Toward a Mindful Psychological Science: Theory and Application

Television Viewing

Developmental psychologists have long been concerned with the effects of television viewing, specifically televised violence, on child behavior (e.g., see Institute for Social Research, 1985, for a review). In light of recent societal events involving adolescent aggression, the topic has become of renewed interest. On the most general level, those with a psychoanalytic orientation have attempted, rather unsuccessfully, to argue that viewing televised aggression leads positively to emotional catharsis (and, thus, a corresponding decrease in actual aggressive behavior in children). Alternatively, learning theorists have argued more persuasively that viewing televised aggression, because of a variety of mechanisms that include behavioral scripts and cognitive priming, leads to an increase in aggressive behavior in children. Though Langer and her colleagues are clearly sensitive to the notion of behavioral scripts, Langer and Piper (1988) have argued that mindful television viewing (i.e., how one watches televisi on rather than what one watches; cf. Werner, 1937, on the crucial distinction between process and achievement in human development) may return choice and control to the individual and that, subsequently, mindful television watching over an extended period may be good for one's health. With respect to the issue at hand, namely, televised aggression, they have reasoned that "whether television leads to aggression or not may depend on whether a viewer formed a premature cognitive commitment or not. That is, mindful televiewing may prevent what otherwise might be a powerful link between what viewers see and what they believe or do" (p. 258), a conclusion recently advanced independently by mainstream developmental psychologists. Such possibilities are worthy of further empirical inquiry.

Prejudice, Bias, and Discrimination

In light of the recent increased focus on contexts of development (e.g., Bronfenbrenner, 1994; Valsiner, 1998), developmental and other psychologists psychological (cognitive, affective, valuative) correlates of marginality in adopted and other marginal groups and then of attempting, based on these correlates, to demonstrate the malleability of self-perceptions of marginality.

Third, in light of the pervasive societal problems currently associated with adoption and the related institution of foster care (e.g., too few infants available for adoption; too few families willing to adopt older children, partly related to negative perceptions of social service agencies; see Demick, in press, for a comprehensive review), Langer's theory has suggested that the institutions of adoption and foster care might profit from a mindful refraining. For example, social service agencies may need to reconsider their typical strategy of multiple foster care placements; "welcoming centers" where a child might stay until a relatively more permanent placement is found may represent a better alternative. Novel matching strategies for foster care and adoption placement--for example, contrary to standard practice, allowing the children some degree of choice in the situation--might go far in demonstrating that there are alternatives to our long-standing, perhaps antiquated practices. In fact, Langer and I ar e currently designing an experiment aimed at doing just that: that is, in the context of a mixer/party, foster children and prospective parents will have some input into who is adopted by whom. The general expectation is that the placement will be more successful (lead to adoption) if the parties (particularly the children) feel some sense of control over the process. These and related ideas ultimately have the potential to improve the psychological functioning, that is, increase the mindful functioning, of adopted individuals, their family members, and society members with whom they must transact.