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Self-disclosure and self-deprecating self-reference: Conversational practices of personalization in police interviews with children reporting alleged sexual offenses
Childs, Carrie; Walsh, Dave (Elsevier, 2017-11-06)
This article examines how police officers ostensibly reveal personal information about themselves in investigative interviews with children reporting their being victim of alleged sexual offenses. We identify two practices of personalization. First, we show how, during the opening phase of interviews, officers engage in clear, unambiguous self-disclosure and how these self-disclosures are designed to elicit expressions of affiliation from witnesses. Second, we identify instances of self-deprecating self-reference as in 'I'm going deaf that's all'. These self-references are delivered to manage trouble responsibility in environments of repair. We show how they manage the conflicting demands of rapport building and the requirement to make interviewees feel as if they are being listened to and understood, on the one hand, and the need for effective evidence gathering, on the other. The present study extends understanding of how officers personalize the investigative interview, as recommended by best practice guidelines.
Embodying self-compassion within virtual reality and its effects on patients with depression.
Falconer, Caroline J.; Rovira, Aitor; King, John A.; Gilbert, Paul; Antley, Angus; Fearon, Pasco; Ralph, Neil; Slater, Mel; Brewin, Chris R. (Cambridge University Press, 2018-01-02)
Background Self-criticism is a ubiquitous feature of psychopathology and can be combatted by increasing levels of self-compassion. However, some patients are resistant to self-compassion. Aims To investigate whether the effects of self-identification with virtual bodies within immersive virtual reality could be exploited to increase self-compassion in patients with depression. Method We developed an 8-minute scenario in which 15 patients practised delivering compassion in one virtual body and then experienced receiving it from themselves in another virtual body. Results In an open trial, three repetitions of this scenario led to significant reductions in depression severity and self-criticism, as well as to a significant increase in self-compassion, from baseline to 4-week follow-up. Four patients showed clinically significant improvement. Conclusions The results indicate that interventions using immersive virtual reality may have considerable clinical potential and that further development of these methods preparatory to a controlled trial is now warranted.
The personal experience of online learning: an interpretative phenomenological analysis
Symeonides, Roberta; Childs, Carrie (2015-06-19)
Student interaction is critical to online social cohesion and collaborative learning. However, online learners need to adjust to the computer mediated communication (CMC) medium of the online environment. This study explores online learners' experiences of asynchronous text-based CMC using an interpretative phenomenological analysis of interviews with six online students. The analysis revealed that the constraints of written communication and lack of human interaction causes difficulties in adjusting and coping with the online learning environment. Four major themes were identified: the inability to express one's self fully; difficulties establishing relationships; comparing one's self to others and the written word as an ineffective learning medium. The study's findings highlight a need for better student and tutor collaboration to facilitate a safe and interactive environment. Effective academic and social support can enhance online learning, improve student satisfaction and encourage students to persist with their learning.
Endogenous oxytocin is associated with the experience of compassion and recalled upbringing in Borderline Personality Disorder
Ebert, Andreas; Edel, Marc-Andreas; Gilbert, Paul; Brüne, Martin (Wiley, 2017-09-07)
Background/Objective The role of the neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) in Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is poorly understood. It is particularly unknown how early experiences with caregivers moderate the action of OT in BPD. Here, we examined the association of plasma OT levels in BPD patients with the experience of compassion and recalled parental behavior during childhood. Methods Fifty-seven BPD patients and 43 healthy controls participated in the study. OT plasma levels were analyzed by radioimmunoassay. Subjects additionally completed questionnaires focusing on fears of compassion (FOC) and recalled upbringing ("Questionnaire of Recalled Parental Rearing Behavior/Fragebogen zum erinnerten elterlichen Erziehungsverhalten," FEE). Results BPD patients had significantly lower OT plasma levels than healthy controls and differed significantly on all FOC and FEE scales; BPD patients had higher FOC scores (indicating more aversion of being compassionate to themselves and others and receiving compassion from others). They also differed in recalled parenting. In the BPD group, scores of the FOC scale "fear of compassion from others" were significantly negatively correlated with OT levels. Moreover, recalled "emotional warmth" of their parents during childhood was positively correlated with OT plasma levels of BPD subjects. No such correlations were found in the control group. Conclusion Our results corroborate findings from previous studies reporting lower OT levels in patients with BPD. Moreover, peripheral OT seems to be linked with the tolerance of compassionate feelings and early experiences with caregivers. This is consistent with other findings that OT is an important mediator of the experience of emotional warmth from others.
Paradoxical invitations: challenges in soliciting more information from child witnesses
Childs, Carrie; Walsh, Dave (Taylor & Francis, 2018-11-15)
This article analyses how police officers conducting interviews with children reporting their being victim of alleged sexual offenses ask witness if they would like to add to what has been said or whether they have any questions. Interviewing guidelines recommend that this be done during interview closure. The data set comprises twenty-seven videotaped interviews. Data are in British English. Using Conversation Analysis, we show that the understanding of interview closure as an appropriate place in which to request for the initiation of a new topic is paradoxical. We also outline practices for soliciting additional information throughout the course of the interview.
Development of a compassion-focused and contextual behavioural environment and validation of the Therapeutic Environment Scales (TESS).
Veale, David; Miles, Sarah; Naismith, Iona; Pieta, Maria; Gilbert, Paul (Cambridge University Press, 2016-01-02)
Aims and method The aims of the study were to develop a scale sensitive enough to measure the interpersonal processes within a therapeutic environment, and to explore whether the new scale was sensitive enough to detect differences between settings, including a community based on compassionate mind and contextual behaviourism. The Therapeutic Environment Scales (TESS) were validated with 81 participants in three different settings: a specialist service for anxiety disorders, a specialist in-patient ward and a psychodynamic therapeutic community. Results TESS was found to be reliable and valid. Significant differences were seen between the services on the dimensions of compassion, belongingness, feeling safe, positive reinforcement of members' acts of courage, extinction and accommodation of unhelpful behaviours, inconsistency and high expressed emotion. These processes were over time associated with improved outcomes on a specialist service for anxiety disorders. Clinical implications The TESS offers a first step in exploring important interpersonal relationships in therapeutic environments and communities. An environment based on a compassionate mind and contextual behaviourism offers promise for the running of a therapeutic community.
Ability to receive compassion from others buffers the depressogenic effect of self-criticism: A cross-cultural multi-study analysis
Hermanto, Nicola; Zuroff, David C.; Kopala-Sibley, Daniel C.; Kelly, Allison C.; Matos, Marcela; Gilbert, Paul; Koestner, Richard (Elsevier, 2016-04-29)
Self-criticism has been shown to be a vulnerability factor that can lead to and maintain depression. We examined the moderating effect of fear of receiving compassion from others on the positive association between self-criticism and depression. Self-report measures were administered to four separate samples (total N = 701) varying in age (students and community adults) and cultural context (Canada, England, and Portugal). Two different measures of self-criticism and of depression were administered to investigate the generalizability of results. Self-criticism, depression, and fear of compassion from others were positively related to one another in all samples. As predicted, fear of compassion from others exerted a moderating effect on the relationship between self-criticism and depression. Low fear of compassion from others weakened the depressogenic effect of self-criticism, while high fear of compassion from others exacerbated the effect. Thus, a self-critic's ability to be open and responsive to care and support from others protected against depression. The aggregate moderating effect across the four studies was of medium size (d + = .53) and highly significant, indicating a robust phenomenon. Implications for working with self-critical depressed patients are discussed.
Attentional bias towards threatening and neutral facial expressions in high trait anxious children.
Kelly, Lauren; Maratos, Frances A.; Lipka, Sigrid; Croker, Steve (2016-07-03)
Research suggests anxious children display increased attentional biases for threat-related stimuli. However, findings based upon spatial domain research are equivocal. Moreover, few studies allow for the independent analysis of trials containing neutral (i.e., potentially ambiguous) faces. Here, we report two temporal attentional blink experiments with high trait anxious (HTA) and low trait anxious (LTA) children. In an emotive experiment, we manipulated the valence of the second target (T2: threatening/positive/neutral). Results revealed that HTA, relative to LTA, children demonstrated better performance on neutral trials. Additionally, HTA children demonstrated a threat-superiority effect whereas LTA children demonstrated an emotion-superiority effect. In a non-emotive control, no differences between HTA and LTA children were observed. Results suggest trait anxiety is associated with an attentional bias for threat in children. Additionally, the neutral face finding suggests HTA children bias attention towards ambiguity. These findings could have important implications for current anxiety disorder research and treatments.
The physiological and emotional effects of touch: Assessing a hand-massage intervention with high self-critics
Maratos, Frances A.; Duarte, Joana; Barnes, Christopher; McEwan, Kirsten; Sheffield, David; Gilbert, Paul (Elsevier, 2017-01-25)
Research demonstrates that highly self-critical individuals can respond negatively to the initial introduction of a range of therapeutic interventions. Yet touch as a form of therapeutic intervention in self-critical individuals has received limited prior investigation, despite documentation of its beneficial effects for well-being. Using the Forms of Self-Criticism/Self-Reassuring Scale, 15 high- and 14 low- self-critical individuals (from a sample of 139 females) were recruited to assess how self-criticism impacts upon a single instance of focused touch. All participants took part in a hand massage- and haptic control- intervention. Salivary cortisol and alpha amylase, as well as questionnaire measures of emotional responding were taken before and after the interventions. Following hand massage, analyses revealed cortisol decreased significantly across all participants; and that significant changes in emotional responding reflected well-being improvements across all participants. Supplementary analyses further revealed decreased alpha amylase responding to hand massage as compared to a compassion-focused intervention in the same (highly self-critical) individuals. Taken together, the physiological and emotional data indicate high self-critical individuals responded in a comparable manner to low self-critical individuals to a single instance of hand massage. This highlights that focused touch may be beneficial when first engaging highly self-critical individuals with specific interventions.
Recognition of subtle and universal facial expressions in a community-based sample of adults classified with intellectual disability
Owen, S.; Maratos, Frances A. (2016-02-09)
Background Across the USA and UK schemes now exist to aid the successful integration of adults with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities into general society. One factor that may prove important to the success of such schemes is social competence. Here, understanding the facial expressions of others is critical, as emotion recognition is a prerequisite to empathetic responding and an essential factor in social functioning. Yet research in this area is lacking, especially in community-based samples. Method We investigated the performance of 13 adults with mild to moderate intellectual disability (ID), relative to 13 age-matched controls, on three tasks of emotion recognition (emotion categorisation; recognition of valence; recognition of arousal), using a number of 'basic' (angry, happy) and more 'subtle' (compassionate, critical) emotional expressions, as well as the posers face in a default relaxed (i.e. 'neutral') state. Importantly, the sample was drawn from a community-based initiative, and was therefore representative of populations' government schemes target. Results Across emotion recognition tasks the ID adults, as compared to controls, were significantly impaired when labelling the emotions displayed by the poser as well as recognising the associated 'feelings' conveyed by these faces. This was especially true for the neutral, compassionate and angry facial expressions. For example, ID adults demonstrated deficits in categorising neutral and subtle emotional expressions, as well as assessing the valence of such facial expressions. In addition, ID adults also struggled to assess arousal levels; especially those associated with compassionate and angry faces. Conclusion Given both basic and subtle emotions are conveyed in a range of daily situations, errors in interpreting such facial expressions and, relatedly, understanding what potential behaviours such expressions signify could contributing to the social difficulties ID adults face. This is important since current initiatives such as 'personalisation' do not appear to have schemes supporting training in this area and understanding the facial expressions of others is, after all, one of our most important non-verbal social communication tools.