Running Head: THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS AND EVIDENCE OF ITS EFFECTS 1

Theoretical Foundations and Evidence for its Salutary Effects

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The Stereotype Inoculation Model

The article, Ingroup Experts and Peers as Social Vaccines Who Inoculate the Self-

Concept: The Stereotype Inoculation Model tries to explain how the minority groups and women

can be uplifted from the stereotype of joining certain professions for lack of belonging. The

article is well organized by giving an overview of the whole article that gives the reader an idea

of what the article is all about. The overview is systematically written according to how the

articles content is written. The article starts by trying to explain to the reader how the choice of

profession is not freely chosen but there are constrains of subtle cues that try to dictate who

belongs where and who does not fit. Women and minority groups find themselves in these

situations with the fact that as much as they have the ability and potential to do the high

hierarchical jobs they opt for more comfortable ones, those that they feel they belong in since

they are driven by the need to belong.

The articles uses the stereotype inoculation model that tries to explain how in-group

members who are experts and peers in high-achievement settings can act as social vaccines

who inoculate and strengthen fellow group members. The article provides detailed information

on the need to belong and its impact on the self-concept. It portrays how members of

disadvantaged groups who are mostly solos in high achieving contexts could be vulnerable to

imposter fears. The main aim of the stereotype inoculation model is to provide factors that must

increase social belonging and create resilience against stereotypes that is exposure to in-group

experts and peers in high-achievement areas. The article also highlights the four predictions in

the stereotype inoculation model. The illustration of the stereotype inoculation model gives the

reader a clearer and more practical understanding of the model as it is well and simply

demonstrated.
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The article goes ahead and proposes four interrelated processes to underlie psychological

mechanisms that inoculate the self-concept when individuals come into contact with in-group

experts and peers in high-achievement, high-stakes environments: a stronger and more stable

sense of belonging in the environment, increased self-efcacy, feeling challenged by difculty,

and feeling less threatened. The article gives several references for the model to try and prove its

relevance and arguments. The research made on the stereotype inoculation model is detailed and

well explained. A practical test was done on female students in science, technology, engineering,

and mathematics where the result was that women benefited greatly while the mens responses

did not change. More research on the model include in-group peers matter; research on solos and

tokens, Research on Peers in Learning Groups; Dyads, and Peer Tutors, Research comparing

single-sex and coeducational institutions, and Research on in-group Friends. There is the

provision of psychological mechanisms that drive the impact of in-group peers and experts on

the self-concept that is self-efficacy, enhanced sense of belonging, reduced threat and increased

challenge.

Mindfulness Processes and their Application to Human Suffering

The commentary article, Mindfulness: Theoretical foundations and evidence for its

salutary effects explores the nature of mindfulness in relation to other theories of attention and

awareness. Further, the article examines the role of mindfulness in discouraging negative

functioning and promoting positive outcomes in different aspects of life, including promoting

better mental health, behavior regulation, and physical health among others. The article defines

mindfulness as the receptive attention and awareness of the present experiences and events. One

of the key features of mindfulness is the clarity of awareness, which involves the awareness of
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the internal and external surroundings, emotions, thoughts, emotions, and sensations among

others.

Moreover, mindfulness is characterized by the flexibility of awareness and attention,

whereby mindfulness allows the mind to shift from particular situations towards a greater

awareness on the present events, which may include focusing attention on particular aspects of

what is taking place in the environment at the moment (Brown, Ryan & Creswell, 2007).

Additionally, mindfulness is characterized by the present-oriented consciousness, whereby the

mind is capable of moving from the past, future, and present experiences. However, mindfulness

allows the mind to gain consciousness of the present rather than dwelling in the past. The key

features of mindfulness therefore promote the wellbeing of an individual by promoting clarity

and vividness to the current experiences, which promotes closer contact with life.

Several techniques are applied during mindfulness including mindfulness meditation and

experiential exercises. All the modalities applied in mindfulness procedures focus on

encouraging an attitude of accepting the self-relevant experiences and events. Acceptance plays a

critical role in facilitating better health since it supports the development of capacity to maintain

attention to the current experiences, especially in cases where the experiences are emotionally

challenging or engaging. Mindfulness in this case, therefore promotes mental health as well as

resolving behavioral problems, by promoting clarity and vividness to the current experiences as

well as establishing direct sensory contact with life. Additionally, mindfulness plays a key role in

minimizing psychopathological symptoms in addition to boosting wellbeing and mental health.

In this case, the MBCT and the DBT interventions facilitate the treatment of psychopathology by

focusing on increasing the metacognitive awareness as well as awareness of the present moment,
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and facilitating the non-judgmental awareness of critical negative thoughts and feelings

demonstrated by the at-risk depressive patients (Brown, Ryan & Creswell, 2007).

Further, the mindfulness technique relies on the ability to bring to attention the somatic

experience to promote physical health, especially in cases where individuals are in pain.

Mindfulness seeks to discourage extreme interventions that most people in pain and discomfort

resort to including suppression, self-medication, and substance and alcohol abuse among others.

Moreover, mindfulness employs multidimensional intervention modalities that focus on such

elements as enhancing attentional continuity and stability, metacognitive skills, which include

the impartial and non-reactive observation of an individuals feelings and thoughts, and creating

a sense of awareness of a persons daily behavior. Interventions such as the DBT recognize the

fluctuating nature of personal experiences and emotions, and employ such strategies as noting

and labeling of thoughts to promote an awareness of the naturally occurring phenomena, which

include desires, emotions, and thoughts.

The concept of mindfulness greatly relates to the issue of the stereotypes that minority

groups such as women encounter as explored in the article, Ingroup Experts and Peers as Social

Vaccines Who Inoculate the Self-Concept: The Stereotype Inoculation Model. Minority groups

often internalize stereotypes, which further hinders them from progressing as they often find it

difficult to move out of the believes developed through stereotyping. For instance, most women

are made to believe that certain professions belong to men, while others are meant for women,

which makes them to focus on the women professions at a tender age, while paying little

attention to the male professions. Such elements demonstrate aspects of living in the past,

whereby girls would perform poorly in Mathematics and sciences due to the common belief that

girls cannot do well in the subjects. Therefore, mindfulness techniques are very essential in
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resolving the problems that minority groups face, since the techniques focus on boosting mental

health and encouraging positive behavior by discouraging reliance on past experiences and

focusing thoughts on the present, including what the mind should focus on for better outcomes in

the present as well as in the future.

In conclusion, although the commentary article adequately addresses the key features of

the mindfulness techniques as well as the role of the techniques in promoting better health

outcomes, the article fails to demonstrate sufficient research in the functioning of the

mindfulness techniques in promoting mental health and wellbeing. The article and the primary

article present viable arguments on the approaches that the mindfulness techniques utilize in

shifting the mind from the experiences and future anxieties to the present, which creates better

interaction with the present for better health outcomes and wellbeing. However, existing

research, as demonstrated in the articles, indicates that the principles by which mindfulness

techniques operate are not clearly defined which presents a need to conduct further research in

the manner in which the techniques work to promote better health outcomes. Moreover, there is

need to carry out research on the application of mindfulness techniques in other fields other than

mental wellbeing and pain alleviation.

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References

Brown, K. W., Ryan, R. M., & Creswell, J. D. (2007). Mindfulness: Theoretical foundations and

evidence for its salutary effects. Psychological inquiry, 18(4), 211-237.