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Diffstat (limited to 'stanzione')
-rw-r--r-- | stanzione/Makefile | 7 | ||||
-rw-r--r-- | stanzione/mm1.tex | 25 | ||||
-rw-r--r-- | stanzione/mm2.tex | 101 | ||||
-rw-r--r-- | stanzione/mm3.tex | 104 | ||||
-rw-r--r-- | stanzione/sources.bib | 45 | ||||
-rw-r--r-- | stanzione/zimbardo.webp | bin | 0 -> 16138 bytes |
6 files changed, 267 insertions, 15 deletions
diff --git a/stanzione/Makefile b/stanzione/Makefile index 4a3f928..3757fc9 100644 --- a/stanzione/Makefile +++ b/stanzione/Makefile @@ -1,7 +1,7 @@ .POSIX: .SUFFIXES: .tex .pdf -PDFS = mm1.pdf +PDFS = mm1.pdf mm2.pdf mm3.pdf PDFLATEX = pdflatex BIBER = biber @@ -21,5 +21,10 @@ clean: mm1.pdf: yang.jpg +mm3.pdf: zimbardo.jpg + yang.jpg: curl -o yang.jpg "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/Yang-single_%28restoration%29.jpg" + +zimbardo.jpg: zimbardo.webp + magick zimbardo.webp zimbardo.jpg diff --git a/stanzione/mm1.tex b/stanzione/mm1.tex index a03d49d..545b80b 100644 --- a/stanzione/mm1.tex +++ b/stanzione/mm1.tex @@ -9,17 +9,17 @@ % \raggedright % \language255 % no hyphenation \parindent=.5in -\linespread{1.85} +\linespread{1.89} -\shorttitle{Mastery Mailing 1} +\shorttitle{Meditation and Your Second Self} \addbibresource{sources.bib} \leftheader{Rohrer} \begin{document} +\centerline{\textbf{Mastery Mailing 1: Meditation and Your Second Self}} Hi Nana! -\medskip I'm learning about meditation in psychology class, and I think you'd be interested in the subjective effects of ``open monitoring'' meditation. @@ -35,9 +35,9 @@ conflated with so many different subjective experiences, news articles and new studies can't reliably mean 20-minute open-monitoring sessions or a global change in perception/awareness \autocite{doubt}. -My textbook says that ``meditation involves using a mental or physical -technique to induce a state of focused attention and heightened -awereness'' \autocite[145]{textbook}. +My textbook says that meditation is a general category for hundreds of +different practices that focus attention or make you more aware of +internal and external sensations \autocite[145]{textbook}. You're probably already familiar with some techniques of meditation, either from a religious (probably Buddhist) perspective or a secular perspective, but I'll examine a couple of techniques to see what @@ -47,15 +47,16 @@ Focused attention empties the mind of intrusive thoughts by thinking only about an object or your breathing or even movement (like in Tai Chi). Open monitoring is often transitioned to after focusing on breathing, -but experts eventually can reach this state through ``effortless -concentration'' \autocite{lutz} +but experts eventually can reach this state through effortless +concentration \autocite{lutz} Open monitoring is acting as a passive observer of your own thoughts and external sensations. \begin{figure}[ht] \begin{center} \includegraphics[height=2.5in]{yang} - \par\emph{A Practioner of Tai Chi. Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons} + \par\emph{A Practioner of Tai Chi. Unknown author, Public domain, + via Wikimedia Commons} \end{center} \end{figure} @@ -73,8 +74,10 @@ businesspeople) who all experienced depersonalization. They report feeling mildly content and entirely lack strong emotions, and many are totally accustomed to work happening outside of their ``self.'' -However, as one Mr. A said, ``I don't want to leave the thing sounding -better than it is, because it's not bad, but it's not wonderful.'' +However, the interviewees included in this study didn't revere +dissociation as much as religious texts on the subject do. +Except for the initial distress, none reported sadness at the state, but +they weren't ecstatic either. They describe what Yoga psychology calls enlightenment, especially the less persistent experience of derealization. Some meditators said they saw every object as being conscious, having diff --git a/stanzione/mm2.tex b/stanzione/mm2.tex new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e322efa --- /dev/null +++ b/stanzione/mm2.tex @@ -0,0 +1,101 @@ +% Mastery Mailing 1 +\documentclass[12pt]{apa7} +\usepackage[style=apa,backend=biber]{biblatex} +\usepackage{graphicx} +\setlength{\headheight}{15pt} + +% According to several sources, the following commands should be active +% for an APA paper, but I just hate them. +% \raggedright +% \language255 % no hyphenation +\parindent=.5in +\linespread{2} + +\shorttitle{Existential Intelligence} + +\addbibresource{sources.bib} + +\leftheader{Rohrer} + +\begin{document} +\centerline{\textbf{Mastery Mailing 2: Existential Intelligence}} +Hey Radeen, + +In my psych class, we've been studying the nature of intelligence, and I +didn't realize how many different schema there were for categorizing +intelligence. +Some of these systems were based on measuring intelligence for education +and managing learning disabilities, like IQ. +For the single-number tests to be valid, we need to believe in a general +intelligence, which one psychologist Spearman called the \emph{g} +factor \autocite[276]{textbook}. +But there are two other major schools: Gardner's school, which believes +in many intelligences (including, possibly, a spiritual/existential +intelligence) and Sternberg's school. +Sternberg thinks that intelligence has three main categories and +that Gardner's categories are only talents or capabilities +\autocite[278]{textbook}. +I cautiously subscribe to Gardner's school of multiple intelligences +because the role of practice and very specific talents seems too +important to talk about any general adaptive type of intelligence. + +Gardner's 8 intelligences includes, but isn't limited to, bodily-kinesthetic +intelligence, musical intelligence, and naturalist intelligence. +Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence differs most from a standard IQ test, +but we have evidence of very different intelligence levels between +Olympic athletes and laypeople. +And psychologists have nowhere near settled the debate on how heritable +intelligences are, even though most agree it is somewhat heritable. +But even the metric that lets us measure heritability (IQ) has a lot of +critical issues: it's racist, classist, and vulnerable to ``stereotype +threat,'' where minorities perform worse due to the stereotype that +they're less intelligent. + +Some empirical evidence backs Gardner's hypothetical spiritual +intelligence, i.e. the ability to answer ``the big questions'' of +philosophy, but proof remains elusive. +Still, we can examine data from self-report assessments about questions +about the ``unseen'' or where we came from. +A study at the World Islamic Sciences University in Jordan at $n=56$ +(and previous research on the gender-existential intelligence link) +found no statistically significant link between existential intelligence +and gender or between specialization and gender \autocite{exist}. +That study also showed medium-high existential intelligence of all of +the graduate students it surveyed, and it gives us a high-quality test +(stable, valid, and reliable) for Jordanian students. +Another study, instead on an online sample of young adults, found a +statistically significant relationship between existential intelligence +and a depression-stress asssessment (with effect size $r = .22$) +\autocite{eisneurosis}. +That study is correlative, so it is unclear whether depression causes +existential thinking, existential thinking causes depression, or a +confounding variable. + +While many philosophers reject this measure as being too value-laden, +Gardner's system is flexible enough to include skills valued in +culture-specific ways. +I'm still really interested in learning more about the ``big +questions,'' and I'm curious if existential intelligence can be taught +in a value-free way, so I'm excited that we have high-quality scales for +existential intelligence self-assessment. +The Fernandes study scares me a bit that I should be careful about my +own mental health when exploring existential philosophy because it could +be harmful. +I think this multiple-intelligences theory will be useful to you +because, in Model UN, and in any international affairs case study, we +needed a good understanding of the valued competencies in different +cultures. +And in subcultures (like an academic context) that value philosophical +abilities, we need to focus on preserving those values when we think +about international policy. +And, the degree to which education is a self-selection variable or +correlated with existential intelligence can give us some interesting +evidence on how to reduce suffering globally. +One preliminary study from the University of Al-Qadisiyah actually +showed that higher existential intelligence can paradoxically increase +enjoyment of life, so we should continue to examine this variable in +traumatic conditions like civil war \autocite{enjoyment}. + +\vfil\eject +\printbibliography +\end{document} diff --git a/stanzione/mm3.tex b/stanzione/mm3.tex new file mode 100644 index 0000000..733e178 --- /dev/null +++ b/stanzione/mm3.tex @@ -0,0 +1,104 @@ +% Mastery Mailing 1 +\documentclass[12pt]{apa7} +\usepackage[style=apa,backend=biber]{biblatex} +\usepackage{graphicx} +\setlength{\headheight}{15pt} + +% According to several sources, the following commands should be active +% for an APA paper, but I just hate them. +% \raggedright +% \language255 % no hyphenation +\parindent=.5in +\linespread{1.9} + +\shorttitle{Purity Attitudes} + +\addbibresource{sources.bib} + +\leftheader{Rohrer} + +\begin{document} +\centerline{\textbf{Mastery Mailing 3: Cognitive Dissonance and Purity +Attitudes}} + +Hi Uncle Dak, + +You've probably heard the term ``cognitive dissonance'' thrown around in +a popular-psychology way, especially in political or debate areas. +I've recently been studying this concept in psych class, and there are a +lot of interesting results on how people quietly change their minds to +keep themselves consistent. +Cognitive dissonance is a really wide-reaching part of reasoning and +tells us that we are very rarely as rational as we think. +I used to misunderstand this concept as the ability to hold to mutually +incompatible beliefs at the same time, but it's actually more like +making consistent any beliefs or decisions you identify with, regardless +of more ``rational'' chains of logic. + +My textbook explains it with the following counterintuitive example. +Imagine you and a friend participate in an experiment where you're asked +to eat fried grasshoppers (a typically ``undesirable'' food). +You get an experimenter who is kind and polite, so you manage to eat +three grasshoppers. +Your friend gets a rude and distant experimenter, and they also eat +three grasshoppers. +A lot of people expect that after this experiment, you would like the +grasshoppers more than your friend, but we actually see the opposite +effect \autocite[433]{textbook}! +You have the explanation ``I did it to please the nice experimenter'' +for why you ate the grasshoppers. +But your friend has to rationalize why they ate the grasshoppers, so +they are more likely to rationalize that they liked the taste. +This affect is called an ``attitude,'' a composite of the actions, +feelings, and ideas you have on a topic, and cognitive dissonance +usually brings these components into line with each other +\autocite[431]{textbook}. + +\begin{figure}[ht] + \begin{center} + \href{https://youtu.be/DF4gdOlP-fc}{% + \includegraphics[height=2in]{zimbardo}} + \par\emph{A PBS segment on Cognitive Dissonance with + Psychologist Phillip Zimbardo (Click to View)} + \end{center} +\end{figure} + +I found a very high-quality study on moral beliefs about ``impure +actions,'' and its central question was: do people rationalize that +things are harmful because they are socially unacceptable/immoral or do +people realize that things are immoral because they are harmful? +It examines attitudes towards ``impure behaviors:'' unsanitary, +improper, or sexually deviant acts. +The study also analyzes socio-economic status and religiosity variables +in two different cultures: the United Kingdom and Colombia. +The study finds that people tend strongly towards rationalization (i.e. +deciding an action is harmful because it is immoral rather than the +other way around), especially low-SES theists +\autocite{rationalization}. +It also gives a potential treatment option, that reflecting on how +harmful a behavior is can, in some cases, reduce perceived immorality of +a behavior. +The study authors argue that this is applicable to a secular-liberal vs +religious-conservative political divide, and I know that you're +eternally frustrated by religious-conservative moralizers, so I thought +you'd enjoy hearing these results \autocite{rationalization}. + +While the study doesn't have a lot of insight into the inner workings of +its subjects' minds, it posits theists may have a more intuitive +thinking style than nontheists, and that that thinking style morally +punishes impurity. +The authors say this might be due to ``non-consequentialist'' moral +evaluation, where things are forbidden independent of the harm they +impose on others, which would track with existing research. +Personally, this has made me reconsider how I approach this type of +discussion. +I think using a more open dialogue about harm-done can convince people +to accept traditionally ``impure'' behaviors like homosexuality or +abortion. +But my biggest takeaway is that others' and my own beliefs are way less +rational than we assume, so I will be more critical of my own beliefs +and accepting of others'. + +\vfil\eject +\printbibliography +\end{document} diff --git a/stanzione/sources.bib b/stanzione/sources.bib index fda2232..685cab8 100644 --- a/stanzione/sources.bib +++ b/stanzione/sources.bib @@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ journal = {Perspectives on Psychological Science}, volume = {13}, number = {1}, - pages = {36-61}, + pages = {36--61}, year = {2018}, doi = {10.1177/1745691617709589}, note ={PMID: 29016274}, @@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ journal = {Trends in Cognitive Sciences}, volume = {12}, number = {4}, - pages = {163-169}, + pages = {163--169}, year = {2008}, issn = {1364-6613}, doi = {10.1016/j.tics.2008.01.005}, @@ -35,9 +35,48 @@ @article{castillo, title = "Depersonalization and Meditation", author = "Richard J. Castillo", - pages = {158-168}, + pages = {158--168}, journal = "Psychiatry", volume = 53, year = {1990}, month = {May} } + +@article{exist, + title={Existential Intelligence among Graduate Students at the World Islamic Sciences University in Jordan.}, + author={Jaddou, Al and Abdullah, Esam}, + journal={Educational Research and Reviews}, + volume={13}, + number={13}, + pages={534--542}, + year={2018}, + publisher={ERIC} +} + +@article{enjoyment, + title={THE ENJOYMENT OF LIFE AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO EXISTENTIAL INTELLIGENCE AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS}, + author={Al-Fatlawi, Ali Shaker and Abdel-Moneim, Harith Hassan}, + journal={PalArch's Journal of Archaeology of Egypt/Egyptology}, + volume={18}, + number={7}, + pages={2853--2900}, + year={2021} +} + +@article{eisneurosis, + title={Existential Intelligence Scale and its Implications for Preliminary Assessment of Existential Neurosis}, + author={Fernandes, Shannon J}, + year={2021}, + publisher={PsyArXiv} +} + +@article{rationalization, + title={Rationalization and reflection differentially modulate prior attitudes toward the purity domain}, + author={Hannikainen, Ivar R and Rosas, Alejandro}, + journal={Cognitive Science}, + volume={43}, + number={6}, + pages={e12747}, + year={2019}, + publisher={Wiley Online Library} +} diff --git a/stanzione/zimbardo.webp b/stanzione/zimbardo.webp Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..02c4428 --- /dev/null +++ b/stanzione/zimbardo.webp |