Minnesota State University Mankato
Social Psychology Relevancy Paper
For my Social Psychology class, it required us to write a paper on a topic in social psychology which we felt held social relevancy. In my paper, I argued that mindfulness was something important that should be taught in schools, specifically in adolescence, as that is when the brain is still developing. It is also a good time as it is when we see an academic decline in students, so by teaching them mindfulness, it can help them improve in school. To do so, I examined multiple different psychological studies to support my thesis.
The following paper meets levels 1 through 4 for information synthesis.
Within my paper, my thesis was that the concept of mindfulness is something that is important and should be taught to adolescents in schools as that is when their brains are still plastic to keep the skills taught about mindfulness. To support my thesis, I researched different psychological studies and journal articles regarding mindfulness, adolescence, and mindfulness in schools (Information Synthesis level 1-2). As most studies I had referenced did not specifically just talk about instilling mindfulness in schools during adolescence, I had taken the information was within the different research and used whatever the relevant information was to support my thesis (information synthesis level 3). This project taught me how to look at different psychological research articles and studies and take the information provided to support my thesis. It was not about finding articles that were directly talking about my thesis but finding relevant information within the different studies. This is a useful skill to have when taking part in research. This allows your thesis to have more breadth and gives me the ability to explore more nuanced theses where there might not be a lot of research done specifically on it (Information synthesis level 4).
When conducting research, it is important to take the information you find and frame it within your thesis. You must be able to support your claim with relevant information. This is a skill important in any research I do, whether that be in a school setting or professionally.
Below is a link to my paper: