PSY353e: Neff et al (2007) conducted two Studies to Examine the Relationship of self-compassion to Psychological Health: Positive Psychology Essay, SUSS, Singapore

Essay Question

Self-compassion and Adaptive Psychological Functioning

Neff et al. (2007) conducted two studies to examine the relationship of self-compassion to psychological health. Self-compassion entails being kind and understanding toward oneself in instances of pain or failure rather than being harshly self-critical; perceiving one’s experiences as part of the larger human experience rather than seeing them as isolating, and holding painful thoughts and feelings in mindful awareness rather than over-identifying with them.

Study 1 found that self-compassion (unlike self-esteem) helps buffer against anxiety when faced with an ego threat in a laboratory setting. Self-compassion was also linked to connected versus separate language use when writing about weaknesses. Study 2 found that increases in self-compassion occurring over a one-month interval were associated with increased psychological well-being and that therapist rating of self-compassion were significantly correlated with self-reports of self-compassion.

According to Neff et al. (2007), having compassion also means that you offer understanding and kindness to others when they fail or make mistakes, rather than judging them harshly. Self-compassion involves acting the same way towards yourself when you are having a difficult time, fail, or notice something you do not like about yourself.

A study by Zeng et al. (2020), with a sample of 1488 Chinese college students (Mean age = 19.84 years, SD = 1.61), found that (a) gratitude was negatively associated with cyberbullying perpetration, and (b) both self-compassion and moral disengagement mediated the association between gratitude and cyberbullying perpetration. The study illustrates the role of individual positive traits (such as gratitude and self-compassion) in decreasing moral disengagement and cyberbullying perpetration.

Apply relevant positive psychological theories, principles, and findings to analyze the study by Neff et al. (2007). Please focus your discussion on how people who are more self-compassionate tend to be happier, more optimistic, more curious, wiser, and less neurotic.

To fully respond to the question, your discussion should:

1. Demonstrate your understanding of compassion, empathy, and self-compassion.

2. Examine the importance of self-compassion in our lives.

3. Appraise the extant literature and determine whether more recent research findings support the conclusions by Neff et al. (2007) regarding the value of self-compassion.

4. Propose THREE ways to “turn off” the switch on negative mental chatter and self-talk.