PPD symptoms and prematurity may impact the individual development of social withdrawal.     

At the core of cyberaggression: A group-based explanation

In this study, prototypicality of the aggressor was tested as a group-level factor predicting social media users’ active participation in cyberaggression. Participants were exposed to a fictitious conversation, in which either a prototypical versus non-prototypical user posted an aggressive comment as a reply to a provocative comment. In line with self-categorization theory, we hypothesized that bystander participants would post an aggressive comment and rate the aggression as acceptable to a greater extent in the prototypical than in the non-prototypical condition. Furthermore, we predicted that perceived normativity of aggression would mediate the effect of prototypicality. Results supported these predictions and showed that prototypical members affect the extent to which collective aggressive behaviors in online interactions are approved and enacted. These findings highlight the importance of group-level factors in the study of cyberaggression and provide important information for understanding the psychological underpinnings of collective forms of online aggression.     

累积生态风险与高职生学习倦怠：消极自我图式和网络成瘾的中介作用

采用累积生态风险问卷、消极自我图式问卷、网络成瘾问卷以及学习倦怠问卷对湖南省4所高职院校的664名高职生进行调查,考察累积生态风险与高职生学习倦怠的关系以及消极自我图式、网络成瘾的中介作用。结果发现:(1)高职生累积生态风险、消极自我图式、网络成瘾和学习倦怠均呈显著正相关;(2)高职生累积生态风险对学习倦怠的直接效应和间接效应均显著。间接效应包括了三条路径:通过消极自我图式的中介作用、通过网络成瘾的中介作用以及通过消极自我图式和网络成瘾的链式中介作用。这一结论有助于理解累积生态风险对学习倦怠的作用机制,为降低高职生的学习倦怠提供参考建议。     

分段是视频学习的有效方式吗?

教育心理学中的分段原则认为,将视频学习材料分割成几个小片段进行学习的效果更好。以往关于分段的研究通过两个角度的操纵考察了分段在学习中的作用,一方面是交互性角度,学习者自己控制的分段及系统分段;另一方面是结构性角度,分段是在任意时间点划分和有意义时间点上划分。通过对以往研究结果的整理发现,大部分研究证明分段学习相较于连续学习的成绩更好,并且能降低学习者在学习过程中的感知难度, 提高积极的情感状态,但是对心理努力的影响比较微弱。研究者们从事件分割理论和认知负荷理论的视角对分段的效果做出了解释。未来研究需要继续关注分段的边界条件、拓宽研究的范围、探究分段的认知神经基础等不断完善分段原则在教学中的应用。     

早期亲子触觉经验促进个体社会性发展的心理机制

近期研究显示,早期亲子触觉经验和个体的社会性发展存在密切联系。关于这种联系产生的原因,已有研究多从神经科学的角度,探讨CT传入神经(C-tactile afferents)及有关环路在其间可能起到的作用。基于已有文献,本文将提出一个综合模型,系统阐述背后涉及的心理机制,着重论证亲子关系、个体探索行为以及与之关联的心理成分在其间扮演的角色,并在此基础上从研究设计的局限、有关变量关系的多元性以及未来可拓展方向对该领域研究进行进一步讨论和展望。     

控制和外界客体社会效价对身体拥有感的影响

研究采用运动橡胶手错觉范式,操纵了“控制”和“社会效价”两个变量,通过行为实验探讨了控制和社会效价对身体拥有感的影响。结果发现,与“被动控制”条件相比,“主动控制”条件产生了更强的拥有感; 与“不利”条件相比,“有利”条件产生了更强的拥有感。且“控制”和“社会效价”的交互作用显著:无论哪种控制条件,有利条件下的拥有感都显著高于不利条件下的拥有感; 无论哪种效价条件,主动控制条件下的拥有感均显著高于被动控制条件下的拥有感。该结果表明,控制和社会效价是产生身体拥有感的条件。研究结果为提高假肢佩戴者对假肢的心理接纳程度提供了有益的训练途径。