Year: 2015
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: All individuals have notions about how they would likely approach themselves under times of stress, as well as the ways which would be most helpful to them. The present study investigated four broad ways of approaching the self under stressful circumstances: self-esteem, self-control, self-compassion, and not-self. Not-self, a concept based in Buddhist philosophy, is novel to a Western population, and was the primary focus. In order to comprehensively examine the concept, data were collected from 168 undergraduates on responses to stressful circumstances: by bolstering self-esteem, engaging in self-control behaviors, engendering a sense of self-compassion, or accepting/letting go thoughts, feelings, wants, and ultimately sense of self. The study also assessed the extent to which engaging in these approaches was related to personality, psychological adjustment, and psychological symptomology variables. Results indicated that, in spite of hurdles pertaining to lack of familiarity, aspects of not-self were considered viable for approaching the self when managing difficult circumstances. Additionallyùand unexpectedlyùassociations between psychological variables and not-self were strikingly consistent with fundamental aspects of Buddhist psychological theories of not-self.
Source: The Mathematics Enthusiast
Author: Christian Herwitz
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2464756472