Session 2 Action Assignment
Compassion in Personal Living
For this action assignment, select an intervention of compassion in personal living that you can implement this week. You will need to plan ahead by taking at least three data points before the intervention as a baseline (A). This intervention can be with a family member, friend, person on social media, or with anyone else you encounter in your personal living (but should not be a person in the workplace—the upcoming session will focus on compassion in professional settings).
Examples of data points for your baseline and after-treatment graphing might include evaluation of the person’s general demeanor in interaction with you (e.g. 1–10), number of positive words, greetings, or smiles in a given period of time, or number of recorded conflicts within the relationship in a given time period.
Implement the intervention early in the week (no later than Wednesday). Collect at least three data points after the intervention to demonstrate any change in behavior (B).
Examples of Interventions:
Active listening for at least 30 minutes, asking about the other person and avoiding interrupting.
Act of service (e.g., cleaning without being asked, picking up groceries, completing a non-preferred task).
Written expression of gratitude.
Quality time (preferred activity for the person you are serving).
Examples of positive responses for Y axis:
Verbal response (e.g., “I love you,” “Thanks for all you do”).
Nonverbal response (e.g., hugs, smiles, physical affection).
Perceived increase in levels of relational engagement (e.g., returned acts of service, increased participation in conversation).
You will submit a one- to two-page reflection detailing your experiences before, during, and after intervention. As this is a reflection paper, you may write in the first person. Please include an APA formatted cover page, but no reference page is required.
In addition, create an AB design graph to accompany your response. This graph can be completed by hand as long as it is clear and legible and the image is submitted in Word or PDF format. “A” will be your data points for baseline (at least three), “B” will be your data points after baseline (compassionate intervention will be the line indicating a phase change). Your X axis will indicate the number of days (Day 1, Day 2, etc.) during the week and your Y axis will indicate the occurrence of positive responses before and after the intervention.
