Charla Colin C. Leach

Introduction and Speaker Presentation

Welcome and Acknowledgments

• The speaker welcomes attendees, both in-person and online, expressing pleasure in presenting Colin Winglich.

• Thanks are given to Professor Pablo Sayan for facilitating the event and bringing Professor Liss to the University of Almeria.

Speaker's Background

• Colin Winglich studied at Boston University and the University of Michigan, focusing on identity processes.

• His research encompasses moralization, emotional responses, cognitive evaluation, and strategies for coping with social issues.

Academic Contributions

Professional Roles

• Winglich is a professor at Barnard College specializing in Psychology and African Studies, involved in various academic institutes.

Previous Positions

• He has taught at multiple universities including Connecticut and California Santa Cruz, contributing significantly to social psychology.

Research Impact

Awards and Recognition

• In 2017, he received the Kurt Lewin Medal for his contributions to social psychology from the European Association.

Publications

• Winglich has authored numerous articles in prestigious journals and edited significant books related to social change and psychology.

Human Aspect of Research

Personal Insights

• Emphasis is placed on the importance of human aspects alongside academic achievements in researchers like Winglich.

Teaching Philosophy

• The speaker expresses a desire to learn from esteemed researchers while also teaching students about psychological analysis for societal change.

Contextual Relevance

Social Movements Discussion

• The speaker reflects on similarities between U.S. societal issues and those faced by communities in Almería through recent tweets highlighting racial dynamics.

Transition to Main Talk

Language Preference

• Colin Winglich thanks attendees again before switching to English for his presentation due to language proficiency concerns.

Black Lives Matter Movement

Historical Context

• Winglich references the global impact of the Black Lives Matter movement that gained momentum during summer 2020 as one of America's largest political movements.

Current Relevance

• He notes how discussions around such movements often fade over time, questioning their lasting impact on society.

21st Century Protests and Social Movements

Overview of Social Movements

• The 21st century is characterized by an unprecedented number of protests globally, with significant movements occurring in countries like India and Egypt, involving tens of millions of participants.

• Despite their prevalence, social movements are transient; they emerge and dissipate over time. This raises questions about how individuals experience these changes.

Systems Approach to Understanding Impact

• The speaker references Iri Brofenbrenner's ecological systems theory to frame the discussion on how social movements affect individuals both personally and collectively.

• A systems approach is emphasized, recognizing that individuals exist within various interconnected social, political, and economic systems that influence their experiences.

• These systems range from small microsystems to larger societal structures, highlighting the complexity of human interactions within these frameworks.

Role of Media in Shaping Experiences

• Media plays a crucial role in shaping perceptions; today's students consume news primarily through digital devices, marking a shift from previous generations' media consumption habits.

• Social media serves as a platform for learning about global events and expressing opinions, significantly influencing beliefs and emotions regarding social movements.

Internal Psychological Systems

• In addition to external systems, internal psychological processes also matter. Various levels of internal systems contribute to individual thoughts, feelings, and actions related to social movements.

• Appraisal theory is introduced as a framework for understanding how physiological reactions precede cognitive evaluations when encountering new or distressing information.

Dynamics of Emotional Responses

• Initial responses to events are often physiological (e.g., increased heart rate), which can quickly evolve into emotional assessments (e.g., sadness or anger).

• The process involves rapid transitions from physiological reactions to cognitive elaboration about one's feelings and motivations regarding the event at hand.

Interconnectedness of Systems

• The interplay between internal psychological systems and external societal influences creates a dynamic feedback loop where each affects the other continuously.

• While this relationship may seem obvious in theory (as taught in social psychology), studying it empirically poses significant challenges due to its complexity.

Research Methodology Overview

• The speaker outlines plans for exploring this complex interplay through various research methods over the next 40 minutes, emphasizing interdisciplinary collaboration among diverse fields such as neuroscience and sociology.

Types of Research Approaches

1. Small-scale Experiments:

• Conducting controlled experiments focusing on short time frames (seconds to hours).

2. Media Analysis:

• Analyzing news coverage related to significant events like Black Lives Matter to understand public perception influenced by media exposure.

3. Population Surveys:

• Utilizing large-scale surveys over extended periods (days to years) to track trends related to social movements.

4. Social Media Studies:

• Investigating Twitter's role as a public forum for discussing current events before its transformation under new ownership.

Experimental Design Insights

• A specific study involved pairing Black students with White students in an EEG experiment aimed at examining visual cognition while considering ecological perspectives on group variation rather than homogenization.

Understanding Racial Awareness in Police Violence

Introduction to the Study

• The study aims to assess differences in awareness of unarmed black victims killed by police between two groups of students, acknowledging their prior experiences and knowledge.

Methodology: Image Presentation

• Participants were shown images and brief descriptions of incidents involving police violence, such as that of Rekia Boyd, who was shot by an off-duty officer for making noise in a park.

• The study included various stories highlighting similar tragic events, emphasizing the disturbing nature of these narratives.

Assessing Awareness Levels

• Participants viewed 15 images from news reports and were asked about their familiarity with each incident to gauge their awareness levels.

• An example provided is Tamir Rice, a 14-year-old shot by police while playing with a toy gun, illustrating the severity and urgency of the issue.

Findings on Racial Differences in Awareness

• Results indicated a significant difference in awareness; black students showed much greater familiarity with these incidents compared to white students.

• Appraisal theory suggests that novelty captures attention; thus, unfamiliar situations prompt cognitive engagement and emotional responses.

Visual Cognition and Emotional Response

• The study utilized large sets of pre-tested images displayed for one second each to analyze participants' reactions based on visual cognition principles.

• Images depicted distressing scenarios involving authority figures (police), focusing on human expressions that evoke quick recognition of distress.

Experimental Setup and Data Collection

• Participants underwent EEG monitoring to measure brain activity while viewing images, assessing how much attention they devoted to understanding them.

Summary of Results: Physiological Responses

• EEG results revealed event-related potentials indicating early reactions tied to novelty perception; this reflects initial appraisals or interpretations.

• Black participants exhibited higher physiological activation when viewing police violence against both black and white victims compared to white participants who showed less relevance towards white victims.

Implications on Group Membership Perception

• Contrary to typical interpretations suggesting an in-group bias, data shows black participants are sensitive not only to their own group's experiences but also extend this sensitivity toward all victims of police violence.

Understanding Perceptions of Police Use of Force

Rapid Processing of Information

• Individuals, regardless of race, quickly engage or disengage with information regarding police use of force and potential racism.

• By the time individuals are asked to self-report their thoughts, they may have already processed the information and moved on.

Interpretation of Facial Expressions

• Humans are adept at interpreting facial expressions but often overestimate their accuracy; quick visual stimuli can hinder accurate judgment.

• Studies show that people are particularly attuned to signs of distress in images, but rapid exposure limits deeper analysis.

Ecological Experience and Interpretation

• An individual's ecological experience—shaped by their upbringing and neighborhood—affects how they interpret social situations.

• The study acknowledges limitations due to small sample sizes but emphasizes the importance of neighborhood experiences in shaping perceptions.

Media Influence on Public Perception

News Media Coverage Analysis

• The discussion shifts to analyzing news media coverage as a factor influencing public awareness and understanding of racial issues.

• The killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, is highlighted as a pivotal event leading to the emergence of Black Lives Matter.

Study Design and Data Set

• Researchers selected 51 mainstream news outlets from the US and UK alongside 18 popular African-American online news sources for comparative analysis.

Importance of Headlines

• Headlines significantly influence reader engagement; many readers only skim headlines before moving on without further reading.

• Often, headlines are crafted by marketing departments rather than journalists, raising concerns about media integrity.

Framing Effects in News Reporting

Emotional Framing Differences

• Different headlines can evoke distinct emotional responses; for example, "angry protests" versus "community furious" shapes public perception differently.

Moral Questions Raised by Language

• The framing used in reporting influences whether moral questions about police actions or protest legitimacy are considered by readers.

Visual Representation Impact

• Featured images accompanying articles also play a crucial role; images depicting police in riot gear suggest danger and escalate perceptions of threat during protests.

The Absence of Michael Brown in Media Coverage

Missing Representation

• Discussion on the lack of images representing Michael Brown, whose death sparked protests and police presence.

• Questioning what percentage of news images should represent him; a suggestion that at least 50% seems reasonable.

• Reference to an image circulated on Twitter showing Michael Brown dead in the street, left for hours for public viewing.

• Notably, less than 1% of featured images in news articles depict Michael Brown, obscuring his connection to the story.

• Emphasis on his absence from media narratives, highlighting a significant gap in representation.

Political Orientation and Media Representation

• Acknowledgment that political orientation of newspapers influences coverage but does not change the probability of image representation.

• Regardless of political leanings, media outlets show similar probabilities for featuring certain types of images related to events.

• Mention of Fox News as an extreme outlier compared to more left-oriented outlets regarding image representation probabilities.

Audience Perception and Media Framing

• Exploration into how audience demographics (white vs. black readership) affect media framing and imagery used in reporting.

• Mainstream newspapers are more likely to feature police-related imagery while black-oriented media focus more on victims like Michael Brown.

• Images depicting police suggest potential violence or danger, contrasting with narratives focused on community responses.

Evolution of Black Lives Matter Movement

Support Across Ethnic Groups

• Overview indicating majority support for Black Lives Matter across various ethnic groups since its inception in 2013 after Trayvon Martin's death.

• Notably, white individuals are the only major ethnic group where opposition exceeds support for Black Lives Matter.

Shifts in Public Opinion

• Highlighting changes post-Charlottesville rally in 2017 which began altering trends in public opinion towards Black Lives Matter among white individuals.

• Observations indicate that opposition decreases significantly while ambivalence remains high among whites regarding their stance on BLM.

Impactful Events Leading to Attitude Changes

• Identification of key incidents (Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd's murder), which catalyzed shifts in public attitudes toward BLM support and opposition.

• Explanation that these flashpoint events can lead to rapid changes in societal attitudes due to heightened visibility and emotional impact.

Detailed Analysis Post-Incident

• Examination reveals dramatic increases in support following high-profile incidents; notable decline in opposition is also observed during this period.

The Polarizing Effect of Events

Dramatic Changes in Attitudes

• A vertical change in public opinion occurs rapidly, indicating a polarizing event that pushes individuals to form strong opinions.

• The George Floyd video catalyzed global protests, leading many to believe it signified a societal change regarding systemic injustice.

• People compared the impact of this event to historical milestones like women's suffrage and the abolition of slavery.

Initial Collective Understanding

• Despite initial enthusiasm for change, opposition quickly rose within weeks following the event.

• A notable drop in neutral opinions occurred alongside an increase in opposition and a slight decrease in support.

Shifts in Focus Post-Protests

Transition from Justice to Protest Legitimacy

• Following the release of the George Floyd video, attention shifted from questioning police actions to scrutinizing the legitimacy of protests.

• This phenomenon is observable across various studies examining public sentiment during such events.

Current Trends and Data Limitations

• As of 2023, data shows increased opposition among white Americans while support has declined; no subsequent events have matched this dramatic effect.

Analyzing Social Media Activity

Twitter Engagement with Black Lives Matter

• A closer examination reveals significant social media activity surrounding the Black Lives Matter hashtag immediately after George Floyd's death.

• Debates emerged on social media regarding whether systemic racism was at play or if it was an isolated incident involving specific officers.

Historical Context and Growth Patterns

• The timeline of Black Lives Matter illustrates its evolution from niche usage since 2013 to mainstream prominence post-GF incident.

Early Development and Impact

Infancy Stage of Black Lives Matter

• Focusing on events like Mike Brown's death highlights early activism that laid groundwork for later movements.

Growth Phases Analysis

• The use of BLM hashtags surged dramatically from hundreds to tens of millions after pivotal incidents, marking distinct growth phases.

Data Collection Methodology

Establishing a Timeline for Events

• Researchers compiled a detailed timeline based on news and social media sources to track public sentiment related to key incidents.

Importance of Ground Truth

• Inclusion criteria focused on individual cases rather than solely on hashtag usage, providing a broader context for understanding public reactions.

Peaks in Public Attention

Analyzing Tweet Activity During Protests

• A bimodal distribution indicates peaks in tweet activity correlating with intense protest moments and police responses.

August 2014 Contextualization

• In August 2014, discussions initially centered around Eric Garner before shifting focus towards Michael Brown following his death.

The Shift in Social Media Discourse Post-Michael Brown's Death

Correlation Between Hashtags

• Following the death of Michael Brown on the 9th, there was a noticeable decrease in discussions about Eric Garner and a significant rise in hashtags related to Ferguson and Michael Brown.

• In the days after Michael Brown's death, the correlation between the use of "Ferguson" and "Michael Brown" hashtags reached approximately 0.9, indicating a strong relationship in social media discourse.

Dynamics of Protest Discussions

• As protests began, discussions shifted dramatically; more focus was placed on Ferguson while mentions of Michael Brown decreased significantly.

• This trend reversed later, with a negative correlation of -0.9 between "Ferguson" and "Michael Brown," highlighting how public attention fluctuated based on events.

Key Events Influencing Attention

• On the 15th, when Darren Wilson was named as Michael Brown's shooter, discussions about him surged alongside debates regarding police accountability.

• The day of Michael Brown’s funeral on the 25th saw an increase in conversations about him again but quickly reverted back to focusing on Ferguson.

Understanding Media Influence on Public Attention

Patterns of Discussion

• After initial coverage post-death, discussions around Michael Brown diminished significantly compared to ongoing conversations about Ferguson and its protests.

• Events that reignited interest in Michael Brown were sporadic; his relevance fluctuated based on media portrayal and public sentiment.

Ecology of Social Media Attention

• The dynamics illustrate how our attention is manipulated by media narratives and social interactions within our networks.

Emergence of Black Lives Matter Movement

Hashtag Analysis Over Time

• A heat map analysis from August reveals early discussions surrounding Black Lives Matter alongside opposing sentiments emerging concurrently.

• Initial hashtags focused heavily on Eric Garner and NYPD before shifting towards Ferguson-related topics following Michael Brown’s death.

Rise of Competing Narratives

• After Darren Wilson was identified as responsible for Michael Brown's death, hashtags supporting him gained traction among conservative groups like TCOT (Top Conservatives on Twitter).

Impactful Moments Leading to Collective Action

Funeral as a Turning Point

• The discussion around Black Lives Matter intensified after Michael Brown’s funeral; it entered the top ten hashtags amidst competing narratives.

Memetic Nature of Movements

• Black Lives Matter became a significant meme representing societal critique rather than just anger; it crystallized collective interpretations post-funeral.

System Psychology: Understanding Societal Divisions

Need for Collective Morality

• Advocating for system psychology emphasizes understanding both internal and external influences shaping human experiences within society.

Addressing Societal Dissensus

• Current societal divisions reflect deep disagreements over moral standards; without consensus on justice or fairness, communities risk disintegration.

Understanding Time Scales in Research and Media Influence

The Importance of Time Scales in Research

• A question is raised about the relationship between small-scale experiments measured in milliseconds and big data analyzed over days or years, focusing on how both can measure the same latent construct.

• The speaker emphasizes that timescale is crucial to their studies, referencing a classic paper by Kress and McCaskill that discusses how different phenomena appear based on the chosen timescale.

• It is explained that no single timescale is inherently correct; rather, they represent different truths. Choosing an appropriate timescale is essential for accurate analysis.

• The method used constrains the timescale; lab studies often focus on milliseconds due to the nature of brain activity being measured within those timeframes.

• When analyzing Twitter data, various timescales (minutes, hours, days) reveal different insights, necessitating sensitivity analyses to understand how these choices affect findings.

Media's Role in Society and Information Exchange

• A new question arises regarding media's influence on society, particularly after Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter. The speaker acknowledges this concern as valid.

• The distinction between corporate news media and citizen media is made clear; social media allows community-based information sharing that can inform traditional news outlets.

• There’s a dynamic interchange where stories originate from social media before reaching mainstream news, illustrating a bottom-up flow of information alongside top-down influences from established media.

• Social media has led to greater investment in algorithm-driven news delivery systems which can distort user feeds through micro-marketing techniques tailored to individual preferences.

• The current media landscape is complex with multiple influences at play; understanding these dynamics requires critical consumption skills to navigate misinformation effectively.

The Role of Technology in Journalism

Understanding Media Control

• There is a need for critical awareness regarding technological information and knowledge within journalism.

• A rhetorical strategy involves getting individuals to express their beliefs first, creating a commitment that can influence their openness to new ideas.

• Journalists often believe they are ethically responsible for reporting accurate information but may not control how stories are framed or represented.

• Corporate entities manipulate headlines and images to attract attention, leading to a distortion of the original news content.

• This manipulation raises ethical questions about the responsibility of states and societies in establishing standards for media practices.

Ethical Responsibilities in News Media

Discussion on Corporate Influence

• The conversation highlights the lack of power community-based news has against corporate media's influence over story representation.

• The future discussions will likely revolve around the ethics surrounding corporate control of media and its implications for public interest.

Pressure to Publish vs. Data Integrity

Challenges in Journalism

• A question arises about whether there is similar pressure in the U.S. as seen in Spain, where speed often trumps thorough data integration.

• The speaker expresses interest in developing a network model that integrates various levels of analysis rather than treating them separately.

Integrating Multi-Level Analyses

Holistic Approaches

• Current research includes multi-level network analyses, but integrating across time scales and methods remains challenging yet essential for holistic understanding.

• Achieving this goal requires overcoming technical difficulties related to metrics and measurement issues inherent in different fields.

Methodological Shifts Needed

Future Directions

• Acknowledgment that current statistical tools may not be sufficient; a methodological shift is necessary within psychology to embrace diverse measures without fetishizing specific methods.

• Short-term gains from specialization could lead to long-term obsolescence; thus, pursuing novelty and broader expertise is encouraged.

Debates on Social Movements

Reflections on Historical Context

• Discussion shifts towards social movements, particularly why certain movements fade from public discourse over time.

• Noting that counter-movements often arise alongside social movements, which can overshadow initial causes or narratives presented by mainstream media.

Analyzing Protest Data

Insights from Recent Events

• Emphasis on analyzing data from protests following significant events like George Floyd's death reveals complexities beyond surface-level interpretations.

• Utilizing comprehensive datasets allows researchers to understand both movements and counter-movements effectively.

Analysis of Protest Dynamics and Media Representation

Understanding the Model for Analyzing Protests

• A model was developed to assess various indicators related to societal breakdown, including shopping behaviors and school attendance, which could signal potential violent conflict.

Data on U.S. Protests in Summer 2020

• The model was applied globally, with specific data collected on protests in the U.S. during the summer of 2020, indicating the size and nature of demonstrations.

Insights into Protest Characteristics

• Detailed information was gathered about protests, including their size, occurrences of violence or property destruction, presence of counter-protesters, and police actions against demonstrators.

Media Focus During Protests

• Mainstream media coverage during the summer of 2020 emphasized violence and confrontations between militarized police and protesters, shaping public perception that Black Lives Matter was a violent movement.

Misconceptions About Violence in Protests

• Despite media portrayals leading people to believe that a significant percentage (30-40%) of protests involved violence, actual data revealed only about 5% engaged in any physical violence or property destruction.

Contextualizing Violence Statistics

• When excluding instances involving counter-protesters or police-induced violence, the percentage drops further to approximately 2%, highlighting how rare such incidents are within protest movements.

Patterns Across Different Movements

• Similar patterns were observed across various movements in the U.S., where only around 5% involved property destruction or violence; these incidents often correlated with counter-protester agitation.

Perception vs. Reality of Protest Violence

• The representation of protests can create an illusion that violence is more prevalent than it actually is; images alone can lead audiences to interpret events as destructive even when they are not.

Irony in Successful Movements' Representation

• There exists an irony where successful protest movements inadvertently sow seeds for their own failure by being framed as violent or disruptive through media narratives.

Legitimacy Challenges Faced by Protest Movements

• The portrayal of protests as violent undermines their moral claims; this dilemma complicates efforts by activists who strive for peaceful representation while facing powerful opposing narratives.

Diverging Interpretations Among Groups

• As discussions evolve post-protests, groups begin to split based on differing interpretations regarding societal respect and order versus calls for change from protest movements.

Emergence of New Political Identities

• Analysis traced individuals who identified with emerging political identities like MAGA back to earlier engagements with social issues surrounding Black Lives Matter in 2014–2016.

Counter-Movements Feeding Off Protests

• Successful movements often give rise to counter-movements; understanding this dynamic is crucial as it highlights ongoing ideological battles shaped by perceptions formed during protests.