Oral Defense Questions Pt.2

1. What additional questions emerged from your research? Why are these questions important?

A common question that emerged from my research was how nostalgia  impacts individuals on a biological level. Though I did touch upon it fairly in my paper, it still poses a great impact on how nostalgia affects individuals. And why these questions are important, is that it can go into further detail on why individuals feel different emotions when experiencing nostalgia, further enhancing my research whether nostalgia is beneficial or harmful.

1. How is your conclusion in conversation with the body of literature or other research sources you examined? (what are similar sources that had the same conclusion as me?)

My conclusion with my body of literature in conversation with other sources is that my conclusion is that nostalgia is solely experience based whether it’s harmful or beneficial. A journal included in my research I read named Recalling Tough Times: Exploring the Effect of Acceptance on Autobiographical Memory in Daily Life., they similarly assert that nostalgia is shaped by lived experiences, and its intensity often reflects on the individual's ability to sustain that memory. They also assert how individuals are more sustained to remember more intense memories, with them being more vivid. 

1. How did you use the conclusions or questions of others to advance your own research?

How I used the conclusion or questions of others to advance my research is that I split up my research into three individual parts, reflecting and carefully deciding which pieces of evidence to use from different sources. How nostalgia is beneficial, How nostalgia is harmful, and lastly, how nostalgia is solely based on an individual's past experiences. These three conclusions have advanced my research by challenging me to look through different perspectives and perceptions on nostalgia itself, not just how it can be harmful and hinder individuals' growth process. Taking account of individuals who have encountered constructive, destructive or both of these variants of nostalgia. 

1. What are the implications of your findings to your community? ( How are people in my community affected?)

In the sun prairie, nostalgia influences people to connect through trends and shared experiences . Thus, us being a somewhat small town, we can have individuals have a heightened sense of belonging. But this could also lead individuals to dwell on the past since our city is constantly going through changes. Overall, nostalgia’s impact is solely based on the individual’s experiences.