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2024/2025  KAN-CPSYV2302U  Applied Mindfulness and Compassion

English Title
Applied Mindfulness and Compassion

Course information

Language English
Course ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Elective
Level Full Degree Master
Duration One Semester
Start time of the course Autumn
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Max. participants 45
Study board
Study Board for BSc/MSc in Business Administration and Psychology, MSc
Course coordinator
  • Jesper Clement - Department of Marketing (Marketing)
Main academic disciplines
  • Customer behaviour
  • Communication
  • Marketing
Teaching methods
  • Blended learning
Last updated on 15-05-2024

Relevant links

Learning objectives
The objective for the course is to provide the student with an insight to the scope of mindfulness and its relation to business. The student will get an overview of research within the field of mindfulness and through this be able to evaluate the values for decision makings in a broad scope of situations. The student should be able to reflect critically on topics provided during the course, and should be able to reflect on these, in a written report as well as in a discussion.
To be awarded with the highest mark (12), the student, with no or just a few insignificant shortcomings, must fulfill the following objectives:
  • 1. At the end of the course, students will have engaged in formal and informal mindfulness and compassion practices.
  • 2. At the end of the course, students will be able to articulate relevant concepts and theories on mindfulness and compassion.
  • 3. At the end of the course, students will students have gained knowledge about mindfulness and compassion interventions for organizations
Course prerequisites
A basic knowledge about marketing theory, decision-making and behavioral economics is a good foundation for this course, but not a necessity.
Examination
Applied Mindfulness and Compassion:
Exam ECTS 7,5
Examination form Active participation

The completion of this course is based on active student participation in class. The course will be considered as passed if the students participation - based on an overall assessment - in the class activities fulfill the learning objectives of the course. The individual student’s participation is assessed by the teacher.
The student must participate in A combination of assignment and presentation
Individual or group exam Individual exam
Grading scale Pass / Fail
Examiner(s) Assessed solely by the teacher
Exam period Winter
Make-up exam/re-exam Home assignment - written product
Size of written product: Max. 15 pages
Assignment type: Report
Duration: Written product to be submitted on specified date and time.
Description of activities
A combination of assignment and presentation: 1) Attendance of 80% of the practical sessions of the course (6 online sessions)
AND
2) Group work activity to design a mindfulness or compassion intervention for presentation to experts in the field.
AND
An individual 3-page paper, that aims to articulate relevant concepts and theories from the field of mindfulness and/or compassion and reflect on their value for the student’s personal and professional life
Course content, structure and pedagogical approach

How can mindfulness and compassion practices contribute to student and employee well-being?

 

Research shows that mindfulness and compassion practices lead to lower levels of stress, higher life satisfaction and better pro-social behaviors. Research within the field of mindfulness also contributes to marketing theory in the field of consumer psychology and neuromarketing, with implications on industrial and societal level.

 

Leaders may cultivate mindfulness and compassion to order to cope with the challenges of work and personal life, prevent burnout and be better equipped to empathize with coworkers. Mindful leaders develop attentional skills and emotional regulation, which help them focus on their work and create better relationships.

 

On the society level, citizens may cultivate mindfulness in order to deal with impulsive consumption behavior. Consumers’ ability to act mindfully might benefit from their practice in many aspects of their live, and especially when short-term rewards are chosen instead of long-term benefits. This can be related to daily decisions (e.g. choosing healthy food) until long-term decisions (financial decisions). In that sense, consumers who practice mindfulness contribute to a healthier and more sustainable society.

 

The concept of mindfulness has its roots in Buddhist psychology and indicates both a type of meditation practice and a personal characteristic that is developed because of this practice. Yet, there are many other levels of meditation. 

 

Students in class will become familiarized with different types of practices, their effects and benefits, and the theory and psychological mechanisms behind them.

 

There are two strains of research concerning mindfulness; one based on Ellen Langer’s work and one based on Kabat-Zin’s practice and research. Students will become acquiented with both streams of research as well as their implications in related concepts such as flow, wisdom, sustainability and creativity.

 

At the end of this course, students will have developed a personal mindfulness and compassion practice. They will also have the knowledge of the theories behind mindfulness and compassion. Finally, they will plan the application of their practical and theoretical learnings to a real-life case.

Description of the teaching methods
The intention of the teaching is, that students work in teams engaging in discussions and doing presentations throughout the course. These presentations would be directly based on the readings and/or exercises in class. The aim for the presentations is to clarify topics and areas of challenges related to the course topic. It will also be expected that students can apply theoretical concepts in their daily lives, demonstrating how aspects of mindfulness can help them become better consumers and leaders.
Feedback during the teaching period
Feedback is given in the middle of the semester based on the presentations in class.
Student workload
Preperation 123 hours
Teaching 33 hours
Exam 50 hours
Further Information

If the student fails the above, a retake exam will be offered  in the form of a 15-page home assignment.

long paper following the structure below:
1. Introduction and Research Question
2. Literature Review
2. How I have addressed this RQ with mindfulness/compassion in my life
3. Proposal of a mindfulness/compassion intervention for a work environment
4. Opportunities and barriers to implement mindfulness/compassion in my life and in a work setting
5. Conclusion
Students must write 15 pages total.
Students must use 5 readings from the syllabus + 5 readings of your own choosing. Students can always add more readings from the syllabus and other sources, 5 is the minimum. If students decide to use 2 or more chapters from 1 book, they count as 1 reading.
And here are the learning objectives of the exam:
1. Being able to articulate relevant literature into a research question
2. Being able to articulate concepts and theories from the syllabus
3. Being able to clarify opportunities and barriers for applying mindfulness to personal life, business theory and practice
4. Being able to communicate ideas with clarity

Expected literature

Hart, R., Ivtzan, I., & Hart, D. (2013). Mind the gap in mindfulness research: A comparative account of the leading schools of thought. Review of General Psychology, 17(4), 453–466. https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1037/​a0035212

 

Sheth, J. N., Sethia, N. K., & Srinivas, S. (2011). Mindful consumption: A customer-centric approach to sustainability. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 39(1), 21–39. https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1007/​s11747-010-0216-3

 

Langer, E. J. (2014). Mindfulness forward and back. In A. le, C. T. Ngnoumen, & E. J.

 

Langer (Eds.), The Wiley Blackwell handbook of mindfulness (p. 7–20). Wiley Blackwell.  https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1002/​9781118294895.ch1

 

Kabat-Zinn, Jon. (2003) Mindfulness-Based Interventions in Context: Past, Present, and Future. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, Vol. 10, p. 144–156.

 

Fitzsimons, G. M., & Bargh, J. A. (2004). Automatic self-regulation. In R. F. Baumeister & K. D. Vohs (Eds.), Handbook of self-regulation: Research, theory, and applications (p. 151–170). The Guilford Press.

 

Niemiec, C. P., & Ryan, R. M. (2009). Autonomy, competence, and relatedness in the classroom: Applying self-determination theory to educational practice. Theory and Research in Education, 7(2), 133–144. https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1177/​1477878509104318

 

Schultz, Patricia & Ryan, Richard. (2015). The “Why,” “What,” and “How” of Healthy Self-Regulation: Mindfulness and Well-Being from a Self-Determination Theory Perspective. 10.1007/​978-1-4939-2263-5_7.

 

Kabat-Zinn, Jon (2013) Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain and Illness. Chapter 18, Change: The One Thing You can be Sure Of.

 

Shapiro, S.L., Carlson, L.E., Astin, J.A. and Freedman, B. (2006), Mechanisms of mindfulness. J. Clin. Psychol., 62: 373-386. doi:10.1002/jclp.20237

 

Tang, Y. Y. (2017). The Neuroscience of Mindfulness Meditation: How the Body and Mind Work Together to Change Our Behaviour. The Neuroscience of Mindfulness Meditation: How the Body and Mind Work Together to Change Our Behaviour, 1–94. https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1007/​978-3-319-46322-3

 

Tang, Y. Y., Hölzel, B. K., & Posner, M. I. (2015). The neuroscience of mindfulness meditation. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 16(4), 213–225. https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1038/​nrn3916

 

Reznitskaya, A., & Sternberg, R. (2012). Teaching Students to Make Wise Judgments: The “Teaching for Wisdom” Program.

 

Rosenberg, E. L. (2004). Mindfulness and consumerism. Psychology and Consumer Culture: The Struggle for a Good Life in a Materialistic World., 107–125. https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1037/​10658-007

 

Gould, S., Cho, Y.-N., Dorsey, J. D., Schindler, R. M., Murdock, M. R., & Boesen-Mariani, S. (2016). Mindfulness: Its transformative potential for consumer, societal, and environmental weil-being. Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, 35(2), 198–210. https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1509/​jppm.15.139

 

Brown, Kirk & Kasser, Tim & Ryan, Richard & Linley, P. & Orzech, Kevin. (2009). When what one has is enough: Mindfulness, financial desire discrepancy, and subjective well-being. Journal of Research in Personality - J RES PERSONAL. 43. 10.1016/​j.jrp.2009.07.002.

 

Kiken, Laura & Lundberg, Kristjen & Fredrickson, Barbara. (2017). Being Present and Enjoying It: Dispositional Mindfulness and Savoring the Moment Are Distinct, Interactive Predictors of Positive Emotions and Psychological Health. Mindfulness. 8. 10.1007/​s12671-017-0704-3.

 

Hougaard, R., & Carter, J. (2018). The mind of the leader: How to lead yourself, your people, and your organization for extraordinary results.

 

Kudesia, R. (2015). Mindfulness and creativity in the workplace. In J. Reb & P. Atkins (Eds.), Mindfulness in Organizations: Foundations, Research, and Applications (Cambridge Companions to Management, pp. 190-212). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/​CBO9781107587793.010

 

Alberts, H., & Hülsheger, U. (2015). Applying mindfulness in the context of work: Mindfulness-based interventions. In J. Reb & P. Atkins (Eds.), Mindfulness in Organizations: Foundations, Research, and Applications (Cambridge Companions to Management, pp. 100-132). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/​CBO9781107587793.007

Last updated on 15-05-2024