A group gathered yesterday on the lawn outside of University Hall eager to explore Dr. Spirek’s findings of a recent research program she had been working on. The program, Media-Induced Affective Responses, began last September 10th.
In Spirek’s Journalism 100 class last September she assigned all of her students to log the amount and type of media they were using on a daily basis for a week. After getting the results back Spirek noticed that a number of her students substantially increased their media intake from Sept. 10 to Sept. 11, while the remaining students decreased their media intake drastically.
Thus began a program researching emotional responses to media especially towards stressful and frightening situations in media. She sought to answer the question of why some individuals reached a saturation point while others were continuously looking for more information on the events of Sept. 11.
Dr. Spirek went on to explain the Miller Behavioral Style Scale. This theorizes that there are two different types of personality traits, blunters and monitors. Blunters cope with stressful situations in media by avoiding the detailed information relating to the event. On the other hand, monitors deal with a situation by learning as much as they can about the topic to help them cope.
Studies show that blunters use what is referred to as an Activation System, or left-brain processing, which has to do with the neurochemical dopamine in the brain causing the individual to want to avoid the situation. Monitors use an Arousal System, or right-brain processing, which is associated with the neurochemical norepinephrine. This chemical in the brain causes the individual to feel in control by learning as much as possible about the situation at hand.
“I believe [whether one is a monitor or blunter] is wired chemically within the person and society acts as a reinforcer.”
As a result, many people are constantly looking for new information and sources. For information concerning Sept. 11 the television became the number one media source for all age groups. Spirek did find, though, that for ages 10 to 35 the Internet became the second biggest source to attempt to find information.
Dr. Spirek also found that older college students watched the news coverage outside of their living areas, such as in their lobbies, while younger college students tended to watch the coverage in their living areas such as their dorms. Both age groups watched the news in groups, most commonly in groups of four. This showed that whether one is a blunter or a monitor they still sought the comfort of another’s company during the tumultuous time of September 11, 2001.
