Podcast
Questions and Answers
Cognitive coping or alternative thinking approaches often resulted in inner thoughts with friendly, compassionate and affiliative tones.
Cognitive coping or alternative thinking approaches often resulted in inner thoughts with friendly, compassionate and affiliative tones.
False
CFT has only been applied to depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, not anger problems or acquired brain injury.
CFT has only been applied to depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, not anger problems or acquired brain injury.
False
Compassion Focused Therapy does not consider the impact of evolved strategies on phenotypic development.
Compassion Focused Therapy does not consider the impact of evolved strategies on phenotypic development.
False
Unpredictable environments with low mortality risk tend to produce slow life history strategies.
Unpredictable environments with low mortality risk tend to produce slow life history strategies.
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Criminal behavior is more likely to emerge in nurturing environments that promote concern for others.
Criminal behavior is more likely to emerge in nurturing environments that promote concern for others.
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CFT focuses on medical and phenomenological approaches to diagnosis.
CFT focuses on medical and phenomenological approaches to diagnosis.
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Individuals with criminal records often have histories of early childhood trauma, depression, and compassionate care.
Individuals with criminal records often have histories of early childhood trauma, depression, and compassionate care.
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CFT aims to switch the strategic and phenotypic dispositions of individuals towards antisocial outcomes.
CFT aims to switch the strategic and phenotypic dispositions of individuals towards antisocial outcomes.
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Compassion Focused Therapy was originally developed for individuals with low levels of shame and self-criticism.
Compassion Focused Therapy was originally developed for individuals with low levels of shame and self-criticism.
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Genetic variation has no impact on empathic caring and psychopathic traits.
Genetic variation has no impact on empathic caring and psychopathic traits.
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Prosocial and antisocial behavior have no connection to survival and reproduction.
Prosocial and antisocial behavior have no connection to survival and reproduction.
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Group identification does not play a role in determining whether people are perceived as part of a group or outsiders.
Group identification does not play a role in determining whether people are perceived as part of a group or outsiders.
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Compassion Focused Therapy is not effective for individuals with acquired brain injury.
Compassion Focused Therapy is not effective for individuals with acquired brain injury.
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Potential personal benefits from harming others may include undermining competitors.
Potential personal benefits from harming others may include undermining competitors.
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Compassion is not required for rational thinking and wisdom according to CFT.
Compassion is not required for rational thinking and wisdom according to CFT.
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The 'second psychology' in CFT focuses on preventing suffering rather than alleviating it.
The 'second psychology' in CFT focuses on preventing suffering rather than alleviating it.
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Compassion Focused Therapy is primarily used to develop moral behavior in individuals.
Compassion Focused Therapy is primarily used to develop moral behavior in individuals.
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Empathy involves emotional contagion and perspective taking, but it does not include understanding others' feelings.
Empathy involves emotional contagion and perspective taking, but it does not include understanding others' feelings.
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Shame tends to support tendencies for justification, denial, and avoidance.
Shame tends to support tendencies for justification, denial, and avoidance.
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Guilt is associated with feelings of sorrow, sadness, remorse, and a desire to help the injured party recover.
Guilt is associated with feelings of sorrow, sadness, remorse, and a desire to help the injured party recover.
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Prosocial motivation is unrelated to callousness in individuals.
Prosocial motivation is unrelated to callousness in individuals.
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Compassion Focused Therapy focuses on developing empathy for self rather than empathy for others.
Compassion Focused Therapy focuses on developing empathy for self rather than empathy for others.
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Compassion is rooted in care-giving and competition toward out-groups.
Compassion is rooted in care-giving and competition toward out-groups.
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In CFT, building compassion motivation is seen as a secondary process.
In CFT, building compassion motivation is seen as a secondary process.
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Compassion Focused Therapy is only suitable for individuals who have high levels of shame and self-criticism.
Compassion Focused Therapy is only suitable for individuals who have high levels of shame and self-criticism.
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CFT recognizes that criminal behavior is solely based on genetic factors.
CFT recognizes that criminal behavior is solely based on genetic factors.
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Developing compassion motivation is not considered a core transforming process in Compassion Focused Therapy.
Developing compassion motivation is not considered a core transforming process in Compassion Focused Therapy.
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Criminal behavior is more likely to emerge in predictable environments with low mortality risk.
Criminal behavior is more likely to emerge in predictable environments with low mortality risk.
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Prosocial and antisocial motivations are unrelated to survival and reproduction.
Prosocial and antisocial motivations are unrelated to survival and reproduction.
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Blocks and inhibitions to compassion only operate at cognitive levels.
Blocks and inhibitions to compassion only operate at cognitive levels.
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Compassion imagery is not a technique used for building compassion motivation in CFT.
Compassion imagery is not a technique used for building compassion motivation in CFT.
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Compassion involves both giving and receiving difficulties in individuals with criminal behavior.
Compassion involves both giving and receiving difficulties in individuals with criminal behavior.
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Compassion Focused Therapy is only suitable for people with high levels of self-esteem and confidence.
Compassion Focused Therapy is only suitable for people with high levels of self-esteem and confidence.
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Criminal behavior is more likely to emerge in environments with low mortality risk.
Criminal behavior is more likely to emerge in environments with low mortality risk.
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Humans can only exhibit prosocial behaviors and are incapable of harmful actions.
Humans can only exhibit prosocial behaviors and are incapable of harmful actions.
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Fast life history strategies involve individuals maturing early and investing heavily in fewer offspring.
Fast life history strategies involve individuals maturing early and investing heavily in fewer offspring.
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Antisocial behavior is always a result of genetic disposition and cannot be influenced by environmental factors.
Antisocial behavior is always a result of genetic disposition and cannot be influenced by environmental factors.
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Compassion can be inhibited by metacognitive beliefs that view compassion as weak.
Compassion can be inhibited by metacognitive beliefs that view compassion as weak.
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Group dynamics have no impact on how individuals are perceived within a group.
Group dynamics have no impact on how individuals are perceived within a group.
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Forensic settings do not require any courage to engage with painful traumatic memories.
Forensic settings do not require any courage to engage with painful traumatic memories.
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Study Notes
Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) in Forensic Settings
- CFT is an integrative psychotherapy rooted in evolutionary, developmental, and biopsychosocial models
- Developed for individuals with high levels of shame and self-criticism, complex mental health problems, and difficulty with cognitive-behavioural interventions
Antecedents and Motivations for Prosocial and Antisocial Behaviours
- Genetic variation impacts empathic caring and psychopathic traits
- Group identification (e.g. tribal 'wars') and potential personal benefits from harming others (e.g. undermining competitors)
- Early neglectful or abusive attachment experiences can impact preparedness to be harmful or helpful
Focusing on Compassion
- Switching the strategic and phenotypic orientation of individuals towards more empathic prosocial outcomes for themselves and others
- Care-focused motivational system that organises physiological, psychological, and social processes
Application in Forensic Settings
- CFT has been applied to various mental health problems, including depression, anger problems, PTSD, psychosis, and acquired brain injury
- Effective in forensic settings with a range of interventions, including recovery models and the Good Lives Model
Understanding Criminal Behaviour
- Roots of criminal behaviour: complex gene-environment interactions, early childhood trauma, depression, anger/impulse control, and shame problems
- CFT can help individuals recognise how evolved dispositions for criminal/antisocial acts relate to gene-environment interactions
Evolutionary Perspective
- Humans have evolved specific motives, emotions, and behavioural dispositions (phenotypes) for survival and reproduction
- CFT seeks to link evolved strategies with phenotypic development to change physiological infrastructures from which thoughts, motives, and behavioural dispositions arise### Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT)
- CFT is a motivation-focused therapy that utilizes evidence-based interventions to stimulate compassion motivation
- CFT helps individuals recognize how some of their evolved dispositions for criminal/antisocial acts relate to complex gene-environment interactions
- CFT is contextualized in an understanding of how evolution has shaped the human mind for specific motives, emotions, and behavioral dispositions (phenotypes)
Criminal Behavior and Evolution
- riminal behavior is more likely to emerge in threatening environments, where individuals tone down concern for others
- Evolutionary strategies for survival, advancement, and reproduction don't always follow moral rules
- The way our brain matures, such as the development of the frontal cortex, emotion regulation, empathic and caring motivation, are significantly influenced by social relationships and social contexts
Social Context and Moral Behavior
- Social contexts create the conditions for moral and immoral behavior
- Humans can be very prosocial and helpful, but they can also be indifferent, neglectful, harmful, cruel, and sadistic
- Social relationships and social contexts shape the development of the body and mind
- Social mentality compassion includes interactional dynamics: compassion for others, compassion from others, and compassion for self
Compassion and Empathy
- Compassion is rooted in evolved care-focused motivation and contextualized by the fact that the human mind is organized around competing motivational systems
- Empathy involves emotional contagion and perspective-taking competencies
- Empathy can be overwhelmed by emotional contagion without perspective-taking, or cold and exploitative without emotional connection
- Callousness is common to many aspects of criminal behavior, disregard for the feelings and well-being of others
Shame, Guilt, and Compassion
- Competencies for shame and guilt are different in terms of their behavioral, cognitive focus, and play out very differently in perpetrators' responses to their harmful acts
- Shame tends to support justification, denial, and avoidance, while guilt involves sorrow, sadness, remorse, empathic engagement, and genuine desires to help the injured party recover
Emotion Regulation and CFT
- CFT focuses on three basic functions of emotions: detecting and responding to threats, detecting and responding to signals of resources and rewards, and detecting and responding to situations indicating safeness
- CFT helps clients understand how these different systems are working for them, their histories, and triggers
- Compassion-focused exercises stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system and facilitate 'rest and digest'
Conclusion
- CFT considers criminal behavior within the human context and recognizes that to some degree, what we call criminality is based on the recognition that humans can behave badly and harmfully when free to do so
- CFT seeks to de-shame people while stimulating responsibility-taking and uses a range of evidence-based practices designed to stimulate particular physiological systems that create the platform for psychological change
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Description
Test your knowledge on how social contexts can influence people to justify cruel actions for defense reasons. Explore the concept of defending one's country and the fine line between concern for others and vulnerability to dark sides.
