Research Articles and Additional Links
In this section you will find additional background information about areas of study, theories and theorists we are studying in this course. None of these materials are required reading, but will help you get started learning more about the ideas we are exploring. I will give web cites for things I post here so you can search further. The materials I pick for this section come from sources a college student would use...Many are from universities and professors, in fact. I will also include links to TED talks and RSA Animate videos that are relevant to our studies. If you find something that you think should be in this section, let me know so I can include it! Explore and Enjoy !
More From Positive Psychology
Matthieu Ricard TED Talk Notes
http://www.ted.com/talks/matthieu_ricard_on_the_habits_of_happiness.html
Happiness is his specialty. He uses the terms happiness and well-being interchangeably in this talk.
He asserts that everyone wants an end to suffering. Everything we do, hope or dream somehow has connected to it a deep desire for happiness. Even the person who commits suicide is seeking an end to suffering.
Definitions of happiness vary widely. Henri Bergson (French philosopher) has said that all great thinkers have defined happiness in “the vague” so that each of them can define their own terms. But if happiness is going to be something that determines the quality of how we experience our life, we had better know what it is.
Sometimes we appear to run toward suffering instead of happiness. There is confusion about “what is happiness”. We confuse pleasure and happiness. Pleasure is contingent upon circumstance. Sources of pleasure use themselves up (chocolate cake is good first piece. Eat the whole cake and not so pleasurable…same with a fire when cold, or endless hearing of 1 piece of music). It uses itself up as you experience it. Pleasure comes from extrinsic sources (outside yourself).
Well-being in the Buddhist view is not just a pleasurable sensation. It is a deep sense of serenity and fulfillment that underlies all emotional states and all of the joys and sorrows that can come ones’ way.
Can we then have this sense of well-being while being sad? Yes, we are speaking of a different level of experience. He uses the metaphor of the ocean to show the different effect of levels of consciousness. The depth is not disturbed by what is on the surface. If we always stay in shallow water by the shore we are more affected by the action of the waves and the surface qualities of the water.
When seeking happiness if we begin with the outside…if we try to collect the things that will make us happy…this spells the doom of the experience. We are setting outer conditions for an inner experience. “ Our control of the outer world is limited, temporary and often illusory.” “Now look at the inner conditions. Isn’t it the mind that translates the outer conditions into happiness and suffering? And isn’t that stronger?”
The Dalai Lama speaks about an unhappy man with all in the world he could want. This man will only seek an end to suffering inside. We know of many people who in difficult circumstances manage to keep serenity, inner strength, inner confidence, and freedom. Although it is wonderful when you have the outer circumstances of material success, education, health, etc., they are not enough. The experience that translates our feeling is within the mind.
Which are the inner conditions that help us to find happiness, and which are those that will undermine happiness? If we look to our own experience we find that certain states undermine happiness. Anger, hatred, jealousy, arrogance, obsessive desire, strong grasping, are some of those inner states that undermine our own happiness and are detrimental to others also. So the more those states invade our mind the more we feel tormented. At the opposite end of things, acts of generosity make us feel good deep within and serve as their own reward.
Is it possible to change the nature of mind to create conditions for happiness? What is the nature of mind? Mind in this case refers to consciousness. Consciousness is like a mirror. It reflects what is before it without being modified by those things. Behind every single thought there is bare awareness, pure consciousness, which remains unmodified by circumstances. This means that we can change, because all emotions are fleeting. That is the ground for mind training. It is based on the idea that 2 opposite mental factors cannot be there at the same time. You cannot at the same moment shake hands and deliver a blow. This means that there are natural antidotes to destructive emotional states. (This refers to the 8 fears and their antidotes in your recent handout.) In this way you find individual antidotes to specific mental states.
Another way is to find a single antidote to all negative emotions. Negative emotions reinforce themselves; they provide irritating repetition (compulsively). If we merely look directly at the emotional state, without feeding it, it will begin to dissolve. If we do this over and over, the propensity for that state to arise will become less and less. In the end, when it arises, it will just cross the mind without taking hold. This takes time, as it took time to develop the bad habits of thought.
Meditation is a method for doing this, for bringing our mind into congruence with the fluid movement of consciousness that is our actual human nature. Meditation interfaces with science. By studying the brains of longtime meditators we can see the changes in brain states brought about by the habit of loving kindness for instance. There are labs in Madison WI, and Berkeley CA. doing research on this. Using expert meditators and 150 control subjects, the results show that the expert meditators can achieve a state of well-being that is far outside the bell curve for regular human experience. They have, indeed, changes their mind state to reflect a generalized compassion for all. (As measured by FMRI studies in one case, and by studying reactions to shocking stimuli in another)
Happiness is his specialty. He uses the terms happiness and well-being interchangeably in this talk.
He asserts that everyone wants an end to suffering. Everything we do, hope or dream somehow has connected to it a deep desire for happiness. Even the person who commits suicide is seeking an end to suffering.
Definitions of happiness vary widely. Henri Bergson (French philosopher) has said that all great thinkers have defined happiness in “the vague” so that each of them can define their own terms. But if happiness is going to be something that determines the quality of how we experience our life, we had better know what it is.
Sometimes we appear to run toward suffering instead of happiness. There is confusion about “what is happiness”. We confuse pleasure and happiness. Pleasure is contingent upon circumstance. Sources of pleasure use themselves up (chocolate cake is good first piece. Eat the whole cake and not so pleasurable…same with a fire when cold, or endless hearing of 1 piece of music). It uses itself up as you experience it. Pleasure comes from extrinsic sources (outside yourself).
Well-being in the Buddhist view is not just a pleasurable sensation. It is a deep sense of serenity and fulfillment that underlies all emotional states and all of the joys and sorrows that can come ones’ way.
Can we then have this sense of well-being while being sad? Yes, we are speaking of a different level of experience. He uses the metaphor of the ocean to show the different effect of levels of consciousness. The depth is not disturbed by what is on the surface. If we always stay in shallow water by the shore we are more affected by the action of the waves and the surface qualities of the water.
When seeking happiness if we begin with the outside…if we try to collect the things that will make us happy…this spells the doom of the experience. We are setting outer conditions for an inner experience. “ Our control of the outer world is limited, temporary and often illusory.” “Now look at the inner conditions. Isn’t it the mind that translates the outer conditions into happiness and suffering? And isn’t that stronger?”
The Dalai Lama speaks about an unhappy man with all in the world he could want. This man will only seek an end to suffering inside. We know of many people who in difficult circumstances manage to keep serenity, inner strength, inner confidence, and freedom. Although it is wonderful when you have the outer circumstances of material success, education, health, etc., they are not enough. The experience that translates our feeling is within the mind.
Which are the inner conditions that help us to find happiness, and which are those that will undermine happiness? If we look to our own experience we find that certain states undermine happiness. Anger, hatred, jealousy, arrogance, obsessive desire, strong grasping, are some of those inner states that undermine our own happiness and are detrimental to others also. So the more those states invade our mind the more we feel tormented. At the opposite end of things, acts of generosity make us feel good deep within and serve as their own reward.
Is it possible to change the nature of mind to create conditions for happiness? What is the nature of mind? Mind in this case refers to consciousness. Consciousness is like a mirror. It reflects what is before it without being modified by those things. Behind every single thought there is bare awareness, pure consciousness, which remains unmodified by circumstances. This means that we can change, because all emotions are fleeting. That is the ground for mind training. It is based on the idea that 2 opposite mental factors cannot be there at the same time. You cannot at the same moment shake hands and deliver a blow. This means that there are natural antidotes to destructive emotional states. (This refers to the 8 fears and their antidotes in your recent handout.) In this way you find individual antidotes to specific mental states.
Another way is to find a single antidote to all negative emotions. Negative emotions reinforce themselves; they provide irritating repetition (compulsively). If we merely look directly at the emotional state, without feeding it, it will begin to dissolve. If we do this over and over, the propensity for that state to arise will become less and less. In the end, when it arises, it will just cross the mind without taking hold. This takes time, as it took time to develop the bad habits of thought.
Meditation is a method for doing this, for bringing our mind into congruence with the fluid movement of consciousness that is our actual human nature. Meditation interfaces with science. By studying the brains of longtime meditators we can see the changes in brain states brought about by the habit of loving kindness for instance. There are labs in Madison WI, and Berkeley CA. doing research on this. Using expert meditators and 150 control subjects, the results show that the expert meditators can achieve a state of well-being that is far outside the bell curve for regular human experience. They have, indeed, changes their mind state to reflect a generalized compassion for all. (As measured by FMRI studies in one case, and by studying reactions to shocking stimuli in another)
Theories About Listening
CARL ROGERS: SUMMARY OF TERMS
source:
http://www.sonoma.edu/people/daniels/rogers.html
Nondirective," "client-centered," and "person-centered." are the terms Rogers used successively, at different points in his career, for his method. This method involves removing obstacles so the client can move forward, freeing him or her for normal growth and development. It emphasizes being fully present with the client and helping the latter truly feel his or her own feelings, desires, etc.. Being "nondirective" lets the client deal with what he or she considers important, at his or her own pace.
Avoidance of Argument. Rogers was willing state his own position clearly, and hear you out and listen to your position carefully. He asked, "Can we learn from each other?" He was not interested in winning arguments.
Case histories. Rogers was the first person to record and publish complete cases of psychotherapy.
Congruence. Open, authentic, communication in which the way I present myself to the world matches what I think and feel at a deeper level. (Incongruence is similar to Jung's persona, or wearing a mask." It may be conscious deception or unconscious self-deception.) Rogers writes, "I have found, in my relations with persons, that in the long run it does not help to pretend to be something I am not."
Avoidance of Control; Responsibility for self. The person-centered therapist consciously avoids control over, or decision-making, for the client, so that the client becomes responsible for himself or herself. This changes the power relationship between therapist and client by putting the control over decision-making, as well as the responsibility for decisions, in the hands of the client.
Curiosity. Rogers was deeply curious. He wanted to really sense, hear, feel what life was like for the other person. He had a phenomenological attitude.
Education. Rogers views our schools as generally rigid, bureaucratic institutions which are resistant to change. Applied to education, his approach becomes "student-centered learning" in which the students are trusted to participate in developing and to take charge of their own learning agendas. The most difficult thing in teaching is to let learn.
Empathic understanding: to try to take in and accept a client's perceptions and feelings as if they were your own, but without losing your boundary/sense of selve.
The facts are always friendly. If new evidence shows that our opinions, views, and hypotheses are mistaken, it leads us closer to what is true. This is learning, and though sometimes painful, it leads to a jore accurate way of seeing life.
Feelings. "A vitally important part of therapy is for the person to learn to recognize and express his feelings as his own feelings, not as a fact about another person." For example, "I feel annoyed by what you are doing," rather than, "What you are doing is all wrong."
The Fully-Functioning Person. Rogers' term for an "ideal personality." A person who is open to her own experience, lives in the moment in an existential fashion, and is fully connected to her own stream of consciousness, which is constantly changing. She trusts her organism and does what "feels right" in a situation. To be "fully functioning" is not a finished state, but a direction we can be moving in.
Human nature. Rogers believed that at a basic level, human beings are good and trustworthy. The more fully-functioning a person is, the more that basic nature will be evidence.
Inner Freedom. This involves freedom from such things as threat, and freedom to choose and be.
Judgment, evaluation, approval or disapproval of another person. "This tendency to react to any emotionally meaningful statement by forming an evaluation of it from our own point of view is the major barrier to interpersonal communication."
Learning. Significant learning is self-initiated, it has a quality of personal involvement, and it is evaluated by the learner. Meaningful learning is self-directed, experiential, and uses both intellectual and intuitive processes.
Listening. As a person learns to listen to himself he becomes more accepting of himself.
Living in the moment. If I say, "I am this," or "I am that," it is already past. For example, as soon as I can say, "I'm being defensive," that itself changes things.
Organismic values. Basic positive human and social values that appear to be common to all people at a deep level. These tend to emerge as a person becomes more open to his or her deep experience.
Personal growth. Rogers' clients tend to move away from facades, away from "oughts," and away from pleasing others as a goal in itself. Then tend to move toward being real, toward self-direction, and toward positively valuing oneself and one's own feelings. Then learn to prefer the excitement of being a process to being something fixed and static. They come to value an openness to inner and outer experiences, sensitivity-to and acceptance-of others as they are, and develop greater abilityachieve close relationships.
Politics of relationships and therapy. How persons maneuver or position themselves for power and control within relationships, both personal and therapeutic.
Politics in a broader sense. Applying Rogers' perspective, Assemblyman John Vasconcellos says, "The basic struggle in politics is between those who think people should be free to control their own destiny, and those who think everyone should be controlled."
Reflection, reflective listening, "active listening." A therapeutic technique in which the therapist mirrors or repeats, in his or her own words, what the client has just said.
Research. Rogers was an early advocate for research on the effectiveness of therapeutic approaches.
Transparency involves expressing my deep feelings, as my feelings rather than as facts about another, revealing myself as a person, real and imperfect as I am, in my relationship with another.
Unconditional positive regard. To give a client or person my full, caring attention without judging or evaluating them. "It is a kind of liking which has strength, and which is not demanding."
What is most personal is most general. The most private, personal feelings are often those which, if shared, would speak to others most directly.
Willingness for another to be separate: Allowing others to have different beliefs, feelings, values, and goals than you do.
*********************************************************
http://www.sonoma.edu/people/daniels/rogers.html
Nondirective," "client-centered," and "person-centered." are the terms Rogers used successively, at different points in his career, for his method. This method involves removing obstacles so the client can move forward, freeing him or her for normal growth and development. It emphasizes being fully present with the client and helping the latter truly feel his or her own feelings, desires, etc.. Being "nondirective" lets the client deal with what he or she considers important, at his or her own pace.
Avoidance of Argument. Rogers was willing state his own position clearly, and hear you out and listen to your position carefully. He asked, "Can we learn from each other?" He was not interested in winning arguments.
Case histories. Rogers was the first person to record and publish complete cases of psychotherapy.
Congruence. Open, authentic, communication in which the way I present myself to the world matches what I think and feel at a deeper level. (Incongruence is similar to Jung's persona, or wearing a mask." It may be conscious deception or unconscious self-deception.) Rogers writes, "I have found, in my relations with persons, that in the long run it does not help to pretend to be something I am not."
Avoidance of Control; Responsibility for self. The person-centered therapist consciously avoids control over, or decision-making, for the client, so that the client becomes responsible for himself or herself. This changes the power relationship between therapist and client by putting the control over decision-making, as well as the responsibility for decisions, in the hands of the client.
Curiosity. Rogers was deeply curious. He wanted to really sense, hear, feel what life was like for the other person. He had a phenomenological attitude.
Education. Rogers views our schools as generally rigid, bureaucratic institutions which are resistant to change. Applied to education, his approach becomes "student-centered learning" in which the students are trusted to participate in developing and to take charge of their own learning agendas. The most difficult thing in teaching is to let learn.
Empathic understanding: to try to take in and accept a client's perceptions and feelings as if they were your own, but without losing your boundary/sense of selve.
The facts are always friendly. If new evidence shows that our opinions, views, and hypotheses are mistaken, it leads us closer to what is true. This is learning, and though sometimes painful, it leads to a jore accurate way of seeing life.
Feelings. "A vitally important part of therapy is for the person to learn to recognize and express his feelings as his own feelings, not as a fact about another person." For example, "I feel annoyed by what you are doing," rather than, "What you are doing is all wrong."
The Fully-Functioning Person. Rogers' term for an "ideal personality." A person who is open to her own experience, lives in the moment in an existential fashion, and is fully connected to her own stream of consciousness, which is constantly changing. She trusts her organism and does what "feels right" in a situation. To be "fully functioning" is not a finished state, but a direction we can be moving in.
Human nature. Rogers believed that at a basic level, human beings are good and trustworthy. The more fully-functioning a person is, the more that basic nature will be evidence.
Inner Freedom. This involves freedom from such things as threat, and freedom to choose and be.
Judgment, evaluation, approval or disapproval of another person. "This tendency to react to any emotionally meaningful statement by forming an evaluation of it from our own point of view is the major barrier to interpersonal communication."
Learning. Significant learning is self-initiated, it has a quality of personal involvement, and it is evaluated by the learner. Meaningful learning is self-directed, experiential, and uses both intellectual and intuitive processes.
Listening. As a person learns to listen to himself he becomes more accepting of himself.
Living in the moment. If I say, "I am this," or "I am that," it is already past. For example, as soon as I can say, "I'm being defensive," that itself changes things.
Organismic values. Basic positive human and social values that appear to be common to all people at a deep level. These tend to emerge as a person becomes more open to his or her deep experience.
Personal growth. Rogers' clients tend to move away from facades, away from "oughts," and away from pleasing others as a goal in itself. Then tend to move toward being real, toward self-direction, and toward positively valuing oneself and one's own feelings. Then learn to prefer the excitement of being a process to being something fixed and static. They come to value an openness to inner and outer experiences, sensitivity-to and acceptance-of others as they are, and develop greater abilityachieve close relationships.
Politics of relationships and therapy. How persons maneuver or position themselves for power and control within relationships, both personal and therapeutic.
Politics in a broader sense. Applying Rogers' perspective, Assemblyman John Vasconcellos says, "The basic struggle in politics is between those who think people should be free to control their own destiny, and those who think everyone should be controlled."
Reflection, reflective listening, "active listening." A therapeutic technique in which the therapist mirrors or repeats, in his or her own words, what the client has just said.
Research. Rogers was an early advocate for research on the effectiveness of therapeutic approaches.
Transparency involves expressing my deep feelings, as my feelings rather than as facts about another, revealing myself as a person, real and imperfect as I am, in my relationship with another.
Unconditional positive regard. To give a client or person my full, caring attention without judging or evaluating them. "It is a kind of liking which has strength, and which is not demanding."
What is most personal is most general. The most private, personal feelings are often those which, if shared, would speak to others most directly.
Willingness for another to be separate: Allowing others to have different beliefs, feelings, values, and goals than you do.
*********************************************************
RSA Animate Talks
Ken Robinson: Changing education paradigms In this talk from RSA Animate, Sir Ken Robinson lays out the link between 3 troubling trends: rising drop-out rates, schools' dwindling stake in the arts, and ADHD. An important, timely talk for parents and teachers.
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/ken_robinson_changing_education_paradigms.html
Personality Theories
http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/perscontents.html
Author: Dr. C. George Boeree
Professor Emeritus
Psychology Department
Shippensburg University
"This is an electronic textbook ("e-text") created for my students in Personality Theories. In fact, it is the first free e-text in psychology, originally presented in 1997!
Although it is copyrighted, you may download it or print it without permission from the author, as long as the material is used only for personal or educational purposes, and the source is indicated. "
**************************************************************************************************************
Hi guys. Ann here. I use several of the chapters of this e-text to present some of the theories and theorists we cover in our class. Dr. Boeree is a "Freudian" by orientation, as were many of the theorists he writes about, and his explanations are clear and his research is thorough. Go here for more information about Carl Rogers, Abraham Maslow, and Erik Erikson.
Author: Dr. C. George Boeree
Professor Emeritus
Psychology Department
Shippensburg University
"This is an electronic textbook ("e-text") created for my students in Personality Theories. In fact, it is the first free e-text in psychology, originally presented in 1997!
Although it is copyrighted, you may download it or print it without permission from the author, as long as the material is used only for personal or educational purposes, and the source is indicated. "
**************************************************************************************************************
Hi guys. Ann here. I use several of the chapters of this e-text to present some of the theories and theorists we cover in our class. Dr. Boeree is a "Freudian" by orientation, as were many of the theorists he writes about, and his explanations are clear and his research is thorough. Go here for more information about Carl Rogers, Abraham Maslow, and Erik Erikson.
Source Possibilities for Self Directed Readings
Scientific American Mind
http://www.scientificamerican.com/magazine/mind/ (I will bring in my recent issues for you to borrow also.)
Psychology Today
http://www.psychologytoday.com
Upworthy (blog site)
http://www.upworthy.com
The Daily Good (blog site)
http://www.dailygood.org
Chris Peterson's blog archives (Chris was a leader in the field of Positive Psychology who taught at UM until his death in 2012. His articles are wonderful.)
http://www.coachingtowardhappiness.com/archive/peterson.htm
You can also use TED Talks, RSA Animate videos, interviews with folks you find on YouTube, etc. There are many other sources and you should feel free to get creative. Use your favorites. This is an excuse for you to explore whatever you want to know more about and get credit for doing it!
TED Talk by Julian Treasure on 5 ways to listen better.
RSA Animate talk by Jeremy Rifkin, The Empathic Civilization
TED talk by Jill Bolte Taylor, My Stroke of Insight (The role of brain hemispheres in developing compassion)
RSA Animate talk by Jeremy Rifkin, The Empathic Civilization
TED talk by Jill Bolte Taylor, My Stroke of Insight (The role of brain hemispheres in developing compassion)