SMC Sociology Discussion

Part 1: Newspaper Analysis (3-5 pages)

Social psychologists are primarily interested in human behavior within a social context. You will select four news articles from different sources in 2021/22 covering the same topic (i.e. climate change, immigration, police shootings, gun control etc.) Two of the chosen articles should be opinion pieces. You may look online for sources, but they should be text, not videos.

Summarize and fully analyze the below bullet points for your chosen articles.

Analyze how the different news outlets cover the topic. In your analysis:

 Illustrate each of the five core areas of concern for social psychologists.

 Identify the instances where the reporter uses “I” statements to express their opinion and any persuasion strategies (i.e. fear arousal) employed to help persuade the reader (from the opinion pieces).

 Discuss how belief perseverance may be applicable.

 Include any other concepts (i.e. social influence, political bias, persuasion, etc.) within the social psychological context.

Part 2: Daily Television News Programs Analysis (3-5 pages)

Watch daily news programs and look 2 stories about helping, heroism, or Altruism. Provide a summary of the situation. Based on the information provided, why did the helping occur? Were the motivations egoistic, altruistic, or both? Then, based on what you’ve learned in Chapter Eleven, speculate on additional reasons beyond those explicitly described by the helper or news anchor.

Watch daily news programs and look for 2 stories about aggression or violence.

Provide a summary of the event. What elicited the violence, conflict, or aggression?

Do any of the theories from Chapter 12 clearly apply (e.g., frustration; defending one’s honor; attributions of intent)?

Did features of the target or of the situation contribute to the violent act? Elaborate.

Conclusion: (2-3 pages)

Reflect on the programs you watched and the articles you read. Did any themes emerge? Did race, class or gender play a role in the reporting? Did systemic and/or institutionalized