Prosocial correlates of transformative experience at secular multi-day mass gatherings

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Alexander Yudkin

For millennia, humans have sought out experiences that dissolve, transcend, or change their sense of self. Such experiences are frequently associated with participation in mass gatherings such as festivals or pilgrimages, and are thought to be epistemically and personally transformative. By weakening the boundary between the self and others, such transformative experiences may lead to enduring changes in moral orientation, such as increased generosity and an expanded circle of moral regard (“moral expansion”). Here we investigated the nature of transformative experiences and their prosocial correlates at multi-day mass gatherings by studying participants before (n = 600), during (n = 1,217), 0-4 weeks after (n = 1,866), and 6 months after (n = 710) they attended a variety of secular, multi-day mass gatherings in the US and UK. Transformative experiences at mass gatherings were self-reported as common, increased over time, and characterized by increased feelings of social connectedness. We observed high levels of generosity at mass gatherings, but generosity onsite was unrelated to transformative experience and did not increase over time. Meanwhile, participants’ moral circle expanded with every passing day spent at mass gatherings, an effect mediated by transformative experience and social connectedness. Immediately and six months following event attendance, self-reported transformative experience persisted and predicted both generosity and moral expansion. The nature of transformative experience and its prosocial correlates did not depend on whether event norms were communal or market-based. These findings characterize the psychological nature of transformative experience at secular mass gatherings and highlight how these experiences may be associated with lasting changes in moral orientation.

2020 ◽  
pp. 52-72
Author(s):  
Sarah Molouki ◽  
Stephanie Y. Chen ◽  
Oleg Urminsky ◽  
Daniel M. Bartels

This chapter summarizes experimental work exploring how individual beliefs about the personally disruptive character of transformative experiences are influenced by intuitive theories of what a self fundamentally is, at the current moment and over time. Judgments of disrupted personal identity are influenced by views of the causal centrality of a transformed trait to a person’s self-concept, with changes in more central features perceived as more disruptive to self-continuity. Furthermore, the type of change matters: unexpected or undesirable changes to personal features are viewed as more disruptive to self-continuity than changes that are consistent with a person’s expected developmental trajectory. The degree to which an individual considers a particular personal change to be disruptive will affect how he or she makes decisions about, reacts to, and copes with this experience.


2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 634-651 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa May

Belonging is a fundamentally temporal experience, yet there exists to date little research on belonging as a temporal phenomenon. This paper offers an important contribution to the literatures on belonging, time and the self by exploring how the experience of belonging is tethered to time. Focussing on the temporal dimensions of the interconnection between belonging and the self contributes to our understanding of how people experience time and construct a sense of self. The data comprise 62 accounts on belonging written by members of the Mass Observation Project’s panel of volunteer writers residing in Great Britain. Two dimensions of duration are explored: first, enduring belonging compared to fleeting belonging and second, belonging that endures ‘out of time’. In relation to the first dimension, I argue that the duration of belonging aids in constructing a coherent self over time and thus speaks to a person’s moral character. The second dimension of duration illustrates experiences of belonging that defy understandings of linear temporality and a singular self, thus demonstrating the fundamentally distributed nature of the self. Attending to the duration of belonging also adds to our empirical understanding of how time is experienced by people.


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 2097-2108
Author(s):  
Robyn L. Croft ◽  
Courtney T. Byrd

Purpose The purpose of this study was to identify levels of self-compassion in adults who do and do not stutter and to determine whether self-compassion predicts the impact of stuttering on quality of life in adults who stutter. Method Participants included 140 adults who do and do not stutter matched for age and gender. All participants completed the Self-Compassion Scale. Adults who stutter also completed the Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering. Data were analyzed for self-compassion differences between and within adults who do and do not stutter and to predict self-compassion on quality of life in adults who stutter. Results Adults who do and do not stutter exhibited no significant differences in total self-compassion, regardless of participant gender. A simple linear regression of the total self-compassion score and total Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering score showed a significant, negative linear relationship of self-compassion predicting the impact of stuttering on quality of life. Conclusions Data suggest that higher levels of self-kindness, mindfulness, and social connectedness (i.e., self-compassion) are related to reduced negative reactions to stuttering, an increased participation in daily communication situations, and an improved overall quality of life. Future research should replicate current findings and identify moderators of the self-compassion–quality of life relationship.


Author(s):  
David H. J. Larmour
Keyword(s):  

Juvenalian satire writes specularity, firstly, by mirroring its own constitutive elements and discursive procedures, and, secondly, through its preoccupation with gazing at others and the self. The roving satirist-narrator, who resembles Kristeva’s ‘deject’ and Poe’s ‘Man of the Crowd’, inhabits the paradoxical space of Maingueneau’s paratopia within the specular city of Rome. As a specular text, Juvenal’s collection strives for coherence through various devices of doubling, repetition, and mirroring (linguistic, rhetorical, and thematic); yet in this cityscape the search for a unified sense of self, and an accompanying topographical wholeness, is continually frustrated, as the satirist—along with us, the spectators accompanying him—is confronted by human and architectural embodiments of ambiguity, transgression, and the pernicious mixing of categories, including Umbricius at the Porta Capena (3.12–20 and 318–22), Otho with his mirror (2.99–109), and Gracchus’ appearance as a retiarius in the arena (2.143–8 and 8.200–10).


Author(s):  
Michael W. Pratt ◽  
M. Kyle Matsuba

Chapter 2 reviews research and theory on the life story and its development and relations to other aspects of personality. The authors introduce the integrative framework of McAdams and Pals, who described three levels in a broad model of personality: personality traits; personal goals, values, and projects; and the unique life story, which provides a degree of unity and purpose to the individual’s life. This narrative, which develops in late adolescence and emerging adulthood, as individuals become able to author their own stories, includes key scenes of emotional and personal importance to provide a sense of continuity, while remaining flexible and dynamic in incorporating changes in the self over time. The chapter ends with a description of Alison, an emerging adult from our Canadian Futures Study, who illustrates these levels and what they tell about personality development during this period.


Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 141
Author(s):  
Firoza Akhter ◽  
Maurizio Mazzoleni ◽  
Luigia Brandimarte

In this study, we explore the long-term trends of floodplain population dynamics at different spatial scales in the contiguous United States (U.S.). We exploit different types of datasets from 1790–2010—i.e., decadal spatial distribution for the population density in the US, global floodplains dataset, large-scale data of flood occurrence and damage, and structural and nonstructural flood protection measures for the US. At the national level, we found that the population initially settled down within the floodplains and then spread across its territory over time. At the state level, we observed that flood damages and national protection measures might have contributed to a learning effect, which in turn, shaped the floodplain population dynamics over time. Finally, at the county level, other socio-economic factors such as local flood insurances, economic activities, and socio-political context may predominantly influence the dynamics. Our study shows that different influencing factors affect floodplain population dynamics at different spatial scales. These facts are crucial for a reliable development and implementation of flood risk management planning.


2021 ◽  
pp. 009365022199149
Author(s):  
Shan Xu ◽  
Zheng Wang

This study integrates the theory of multiple selves within the theoretical framework of dynamic motivational activation (DMA) to identify the dynamic patterns of multiple self-concepts (i.e., the potential self, the actual self) in multitasking (e.g., primary and secondary activities) in daily life. A three-week experience sampling study was conducted on college students. Dynamic panel modeling results suggest that the self-concepts are both sustaining and shifting in daily activities and media activities. Specifically, the potential and actual selves sustained themselves over time in primary and secondary activities, but they also shifted from one to another to achieve a balance in primary activities over time. Interestingly, secondary activities were not driven by the alternative self-concept in primary activities, but instead, by the emotional experiences of primary activities. Furthermore, the findings identified that multitasking to fulfill their actual self did not motivate people to re-prioritize their potential self later.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (05) ◽  
pp. 769-784
Author(s):  
Ipek Ensari ◽  
Adrienne Pichon ◽  
Sharon Lipsky-Gorman ◽  
Suzanne Bakken ◽  
Noémie Elhadad

Abstract Background Self-tracking through mobile health technology can augment the electronic health record (EHR) as an additional data source by providing direct patient input. This can be particularly useful in the context of enigmatic diseases and further promote patient engagement. Objectives This study aimed to investigate the additional information that can be gained through direct patient input on poorly understood diseases, beyond what is already documented in the EHR. Methods This was an observational study including two samples with a clinically confirmed endometriosis diagnosis. We analyzed data from 6,925 women with endometriosis using a research app for tracking endometriosis to assess prevalence of self-reported pain problems, between- and within-person variability in pain over time, endometriosis-affected tasks of daily function, and self-management strategies. We analyzed data from 4,389 patients identified through a large metropolitan hospital EHR to compare pain problems with the self-tracking app and to identify unique data elements that can be contributed via patient self-tracking. Results Pelvic pain was the most prevalent problem in the self-tracking sample (57.3%), followed by gastrointestinal-related (55.9%) and lower back (49.2%) pain. Unique problems that were captured by self-tracking included pain in ovaries (43.7%) and uterus (37.2%). Pain experience was highly variable both across and within participants over time. Within-person variation accounted for 58% of the total variance in pain scores, and was large in magnitude, based on the ratio of within- to between-person variability (0.92) and the intraclass correlation (0.42). Work was the most affected daily function task (49%), and there was significant within- and between-person variability in self-management effectiveness. Prevalence rates in the EHR were significantly lower, with abdominal pain being the most prevalent (36.5%). Conclusion For enigmatic diseases, patient self-tracking as an additional data source complementary to EHR can enable learning from the patient to more accurately and comprehensively evaluate patient health history and status.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Greg Patmore ◽  
Nikola Balnave ◽  
Olivera Marjanovic

While co-operatives are traditionally associated with workers, consumers, and farmers, the business model, with its emphasis on democracy and community, has also been adopted by small business owners, the self-employed, and professionals. These business co-operatives are distinct phenomenon, because they primarily consist of independent organizational entities that are not co-operatives and are generally in direct competition with one another. They are unique in that they bring together separate organizations that seek to combat market threats while adopting a philosophy based on co-operative principles. This article begins with an overview of the Australian co-operative landscape. It then defines the concept of business co-operatives and then draws upon the Visual Atlas of Australian Co-operatives History Project, which has developed a large database of Australian co-operatives over time and space, to examine the development of business co-operatives in Australia. It looks at where business co-operatives formed in the economy, the motivation underlying their formation, their average life spans, and their relationships with the broader co-operative movement. The article highlights the value of business co-operatives in introducing the values of participatory democracy and working for the common good into unanticipated markets and reinforcing the co-operative movement.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 303-303
Author(s):  
HwaJung Choi ◽  
Robert Schoeni ◽  
Tsai-Chin Cho ◽  
Kenneth Langa

Abstract The paper’s goal is to assess whether and, if so, the extent to which prevalence in disability of adults near retirement ages in the US increased over time compared to their peers in England and examine income group differences in the relative trends. This study uses 2002-2016 Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) focusing on adults aged 55-64. Annual percent changes over the period of 2002-2016 for limitations in instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) and activities of daily living (ADL) are estimated for each survey (HRS and ELSA) using multivariable logistic regressions to adjust for individual-level characteristics While disability prevalence of adults ages 55-64 in England improved over the years of 2002-2016 (annual % change= -2.01 for IADL; - 2.53 for ADL), disability prevalence of US adults has not improved and in fact even worsened in terms of IADL (annual % change= +1.35). There are substantial variations in the IADL/ADL trends by income groups. In the US, the adverse trends in disability were more pronounced among the lowest income groups (annual % change in IADL=1.76 for bottom 20% vs. -2.08 for top 20%; annual % change in ADL=1.08 for bottom 20% vs. -2.08 for top 20%). In England, the disability status improved over time for all but the lowest income group. We will examine further to identify specific factors contributing to divergent/convergent trends in disability between the US and England.


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