Inducing Self-Compassion and the Impact on Neuroticism and Other Personality CharacteristicsI

Self-compassion, which originally emerged from centuries-old Buddhist philosophy, is a construct that has become incorporated into psychological research in an effort to improve emotional well-being of individuals. Aspects of how we judge ourselves, criticize our flaws, and react to our failures are all considered in respect to an individual’s level of selfcompassion (Neff, 2011). Further, self-compassion also appears to be associated with lower levels of anxiety and positively related to various personality traits. The Big Five Personality test is a widely used measures for describing personality characteristics of Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Neuroticism, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness (Costa & McCrae, 1985). Research has shown positive correlations with self-compassion and individuals possessing most of these personality traits, except for Neuroticism (Neff et al., 2007). Previous research suggests that self-compassion activities may reduce anxiety in individuals, however, there are few studies exploring this effect among individuals with traits of neuroticism (Leary et al, 2007). The present study attempted to first induce anxiety in participants using a self-guided vignette describing academic failure. Participants were randomly assigned into one of three conditions (i.e., selfcompassion, mindfulness, and control) to examine whether brief self-compassion and mindfulness exercises would reduce levels of anxiety and negative emotions in individuals with higher levels of neuroticism. Results showed individuals with high levels of neuroticism had significantly lower levels of self-compassion. There were no significant changes in anxiety after the self-compassion exercise or mindfulness exercise were analyzed separately, however, there was a significant interaction when the mindfulness and self-compassion groups were combined and compared to the control. There were no interactions of neuroticism by the condition. Impact of Self-Compassion on Neuroticism 2 The Effects of Inducing Self-Compassion on Personality Characteristics and Anxiety Self-Compassion If we looked up the definition of “compassion” in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, we would find a description entailing a sympathetic awareness of another person’s distress along with a desire or willingness to alleviate it (Merriam-Webster Inc., 2004). In other words, we have used the word “compassion” to describe the concern (i.e., comfort, support, kindness) we have for others who may be experiencing the inevitable difficulties that occur in life. Although we provide kindness and acceptance to our friends, colleagues, and family, how often do you provide this same understanding and support to ourselves? We all appear to differ in the way in which we cope with and accept our mistakes and failures that are a part of the human experience. Self-compassion is a concept that helps explain how accepting, understanding, and kind we are to ourselves when life does not turn out as we expected; and, usually involves taking a nonjudgmental stance towards our own failures or inadequacies (Neff, 2003a). Although the concept of self-compassion emerged from centuries-old Buddhist philosophy, it has been incorporated into current research and clinical treatment approaches by Western psychologists interested in improving the emotional well-being of others (Neff, 2009). Self-compassion is a rather encompassing construct that includes aspects of how we judge ourselves, criticize our flaws, and react to our failures (Neff, 2011). We can observe levels of self-compassion through the language we use to describe ourselves and the self-critical statements we make in the face of life difficulties. Kristin Neff (2003a) proposes that self-compassion is a healthy form of selfacceptance and highlights three main components including: mindfulness, common humanity, and self-kindness. Mindfulness is described as observing one’s thoughts and feelings through a Impact of Self-Compassion on Neuroticism 3 non-judgmental and receptive state of mind while facing negative or painful feelings without self-pity or dramatization. Common Humanity involves the ability to recognize that failure is a part of our shared humanity, that suffering is something that we all experience as humans, and that both are unavoidable. Self-Kindness is responding with understanding and kindness to oneself when we experience failure. When we feel pain or a sense of inadequacy, selfcompassion allows for more emotional equanimity and acceptance of oneself (Neff, 2003a). It is important to make a distinction between self-esteem and self-compassion because there is often confusion when exploring these constructs as they both seem to pertain to feelings we develop about ourselves. Self-esteem has been defined in a variety of ways in the literature. In 1890, William James described self-esteem as being a certain degree to which an individual judges oneself based on various life domains and their competence within those domains that they believe to be important (James, 1890). Later, Charles Cooley described self-esteem as a combination of both self-evaluations and the perceived evaluations of others (Cooley, 1902). These two definitions are consistent with current views of self-esteem. Self-esteem is now widely viewed as an individual’s sense of their value or worth, and encompasses how individuals value, approve of, appreciate, or like themselves (Blascovich & Tomaka, 1991). Research on self-esteem has produced mixed findings, with studies showing both positive (i.e., happiness, optimism and satisfaction) and negative (i.e., narcissism, entitlement and egocentric viewpoints) consequences of high and low self-esteem (Harter, 1998). Baumeister, Campbell, Krueger, and Vohs (2003) found that efforts to enhance self-esteem have not produced the positive outcomes that were expected. Furthermore, Neff (2011) suggests that self-esteem is often based on our perceptions of how Impact of Self-Compassion on Neuroticism 4 others view us on things that are important to us (e.g., athletic or academic competencies). In an attempt to maintain high self-esteem, people may dismiss negative feedback as unreliable and may attribute failure to external causes. By deflecting negative feedback and not taking responsibility for ineffective or harmful actions, individuals may develop an inaccurate sense of self and an inflated self-concept. According to Neff and Vonk (2009), self-esteem often relies on evaluations of self-worth in various life domains, thus it is more contingent on specific performance and depends on a comparison to others (i.e., “I am smarter than others.”). Given its reliance on one’s performance, particularly compared to others, self-esteem and feelings of self-worth fluctuate and are less stable over time (Neff & Vonk, 2009). Instead of basing feelings of self-worth on evaluations of ourselves or the possession of some particular set of talents or skills, self-compassion encourages acceptance and understanding. Self-compassion can occur without having to feel better than others to validate feeling good about oneself (Kristin Neff, 2011). Neff argues that self-esteem relies on self-evaluation and cognitive representations of the self which may include both a distortion of self and others; whereas, self-compassion involves an awareness and openness that allows one to embrace all aspects of personal experience. In order to test this hypothesis, Neff and Vonk (2009) conducted a study to explore differences in ego-focused reactivity associated with self-esteem versus self-compassion, and found that self-compassion was associated with positive emotional states above those accounted for by self-esteem. In this study, self-compassion was negatively correlated with self-rumination, anger, and social comparison whereas self-esteem was positively correlated with narcissism. Narcissism was associated with an inflated ego and self-view, and had a stronger positive Impact of Self-Compassion on Neuroticism 5 correlation with self-esteem than with self-compassion further maintaining that self-esteem was dependent upon performance outcomes and social comparisons. On the other hand, when compared to self-esteem, self-compassion was protective against the experiences of negative emotions and produced more stable feelings of self-worth, and was equivalent for predicting emotional states including happiness, optimism and positive emotions (Neff & Vonk, 2009; Neff, Hsieh & Dejitterat, 2005). Self-compassion has also been examined as a potential coping mechanism that may buffer against overly negative reactions to instances of academic and achievement failure (Neff et al., 2005). Neff and colleagues (2005) conducted two separate studies to measure the relationship between self-compassion, academic achievement, and the way in which undergraduate students perceive their own academic failure. In the first study, they reported that there was a positive relationship between levels of self-compassion and mastery goals (i.e., motivated by curiosity to understand new material, and a desire to develop skills) but selfcompassion was negatively correlated with performance goals (i.e., motivated to defend one’s self-worth). The relationships between self-compassion and mastery and performance goals were also mediated by low levels of fear of failure and high levels of self-competence (Neff et al., 2005). In the second study, students high in self-compassion were more likely to demonstrate emotion-focused coping strategies. These students were also less likely to use avoidance strategies after receiving a midterm grade and were less likely to perceive lower grades as a “failure” (Neff et al., 2005). A number of studies have investigated how self-esteem and self-compassion affect one’s response to unpleasant life events, especially how individuals handle and cope with these Impact of Self-Compassion on Neuroticism 6 outcomes. In a series of studies, Lea