Selective Exposure

Selective exposure:  the tendency to seek information and media that agree with one’s views and to avoid dissonant information.

            When it comes to political views, everyone has their own opinion about what and who to believe.  Many people look at the news on the television, read the newspaper, or read articles from particular websites regarding their views on certain topics such as politics and religion.  These people have strong views on these topics and feel they can only go to the media of their choice thus calling this selective exposure.  They only want to go to what they consider reliable sources of media.  For example, republicans like to use Fox News as their reliable source for information on politics, while the democrats like to watch ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC and CNN as their reliable source of information on politics. 

            Either way neither group is willing to try other media outlets that may give opposing opinions on the topics of their choosing such as politics.  People feel more comfortable with the media of their choosing because they believe what they are hearing from their “media” is thought to be truth.  This is how people minimize dissonance.  They find information that they agree with whether it is truth or not truth but it is their truth.

Myers, D. Social Psychology. 2012. Behavior and Attitudes, Chapter 4.  McGraw Hill. New York.

Helping or Altruism

Helping or Altruism:  a motive to increase another’s welfare without conscious regard for one’s self-interests.

            Helping people is a selfless act.  People do it for different reasons but there are some that do not help at all because they fear the consequences that come with helping.  This is a complete opposite of the social-responsibility norm, which are people should help those who need help, without regard to future exchanges.  For example: a California woman dies after the nurse refuses to do CPR.  The nurse’s reason for not giving CPR to the dying woman was because of the retirement home’s policy.  According to the facility, their policy is this, “In the event of a health emergency at this independent living community, our practice is to immediately call emergency medical personnel for assistance and to wait with the individual needing attention until such personnel arrives.”

            The woman talking to the dispatcher said she was a nurse but was told by her boss not to resuscitate the woman.  The dispatcher said that if she could not do the CPR, then as a human being, if there was anybody there willing to help the person and not let her die.  The nurse had responded with a no.  The dispatcher pleaded with the nurse to give the phone to anyone who was willing to help but nothing came of it.  By the time the first responders came, the woman had no pulse and was not breathing. 

            The question remains as to why the nurse would not break policy to resuscitate the dying woman.  Studies show that the numbers of bystanders are what attribute to whether a person will help or not help.  As the number of bystanders increase, bystanders are less likely to notice the incident, less likely to interpret the incident as an emergency and less likely to assume responsibility.  This nurse did not want to assume responsibility of helping the dying woman by giving her CPR.

Myers, D. Social Psychology. 2012. Helping, Chapter 12.  McGraw Hill. New York.

Aggression

Aggression:  is the physical or verbal behavior intended to cause harm.

            Aggression is everywhere.  It is in our homes on television and the Internet.  Children start at an early age watching cartoons with violent insinuations or acts.   Adolescents watch wrestling matches, fights, or violent movies on television.  As adults, we can watch anything because we are old enough to understand what reality is.  This does not mean that a person will not commit a crime because people have because of a television show. 

            Children mock what they see on television.  If they see aggressive behavior, then they will implement it in their lives.  For example, if a child sees a violent act on television where someone hit another person on the head with a hammer, then the child might do the same thing to get what they want.  They are using their aggression known as a learned social behavior.  The child sees that the aggression pays off.  This can make for a more aggressive child as they get older.

            When adolescents watch violent shows on television, they sometimes will imitate some of the violent acts they have seen.  For example, if a group of adolescents watch a wrestling show, then they will think they can wrestle just like the professional wrestlers.  The adolescents may not realize the professional wrestlers practice before they try their wrestling moves.  Therefore, these teenagers will try these moves on their friends or enemies not realizing the outcome could be harmful or fatal.  This is evoking imitation.  They are reenacting what they saw on television.

            Adults watch many crime shows.  These crime shows reenact crimes that may or may not have been committed.  These shows are not scientifically truthful but many people have believed them to be as such.  Therefore, people have committed crimes that they have seen on various crime shows.  In one survey of 208 prisoners, 9 out of 10 said they learned a new criminal trick by watching crime shows.  Four out of 10 said they tried particular crimes they had seen on television.  This is the television’s effects on behavior.

Myers, D. Social Psychology. 2012. Aggression, Chapter 10.  McGraw Hill. New York.

Self-Presentation

Self-Presentation:  The act of expressing oneself and behaving in ways designed to create a favorable impression or an impression that corresponds to one's ideals.  

 

I know a woman who likes to present herself to everyone i.e. coworkers, friends and family as someone who is conservative.  The representation that is perceived by others by her doing would be in places such as Facebook or at work.  On Facebook, a person can hide behind their computer and portray themselves the way they want society to see them.  At work, she is in an office all alone.  Rarely do her co-workers physically come into the office.  The office is more for the clients to pick up the checks, so again she can hide behind a phone and computer.  She likes for everyone to think she is a good person and would not talk about you behind your back.  In reality, she is none of these things.  She is manipulating, gossips, smokes cigarettes and uneducated (did not graduate from high school).

Self-presentation allows someone to present themselves to others with a desired image but not necessarily their true image.  They work at making excuses, justifying or apologizing to build up their self-esteem and solidify their self-images.  Social networks provide a new way for self-presentation.  People can be cautious with the pictures they post and what they post to their web page.  This behavior is seen in extreme situations as a narcissistic trait.

Myers, D. Social Psychology. 2012. The Self in a Social World, Chapter 2.  McGraw Hill. New York.