Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Mindfulness Theory
I found a new theory!!! :) After endless searches for some theory that might be applicable to my dissertation, I came across this Mindfulness Theory by Professor Ellen J. Langer of Harvard University.
This is she.
Well, will keep you all informed of my further developments, then. But this morning, for the first time in months, I was able to put together my thoughts of my dissertation structure in an overview form, patching together the jigsaw puzzles of my research.
What a relief feeling!
I plan to go in and see my advisor real soon to hear what he thinks. I need more help from the sociological perspective and also on the methodology. Well, at least there's some progress! :-P
Oh, she also developed this scale that I may use in my thesis. It's called Langer's Mindfulness Scale. More can be found here. http://www.idspublishing.com/langers.htm
Langer's Mindfulness Scale (LMS)
Ages: 16 & Up. Time: 3 mins.
Quick self -discovery tool
Improve your mindfulness
Many problems are not solved because people think about them in automatic and habitual ways. This automatic mode of thought, called mindlessness, plays a role in how we think about people. The cost of mindless thinking is significant because it limits our ability to make good decisions, to recognize changes in other people, and to see things from a variety of perspectives.
The LMS is a 21-item questionnaire intended for use as a training, self-discovery, and research instrument. It assesses four domains associated with mindful thinking: novelty-seeking, engagement, novelty producing, and flexibility. An individual who seeks novelty perceives each situation as an opportunity to learn something new. An individual who scores high in engagement is likely to notice more details about his or her specific relationship with the environment. A novelty producing person generates new information in order to learn more about the current situation. Flexible people welcome a changing environment rather than resist it. (To read Langer's books, "Mindfulness" and "The Power of Mindful Thinking, see www.bn.com)
The LMS has been shown to have good test-retest reliability, factor validity, and construct validity.
Order Form
International Order Form Attachment
References
Langer, E.J. (1997). The Power of Mindful Learning. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Langer, E. J. (1989). Mindfulness. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
About the Author
Ellen Langer is Professor of Psychology at Harvard University and the 1988 recipient of the Am. Psych. Assoc. Distinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest Award
Order Form
International Order Form Attachment
References
Langer, E.J. (1997). The Power of Mindful Learning. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Langer, E. J. (1989). Mindfulness. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
About the Author
Ellen Langer is Professor of Psychology at Harvard University and the 1988 recipient of the Am. Psych. Assoc. Distinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest Award
