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"What the Shrink who Pre-Screens Contestants thinks..."
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Outfrontgirl 6830 desperate attention whore postings
DAW Level: "Playboy Centerfold"

09-27-01, 02:33 AM (EST)
Click to EMail Outfrontgirl Click to send private message to Outfrontgirl Click to view user profile Click to check IP address of the poster
"What the Shrink who Pre-Screens Contestants thinks..."
If you don't finish this article, at least read the last paragraph. It's pretty funny and may have some relevance to Survivor goes to Africa.

This Psychologist for Reality TV screened contestants for Survivor, Love Cruise, BigBrother, and Amazing Race. Found this interview, which sleeeve (reporter) points out could go in any of these forums. Tried Love Cruise, but the good news is that so much is happening there it sank out of sight, so I'll copy over here where things move a little more slowly.
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Reality TV Psychologists: People's Protectors or Sleazy Shrinks?
Ethics Questions Trouble Even Those Deeply Involved in Producing These Shows
By Daniel DeNoon
Sept. 24, 2001 -- No doubt many of the TV networks are hoping that Americans will tune in to so-called reality TV this week, in order to tune out all the harsh reality that's has been broadcast lately.
This week marks the start of the fall TV season, and on the schedule are a slew of reality shows featuring everything from true romance to grand adventure. To help produce them, TV crews have their own psychologists who have been hard at work concocting and monitoring the situations to bring to your screen. And even to the pros, some situations are a push right to the edge.
Take psychologist Richard W. Levak, PhD. He is in charge of screening contestants for CBS reality TV shows such as Survivor, The Amazing Race, and Big Brother 2. He also teaches at the California School of Professional Psychology in San Diego and has written three books on personality testing. As he stood in front of hundreds of his peers at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association recently, he admitted to a sense of trespass.
Levak acknowledges that it is part of the APA's code of ethics to protect society's values.
"How many of you as psychologists have a gut bad feeling about reality programs?" he asked the crowded lecture hall. Eighty percent raised their hands. "That is just how I feel -- and I'm doing it," he says.
Joining Levak at the presentation titled "Reality TV -- Psychologists in Prime Time," were session chairwoman Kate M. Wachs, PhD, past president of the APA's division of media psychology, and M. Gene Ondrusek, PhD. Ondrusek is the first psychologist to become involved in reality TV, working on the original Survivor and now involved with existing or in-production shows such as Love Cruise, Boot Camp, Combat Mission, Future Diary, The Runner, and Fear Factor. He's also helping to create new shows for various networks.
Wachs notes that four of the five most-watched programs on U.S. television are reality TV shows. She says this is because we have evolved a need to know what our neighbors are up to: that is, whether they are a threat or a sexual opportunity.
Wachs also notes that this is the 30th anniversary of the infamous prison study by Stanford psychologist Philip Zimbardo. Zimbardo randomly assigned students to play the role of guards or prisoners. The study had to be ended when the students acting as guards quickly became abusive toward prisoner students. The experiment led to new ethics guidelines for research.
Wachs says the Zimbardo study shows "how people put in compelling situations can create compelling behaviors." That, she says, is the nature of reality TV. "Finding the compelling nature of something, distilling it, and giving it back to ourselves in a compelling form is in our nature. It's like turning grapes into wine or cocaine into crack."
Ondrusek notes that psychologists are hired not only to weed out contestants who might pose a danger or break down under the stress, but also to "include people who will make for compelling TV."
This process calls for in-depth psychological testing of potential contestants. Once contestants are chosen, a psychologist is available to deal with problems on the set. When contestants lose and have to leave the show, the psychologist is the first person to meet them. After a "debriefing session," former contestants have the option of further telephone consultations when the show airs.
"Debriefing helps people expand into the experience and use it in life-changing ways," Ondrusek says. "Psychologists can help by the finding the delicate balance between creating these situations and taking care of contestants."
Indeed, most people who have been on reality TV shows say that the experience changed their lives for the better. But Levak says the possibility of the opposite outcome is the kind of thing that keeps him up at night.
Levak went over each point in the APA code of ethics. Each point poses a problem for psychologists involved in reality TV.
One dilemma is the requirement that psychologists respect a person's rights and dignity.
"The problem is that contestants waive all their rights, and sometimes losing their dignity is the point of the show," Levak says. "That is complicated for us."
Professional integrity is an issue because it is difficult to keep straight where the psychologists' responsibilities lie. Is it with the producers who hire them or with the people who trust them with intimate details of their lives?
TV producers, Levak says, "want you to give them the scoop on the contestants' vulnerabilities, and also want you to make the contestants feel good about being exploited," Levak says. "We say, 'We are going to help you take care of your contestants. But we are going to be careful not to give you things you can exploit.' I will protect the privacy of peoples' debriefing, because when they come home, they need a safe place. ... We are walking this very thin line between working for the producers but protecting the show by protecting the contestants. It is a very fine line."
If Ondrusek has qualms about his role, he does not admit them in public. He speaks instead about the excitement of creating new ways for people to look at human nature.

"Reality shows are in their infancy," Ondrusek says. "Entertainment since Sophocles has recounted and acted out dramas. That has been the model for entertainment up to present day. This is the first time we have been able to create a new form of drama by creating contexts for compelling behavior."
Well, perhaps not the first time. Two thousand years ago, Roman producers created compelling drama by feeding people to lions.
© 2001 WebMD Corporation. All rights reserved.

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  Table of Contents

  Subject     Author     Message Date     ID  
 RE: What the Shrink who Pre-Screens... sleeeve 09-27-01 1
   Reality TV more now than ever... Outfrontgirl 09-27-01 2
       RE: Reality TV more now than ever..... MakeItStop 09-27-01 3
           RE: Reality TV more now than ever..... Dakota 01-16-02 4

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sleeeve 3456 desperate attention whore postings
DAW Level: "Car Show Celebrity"

09-27-01, 02:53 AM (EST)
Click to EMail sleeeve Click to send private message to sleeeve Click to view user profile Click to check IP address of the poster
1. "RE: What the Shrink who Pre-Screens Contestants thinks..."
First of all, it's really bugged me lately, but I've seen a number of articles saying that, after Sept. 11, America is not ready for reality TV... I've gotten really tired of the media telling me what to think...

That said, I found it interesting to hear about this guy... I feel sorry for him, because he had to actually get to know these people... poor bastard...

More interesting, though, was the fact that many of the contestants described it as a positive experience... I guess it makes me feel better about wanting to be on Survivor.

>Well, perhaps not the first time.
>Two thousand years ago, Roman
>producers created compelling drama by
>feeding people to lions.

Wait... it's been done before??? Damn... just when I thought I had a good idea for a new reality TV show.




You never know what might be up my sleeeve...

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Outfrontgirl 6830 desperate attention whore postings
DAW Level: "Playboy Centerfold"

09-27-01, 03:10 AM (EST)
Click to EMail Outfrontgirl Click to send private message to Outfrontgirl Click to view user profile Click to check IP address of the poster
2. "Reality TV more now than ever..."
>>after Sept. 11, America is not ready for reality TV

Really, sleeeve, I agree, why are the media telling us what to watch?

Reality TV makes a great escape outlet... takes you to places around the world, lets you watch a fitness freak use their enemy's toothbrush to scrub a toilet... OK, maybe that's not the best endorsement... learn cool phrases like "It's On!"...

And it's educational: besides showing diverse Americans acting like ugly Americans in foreign cultures, it teaches people about alliances at a time when many Americans are trying to get up to speed on political science theory...

"Ask Dr. Will"... another possible hit show...

I really think Tahiti sounds like the best locale yet...
No rumors of lions there.

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MakeItStop 1098 desperate attention whore postings
DAW Level: "Politically Incorrect Guest"

09-27-01, 11:58 AM (EST)
Click to EMail MakeItStop Click to send private message to MakeItStop Click to view user profile Click to check IP address of the poster
3. "RE: Reality TV more now than ever..."
learn cool phrases like "It's On!"...

It's more like "It's AWWWWWWN!"

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Dakota 5819 desperate attention whore postings
DAW Level: "Playboy Centerfold"

01-16-02, 11:35 AM (EST)
Click to EMail Dakota Click to send private message to Dakota Click to view user profile Click to check IP address of the poster
4. "RE: Reality TV more now than ever..."
BUMP! I pulled this up because although I'm a natural born basher and hang out on the Survivor BB, I'm also curious about how many of us bash for the entertainment factor and how many of us really think the reality TV contestants are mediawhore losers. While some of the contestants (Susan, Jeri, Linda, Toni of LC) have made themselves look pretty darn bad on these shows and I really don't like some of them, I have to respect their willingness to open themselves up to scrutiny and the experience whether it be for money, media exposure or just the chance to prove to themselves that they can do something very difficult, emotionally and physically. Many of them may not fare as well as others (Jessie, Lindsey, Debb) but then that's part of life's learning experience. (And we find it ever so entertaining.) Wonder what the shrinks would say about that.
One thing I liked about Ethan's win is that he played it straight. No backstabbing, lying (that we know of), phony concern for others to get votes, etc. While he has been called a wimp by some, I like the fact that he played with ethics and integrity and WON! Thinking back to S1, those who voted for Richard all made excuses for him and the things he did. I also like that Colby stood by his promise to Tina, even though Keith would have gotten him the million. Some say he was stupid. Well, maybe, but what does it say about us when backstabbing, lying and not caring about others is justified with "it's just a game, we're all here to win the million". At all costs? By giving up basic values? Should we judge ourselves and each other by our willingness to hurt others for money, pride, or furthering our careers? One of the studies referenced above was the game of prisoner/guard. Interesting that given the opportunity and power to be abusive and hurtful, many fell right into the trap.
Survivor isn't Outward Bound but I think contestants can come away having learned something about themselves and others.
Anyway, I bumped this because morality and integrity were much discussed during Survivor 1, but not since. Thought I'd see if anyone wanted to discuss it further.

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