The article analyzes the language means by which the intensity of emotional processes in Polish, Russian and Ukrainian is reflected on the example of the names of emotions that are part of the “compassion” group. By the intensity of emotions, we mean a quantitative assessment of the quality of the emotional process relative to a certain norm. Verbalizers of the intensity of emotional experiences include lexemes describing the power of the emotions themselves and the impact of the emotions on a person. The characteristics of the power of the manifestation of emotions are objectified most often with the help of adjectives and adverbs. Verbalization of the power of the influence of emotional experiences on a person in Polish, Russian and Ukrainian can occur by objectifying the temperature characteristics of feelings, as well as through association with images of fluid and fire. Besides intensity on the quantitative side, a feeling is also characterized by duration – the time interval between the beginning and the end of an emotion. In terms of duration, the emotions of the “compassion” group in Polish, Russian and Ukrainian are described as sudden and short-lived states.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) among parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) through reducing psychopathology, improving quality of life, and developing psychological skills (psychological flexibility, self-compassion, and ego-resiliency). The study was quasi-experimental in the form of a four-week ACT intervention; three measurements were obtained (baseline, one week after training, one month after training). It involved 60 participants divided into three groups: two criteria groups (ACT in the off-line form, N=20, ACT in the on-line form, N=20), and one control group (N=20). The results showed a significant improvement in the area of quality of life and the level of psychological skills among parents participating in the ACT training, and this improvement was maintained both a week and a month after the end of the training. The form of participation in the training did not differentiate the groups, which may indicate their equivalence. In addition, significant intergroup differences were shown between participants from the criterion groups and those from the control group, as the subjects who did not participate in the training were characterized by lower quality of life and lower level of psychological skills, and higher intensity of psychopathological symptoms. The results can be used both in designing further scientific research and in clinical practice, especially in the psychological care of families of persons diagnosed with ASD, with special focus on the area of developing psychological skills and the use of short-term therapeutic methods.

The major underlying principle of the present paper is that, in opposition to the viewpoint of emotions as discrete entities, emotions are represented as clusters in conceptual space. The graded structure and fuzzy boundaries inherent in the prototype-periphery nature of these clusters dictate that the meaning of a specific emotion is governed by both inter- and intra-cluster relationships and their interactions. In addition to these relationships and interactions the paper examines both external and internal affects to compare and contrast the FEAR, COMPASSION, LOVE/JOY, and PRIDE clusters in British English and Polish. The three specific methods employed to analyze these are the GRID instrument, an online emotions sorting task, and a corpus-based cognitive linguistic methodology.