STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

Jaq Poussot

Manhattan, NY, September 11th, 2002, I found myself sitting face to face in a chair across from a new classmate, John Michael, at the American Academy of Dramatics Arts. We volunteered to sit. There. Together. The technique was explained and off we went:

JM: You are smiling
Jaq: I am smiling
JM: You are smiling
Jaq: I am smiling
JM: You are smiling a little bigger
Jaq: I am smiling a little bigger
JM: You are laughing
Jaq: You are laughing
JM: I am laughing

And so it went for roughly 20 min, back and forth-- an intimate emergence of attunement, live! We would take in one another’s behaviors and take turns saying them out loud upon observable change, verbally exposing those micro moments where the other got annoyed or distanced or came back or got playful - moment-to-moment. This acting technique is called The Meisner Technique (TMT). I didn’t know it at the time, but it was my first meaningful exposure to learning to recognize emotional attunement and co-regulation of emotion. TMT primed me for wanting to live in the moment, on and off stage. It taught me metacognition and left me thirsty wanting to know more about relational dynamics of human behavior -- specifically as it applies to compassion.

Compassion is an increasingly popularized curiosity in the world of psychology. Most of this can be attributed to wanting to understand cultural phenomena such as: physician burnout and patient satisfaction, political polarization, and disconnectivity related to smartphone and social media use. The theme? Humans are craving connection -- or maybe reconnection. With the introduction of mindfulness came the invitation to look inward and self-reflective, whereas now we turn to a relation-centered concept to save the day.

My research interests are to explore the continuum of compassion as a dynamic relational construct. Based on the current scales of compassion, as reviewed by Carla Strauss et al, I want to explore the 5 1points of compassion as it applies to maladapted-compassion. In Buddhism, we call this, Idiot Compassion. In its most basic essence, Idiot Compassion is the kind of compassion that is without wisdom, or, perhaps in western terms we might call this discernment. It is my suspicion that this kind of wisdom and discernment presents an important cognitive process that can be unearthed for the greater understanding of choice and ability in the provisioning of compassion. I aim to utilize the research skills, 1 Clara Strauss, Billie Lever Taylor, Jenny Gu, Willem Kuyken, Ruth Baer, Fergal Jones, Kate Cavanagh, What is compassion and how can we measure it? A review of definitions and measures, Clinical Psychology Review, Volume 47, 2016,Pages 15-27, Page of 1 3 networks, and knowledge gained in this doctoral program to make meaningful contributions to the ongoing study of compassion in academic for the betterment of society.

Through my Naropa University course work in Contemplative Psychology, I have been exposed to the Buddhist understanding of compassion. In particular, Buddhist Psychology II: Awakening Compassion provided a deep dive into traditional and modern Buddhist texts, and on understanding where they overlap with modern western psychology. Regarding relational dynamics of human behavior, I had the opportunity to study with Carole Clements on The Dynamics of Intimate Relationships, which exposed me to the science of intimate relationships through the lens of attachment theory, therapeutic techniques (i.e.: EFT), the IMAGO, and Gottman’s Science of Trust. As an Interdisciplinary (INTD) major, I targeted how to research and more importantly how to do so across disciplines and synthesize them in a holistic way for new meaning-making. I completed a mandatory 50-page thesis on Disillusion: Intimacy’s Place in Workplace Transformation using methodologies including, but not limited to, arts-based research, literature reviews, and ethnographic interviewing.

The moment where I truly began to identify my voice as a researcher occurred during my study abroad program in the tiny kingdom of Bhutan; the only Buddhist identifying country in the world. The first: Indian Laborers: The Invisible Class of Bhutan, which was published by the London School of Economics in January 2018 (link). This research revealed a cultural bias, that resulted in an a lack of compassion across society for the Indian laborers, and conceded the economic and social impacts of how this country wide racism bred fear and the spread of HIV. The second: Intercultural field research regarding the paradox of Bhutan’s developmental paradigm, Gross National Happiness (GNH), in relationship to its high rate of suicide. 19th highest in the world at that time! To complete this project ethnographic interviews were conducted with the Bhutanese Ambassador to the United Nations, the Royal Psychologist of Bhutan, the newly established Bureau of Suicide Prevention, Members of Trongsa & Bhumtang Governance, university teachers, guidance counselors, and students. Finding my voice at this international juncture, while I predominately studied decolonizing methodologies, had it’s own kind of irony. As a white visitor, I was granted many kinds of permission and access that no Bhutanese person would ever have. In some ways, I was living a kind of “colonizer’s lifestyle” with a full access press pass, and in so doing — and in a way only culture shock can really bless you with— I was laid bare to probe and scrutinize my own inherited biases, racism and prejudice; as a researcher, an individual, and an American. Nakedly, I saw how western psychology, as it was imposed on Bhutan, brought a kind of erosion to their own traditional wisdom around well-being, and the fallout of such impositions as they created new waves of trouble and trauma on a living system. Equally so, as one of only 40 white people in the country, I was Othered. A revelation, all its own, that invited me to foster self-compassion and compassion for all peoples, period.

Over the past 4 years of teaching mindfulness globally to corporate teams, like Sales Force, and in the social justice leadership institute StartingBloc, I have intimately watched as mindfulness practices become overtly commercialized, into more of a “McMindfulness,” as coined by Ronal Purser. From a Buddhist perspective, mindfulness has been plucked from its greater roots and rich historical context; its psychological relevance and meaning have become watered down, and its impact for good is lessened by the ways it is misunderstood, and therefore poorly taught. It seems of the essence to prevent the same from happening to a concept like compassion, and therefore, further research is essential to keeping it from being adulterated.

I am attracted to Colorado University’s Ph. D. because its faculty and coursework would give me interdisciplinary opportunities that allow space for personal consilience. With Prof. Leaf Van Boven and the EDJI Laboratory and their INTD approach in exploring gratitude, materialism, well-being, as interlaced with behavioral economics is a fantastic fit. I see this lab currently focuses on how the socially adaptive emotions of gratitude and guilt can be elicited from the same situations and what that means for social outcomes. Their existing work models for me best-practices on the nuances of studying complex emotional constructs. Prof. Eric Pedersen’s focus on complex moral philosophical topics, affords the possibility of collaboration on updating theory using integrated evolutionary and cognitive science approaches. My interest in neuro/psycho biology I see working with Prof. Erik Knight's as an opportunity to satisfy the third circle in the Venn model I have for my academic goals: exploring relational constructs in light of my knowledge of Buddhism, mixed-methodology, and to understand the neurobiological determinants of these concepts. While understanding how compassion could moderate adverse neurobiological effects of inequality is interesting, I want to explore when compassion is adaptive vs maladaptive. When does compassion build psychological resources that promote resilience and proactive coping, and when is compassion detrimental.

Going forward, I would like to interrogate and possibly expand the construct validity of compassion to include maladaptive aspects because I feel this can bring a better understanding to the antecedents, mechanisms, and outcomes of compassion in practice and across society. Such research inquiry will require I gain expertise in psychometrics and measurement theory, experimental and quasi-experimental design, and a deep knowledge of the social psychology research literature. I am seeking admission into the Social Psychology department to pursue this knowledge and to work with faculty who can expand my interests, passions, and lines of inquiry. Through this doctoral program, I seek to continue to develop as a mixed-methods researcher, recognizing that while quantitative research is exacting, it can often provide a thin sliced understanding of a broader concept.

The uniqueness of my candidacy is demonstrated in the diversity of my research background, the distinctness and life-changingness of my lived experience in Bhutan, the extraordinary accumulation of embodied experiences of compassion through contemplative, mindfulness, and artistic influences, my ability to stay grounded and creative, simultaneously, as a means to see outside the box for problem solving, and my extraordinary fluidity to collaborate or lead. As a meditation practitioner for nearly 18 years, I live a moment-to-moment reality with pure presence; this too gives me the gift to research empirically, yet, manifest as an ally and bridge between The Ancient and The New; Strong Back, Soft Front, says my Zen teacher, Roshi Joan Halifax. From this- I am confident in my ability to contribute, meaningfully, to the development of novel and meaningful lines of inquiry for your university.

Deep Bow - Jaq Poussot