Difference between meaningful and psychologically rewarding occupations: Findings from two pilot studies.
Introduction:Meaningful occupations are hypothesized to be healing because they activate the dopaminergic neural pathways in the brain. We investigated whether: 1) self-selected meaningful occupations activated the dopaminergic neural pathways; and 2) there were differences in the categories of occu...
| Published in: | Journal of Occupational Science Vol. 23; no. 2; pp. 266 - 278 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Published: |
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Jun2016
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| Summary: | Introduction:Meaningful occupations are hypothesized to be healing because they activate the dopaminergic neural pathways in the brain. We investigated whether: 1) self-selected meaningful occupations activated the dopaminergic neural pathways; and 2) there were differences in the categories of occupations that were perceived by study participants to be; a) meaningful, b) psychologically rewarding (likely to activate the dopaminergic or reward neural pathways), and/or c) both meaningful and psychologically rewarding.Method: In study number one, participants’ brains were scanned on fMRI while they watched themselves engaging in various types of occupations. In study number two we used the Experience sampling method and Repeated Measures designs.Findings: Self-selected meaningful occupations did not activate the reward neural pathways as hypothesized. Occupational category had an effect on mood and meaningfulness. Fun occupations elicited the most positive mood, especially when they were mentally stimulating and were performed with other people.Conclusion:Occupations that were both meaningful and psychologically rewarding were mentally stimulating and fostered connection with other people. Psychologically rewarding occupations tended to be perceived as fun, while physically stimulating occupations were perceived as meaningful. A larger study with a more representative sample will be conducted in an attempt to verify these findings. 引言：有意义的休闲活动被假定为有医治效应，因为它们活化大脑的多巴胺能神经通路。我们调查：1）自我选择的有意义的休闲活动是否能激活多巴胺能神经通路; 2）研究参与者是否认为休闲类别间具有这样的差异：a）有意义；b）心理回报（有可能激活多巴胺能神经通路）；和/或 c）既有意义又有心理回报。方法：在第一项研究中，参与者在观看自己忙于各种休闲活动时接受大脑磁共振功能成像扫描。在第二项研究中，我们使用经验抽样方法和重复测量设计。调查结果：自我选择的有意义休闲活动没有像假设的那样激活回报神经通路。休闲类别影响情绪和意义。有趣的休闲引发最积极的情绪，特别是当它们能刺激大脑，并与其他人一起进行的时候。结论：有意义的和有心理回报的休闲活动能刺激大脑并促进与其他人的联系。有心理回报的休闲活动往往被认为是有趣的，而身体刺激的休闲被认为是有意义的。我们将会进行一个更大的具有更多代表性样品的研究，以试图验证这些发现。 |
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