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Combining Behavior and EEG to Study the Effects of Mindfulness Meditation on Episodic Memory

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Mindfulness and the 'psychological imagination'.

Daniel Nehring¹, Ashley Frawley²

¹International School of Social Work, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China.

Sociology of Health & Illness

|April 17, 2020

Summary

The study analyzes the rise of mindfulness in media, showing how it reflects a "psychological imagination" that frames social problems as individual issues. This contrasts with the "sociological imagination," which viewed them as public concerns.

Keywords:

mindfulness news media social construction social problems sociological imagination

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Area of Science:

Sociology
Media Studies
Psychology

Background:

The concept of mindfulness has gained prominence in English media discourses.
Contemporary thinking increasingly frames social problems through a 'psychological imagination'.

Purpose of the Study:

To analyze the rise of mindfulness in media.
To contextualize mindfulness within the 'psychological imagination' framework.
To examine the roles of academic claims, commercial interests, and media in mindfulness's popularization.

Main Methods:

Analysis of English language media discourses on mindfulness.
Tracing the translation of mindfulness from Buddhist philosophy to Western contexts.
Examining media claims-making regarding social issues and mindfulness.

Main Results:

Mindfulness's rise is linked to a 'psychological imagination' that medicalizes social problems.
This imagination reframes public issues as private concerns rooted in individual biology, mentality, and behavior.
Academic, commercial, and media factors have driven mindfulness's popularization since the late 1970s.

Conclusions:

The 'psychological imagination' dominates contemporary discourse, contrasting with C. Wright Mills' 'sociological imagination'.
Mindfulness exemplifies this shift, offering individualistic solutions to societal problems.
This trend signifies a decline in viewing social issues as collective, public concerns.