Role of Psychology in Journalism

LO1. Carry out research to collect journalism accounts which deal with ethical and psychological issues, both on the readers and on journalists.

The first thing that came to my mind while trying to research something related to ethical and psychological issues was when Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars event. Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith's shaved head when presenting at the Oscars, citing the 1997 film "G.I. Jane," which starred Demi Moore sporting a buzz cut. Smith walked onto the stage and slapped Rock across the face in response to the joke about his wife. Pinkett Smith has been candid about her diagnosis of alopecia, an autoimmune illness that causes hair loss. Many believe her arduous struggle with alopecia could be evident on her face immediately following Rock's joke.

These two celebrities are well-known and respected in their respective industries. These are experienced men who have worked in the profession for decades, not newcomers who we might expect to be a little cocky. Smith had recently published a memoir in which he expressed regret for failing to protect his mother from his abusive father. Will is a human being who has grown up in a household where he witnessed abuse. Witnessing abuse can alter the brain, resulting in symptoms of anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), such as; aggression and rage, irritability, helplessness, hypervigilance, and

depression. There were numerous writings about the media's portrayal of the slap. The New York Times provides one example:

Figure 1: Article: Going After That Pound of Flesh- New York Times.

Numerous of the cultural components that could help explain why Smith did it can be found in the many well-written pieces by journalists like Maureen Dowd. Perhaps there was an expectation that husbands would defend their spouses (which suggests that Jada could not defend herself). Smith could have been playing on stereotypes about males who don't "take insults quietly." As our understanding of gender changes, these cultural assumptions of what makes a man need to change—but they could still have been an implicit motive for Smith's behavior. The psychological explanations are considerably more intriguing. Smith may have had a significant amount of cognitive dissonance after laughing at the bad joke. Cognitive dissonance is an unpleasant feeling we get when two of our thoughts are out of sync. It was first discovered by psychologist Leon Festinger.

Figure 2: The Cognitive Dissonance Theory

Smith has a few points to consider in this case: I'm giggling because Rock just insulted my wife. He laughs, implying that he accepts the insult—clearly, an uneasy thought. However, he may have altered his mind after seeing Jada's displeasure. He could now be experiencing extra cognitive dissonance: I'm laughing, and Jada is upset. To alleviate the dissonance, he may have chosen to act in a manner consistent with his dissatisfaction with the joke, rather than laughing. In fact, his initial reaction to laughing may have heightened his desire to take action to improve his appearance.

Following Will Smith's accosting and slapping of Chris Rock in front of a live audience of millions, social media platforms erupted with a frenzied and emphatic hot take: Surely, the whole affair was staged, several people said. The Oscars had delivered some surprising reality from Hollywood, the fantasy factory. Surprisingly, many people believed it was just another delusion.

Other psychological factors can also lead to action. For example, personality factors can predispose someone to violence. Similarly, previous violent encounters can make someone more prone to violence. While I am not familiar with Will Smith's personality tests, accounts from his recent biography reveal personality traits and past experiences that could explain his loss of control. He is also said to have a history of verbal sparring with Chris Rock. Social considerations may also play a part. This joke was not made in a small group setting or in a private conversation. The joke was shown live on live television to millions of people in a vast auditorium. Crowds and audiences have an effect on our behavior. Norman Triplett, a social psychologist, discovered that simply being in the presence of people might alter our behavior.

He based his research in the late 1800s (1898, to be exact) on his observations that bicyclists ride faster in groups. The company can raise physiological arousal, which can lead to more competitiveness. Of course, Smith was undoubtedly enraged. Anger is a great example of how physiological and psychological elements interact. Anger is a stressor that is commonly triggered by threats but can also be triggered by shame or other associated emotions. Our hypothalamus—a small but vital component of our brain—activates the pituitary glands, which then send signals to our adrenal glands in reaction to stimuli. Our sympathetic nervous system is also activated, which increases respiration and blood circulation while slowing digestion. We prepare to fight, escape, or freeze; Will Smith clearly chose one of the three options.

The Slap was a violent act that cannot be justified, regardless of the cause, which could be psychological, biological, social, or cultural. Beyond debating the consequences of the Slap, we can and should endeavor to learn more about why such acts of violence occur. While the Slap is a far cry from the bloodshed in Ukraine, it is an illustration of the widespread acts of aggression and abuse that physically and mentally injure millions of people every day.

L02: Pitch own proposal of a journalistic account of a pre-chosen project related to a psychological issue.

First of all, I decided to tackle something that happened recently, and due to this reason, I tackled a situation that happened at the Met Gala of 2022. The Met Gala, often known as the Met Ball, is an annual fundraising gala held in New York City to benefit the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It is widely recognized as the most prominent fashion event in the world, and invitations are in high demand. The event, hosted by the American fashion magazine Vogue, is open to celebrities from a variety of fields, including fashion, cinema, television, theater, music, business, sports, social media, and politics.

After the Met Gala, Kim Kardashian changed into a second Marilyn Monroe gown. Kim Kardashian's blonde ambitions included two Marilyn Monroe outfits for the Met Gala in 2022. On Friday, the reality personality confessed that she changed into a second gown for the Met Gala after-party, which was previously worn by Monroe. In 2016, the "attractions firm" paid $5 million for the gown. When it came to the Met Gala's theme, the "most American" thing that came to mind for Kardashian was Marilyn Monroe, hence her decision to wear the outfit.

Kim Kardashian was a sight to behold on the Met Gala red carpet this year. She was also chastised for losing weight to fit into the dress, which had previously been worn by Marilyn Monroe to sing 'Happy Birthday to former US president John Fitzgerald Kennedy in 1962. The dress, designed by Jean Louis (and sketched by a teenage Bob Mackie), had almost 6,000 hand-sewn crystals on nude mesh fabric, fueling rumors that Monroe was having an affair with the president. However, while speaking with Vogue on the red carpet, the fashion and beauty entrepreneur said that she had to lose 16 pounds (7 kg) in three weeks in order to get into the gown. This drew a lot of backlashes online, with others accusing her of propagating a harmful fashion concept.

Among them was actor Lili Reinhart, who took to Instagram stories to condemn Kardashian. “To walk on a red carpet and do an interview where you say how starving you are… because you haven’t eaten carbs in the last month… all to fit in a f***ing dress? There were several social media platforms that portrayed different messages when this event happened. This one was an article published by Yana Grebenyuk. The main highlight was that Kim Kardashian and Davidson made their relationship red carpet official earlier this month, rather than the fact that she lost many pounds.

To make this event from a psycho-social point of view, there is a lot to discuss. Psychologically wise this could have led to dysphoria. Dysphoria is a psychological state that is frequently brought on by or accompanied by a mental health problem. Dysphoria can also be caused by stress, sadness, relationship troubles, and other environmental factors. Most of the time, dysphoria is an emotion, which implies that it can come and go. People can also have long-term dysphoric moods, and long-term dysphoria is frequently linked to mood-altering mental health illnesses like major depression, mania, and cyclothymia (a rare mood disorder).

There are three types of dysphoria. These are the social, the body, and the mind. Social dysphoria has to do with discomfort with presenting socially as one's birth gender. The second type of dysphoria is body dysphoria. Body dysphoria has to do with the discomfort of the body, being of a different gender. The third type of dysphoria has to do with the mind. Mind dysphoria has to do with discomfort with the mind and emotions that do not align with gender identity. It could have been that Kim Kardashian has suffered from any type of dysphoria. Another psychological issue that could have led to this event is body dysmorphic disorder. Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a mental health disease in which one cannot stop obsessing about one or more perceived flaws in his/her appearance, even if they're small or invisible to others.

However, one may avoid numerous social interactions because he/she is embarrassed, ashamed, or nervous. When one has body dysmorphic disorder, one obsesses over his/her appearance and body image, checking the mirror, grooming, and seeking reassurance repeatedly throughout the day, sometimes for many hours. One's apparent fault and repeating actions cause tremendous distress and interfere with one's everyday functioning. There are many theories related to the event of the Gala 2022. One of the theories is Erik Erikson; Stages of Development. Erik Erikson was an ego psychologist who created one of the most well-known and important developmental theories. While psychiatrist Sigmund Freud's work influenced Erikson's thesis, Erikson's approach focused on psychosocial development rather than psychosexual development.

Erikson felt that people's personalities evolved in phases. Erikson's theory explained how social experiences affect people throughout their lives. Erikson was fascinated by how human development and growth were influenced by social contact and relationships. Erikson's theory builds on the previous stages and prepares the way for subsequent periods of development. Erikson thought that people go through conflict at each stage, which acts as a turning point in their development. People who successfully manage conflict emerge from the stage with psychological strengths that will benefit them for the rest of their life. 3 They may not develop the necessary abilities for a strong sense of self if they are unable to successfully deal with these conflicts.

A sense of competence, according to Erikson, inspires behaviors and acts. Erikson's theory focuses on becoming competent in a specific area of life at each stage. The person will have a sense of mastery if the stage is managed properly, which is frequently referred to as ego strength or ego quality. If the stage is not handled properly, the person will feel inadequate in that area of development. I have a clear idea of what I want to do in order to have a project related to this topic of the met gala of 2022 and the psychological issues behind it. I am planning to do an interview with a psychologist in order to discuss with him/her the topic of dysphoria. Another idea is to do an interview with a dietician to discuss the health aspect.

All of these will be in a form of an article. I want my article to be informative and inform the reader by explaining and giving details on a given topic. It covers all the pertinent details: who, what, when, where, and why. The article will be written in English and I am going to include my own photographs. One of the photos will be a graph so that I can explain and include some statistics about the topic of dysphoria. The rest of the photos would be shots taken from the interviews that I will be doing further on.