Mindfulness, sense of self, well being

what is one main finding found across studies on meditaation

change in activity of the insule (important in body awareness)

activity of the insula modulated in difference ways depending on the types of practices

what does paying attention to physical emotional and cognitive components of one"s own experience do?

promotes integration activating many of the same circuit naturally stimulated in childhood

letting go of the...

sense of I is the supreme happiness!

why is letting go of the sense of self important?

it attempts to process or suppress negative thoughts and emotions tied up in our energetic resources

what areas of the brain are associated with meditation?

medial prefrontal and DMN - decreased processing and rumination

meditation techniques for letting go of the self

what is the mind obdy connection?

our body is actually our mind, and that we are a lot more than we think.

the small sense of self we normally identify is an arbitrary construct based on senosry feedback system

Why might there be conflicting ideas on evidence of the effect of self esteem on happiness?

failure to distinguish between:

true self esteem, involves self accepticance, authenticity, and self efficiacy. associated with losing ourselves in relatoinships and purposes larger than oursleves

a bogus ego inflation/narcissms

nathaniel brendens self esteem exercise is largely about....

developing self-acceptance and connecting with one's own integrity/authenticity.

why is cultaitving self esteem important

reduces the tendency to engage in social comparison

difference between happy and unhappy people in terms of self esteem

unhappy people continualtly compare themselves with others

happy people use more internal standard to judge themselves.

Factors that promote unhealthy comparison

social media: lowers self esteem and increases depressive symptoms

being praised for ones ability:

in a study conducted on students, students who were praised for their intelligence choise to find out their class rank rather than use their time to prepare for the second test.

Self esteem is one of the main factors correlated with happiness and well being (T/F)

True

what are the positive benefits of focusing on strengths?

patients with major depression who were encouraged to focus on their strengths experienced greater relief from depression than matched controls, even those taking antidepressant medications.

sucessful people focus on improving their strengths rather than overcoming their weaknesses (T/F)

True

the confidence and fulfillment one gains overrides weaknesses

What is the neural basis of self esteem?

areas related to self-referential processing

DMN

medial prefrontal

precuneus

ventro-medial prefrontal

congulate cortex

What is internal locus of control?

the perception that one control one's own fate

What is external locus of control?

the perception that chance or outside forces beyond one's personal control determine one's fate

people with internal locus of control vs external locs of control

people with internal locus of control rather than external locus of control acheieve more in school, work and act more independently.

enjoy health, feel less depressed

perceived more positivity by others when they take responsibility for mistakes

what are the neural correlates of locus of control

internal locus of control positive correlated with gray matter volume in anterior cingulate cortex and anterior insula.

white matter volume in the striatum

wat is associated with locus of control?

cognitive, socio-emotional, self-regulatory, and reward systems might be associated with internal locus of control orientation