Cultivating Self-Compassion: Balancing Emotion Systems
“It’s possible to train ourselves to experience greater compassion and love.” (Gilbert, 2009)
Why Self-Criticism Fails Us
- We are often unkind to ourselves.
- The core message we internalize is often: “We are not good enough” unless we excel in specific areas (achievements, appearance, social skills, etc.).
- A critical attitude contributes to feelings of stress, insecurity, aggression, and sadness.
- It does not contribute to happiness and well-being.
- Unhappiness often stems from focusing on things we are
Perceptual-Motor Behavior, Cognitive Theories, and Spatial Development
Perceptual-Motor Behavior and Cortical Function
Perceptual-Motor Behavior refers to actions that require the involvement of the cortex as a computer of sensory information, providing basic consistency to conduct. Through movement and perceptual-motor behaviors, children achieve the following developmental milestones:
- Spatial organization of the body schema and orientation.
- Graphical representation and expression.
- Rhythm and motor activity.
- Perception of the senses: color, shape, textures, sounds, etc.
Cognitive Psychology: Foundations, Brain Systems, and Perception
Foundations of Psychological Research
Level and Scope of Psychological Explanations
Psychological phenomena can be explained at different levels:
- Some psychological explanations are based on biology.
- Some psychological explanations are based on mental states.
- Some psychological explanations are based on social/cultural factors.
The scope of psychological research refers to whether it applies to:
- All human beings.
- Certain groups of people (e.g., people with schizophrenia).
- Individual people (e.g., my mother)
The Neurochemistry of Love, Lust, Anger, and Aggression
Passionate Love: Neurochemical Profile
- High densities of dopamine (DA) and norepinephrine (NE), but low levels of serotonin (5-HT).
- Displays subcortical activity in the Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA), caudate nucleus, and putamen.
- Functions on dopaminergic-rich pathways, resulting in brain activation similar to cocaine use. It is rewarding, positive, and motivating.
- In response to seeing a loved one, the VTA uses chemical messengers (dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin) to send signals to the nucleus accumbens.
Psychology Essentials: Stress, Disorders, and Treatment Approaches
Stress and Coping Mechanisms
Understanding Stress
Stress: Circumstances that threaten or are perceived to threaten one’s well-being and challenge coping abilities.
Common stressors: Frustration, conflict, change, pressure.
Types of Stressors
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Frustration | Occurs when pursuit of a goal is blocked. |
| Conflict | Occurs when two or more incompatible motivations compete. Examples: 🔹 Approach-Approach – two good choices. 🔹 Avoidance-Avoidance – two bad choices. 🔹 Approach-Avoidance – one |
The Science of Sight: Psychophysics, Eye Anatomy, and Neural Vision
Foundations of Sensation and Perception
Psychophysics: Measuring Perception
Weber’s Law and Just Noticeable Difference
Ernst Weber discovered that the smallest detectable change in a stimulus is a constant proportion of the stimulus level.
Weber’s Law: ΔI/I = k (where ΔI is the change in intensity we can detect, I is the intensity of the stimulus, and k is a constant).
The Just Noticeable Difference (JND) is the minimum amount of difference between two stimuli required to reliably notice a change.