Give the Media a Treat

 

What's the best way to get someone to behave the way you want them to? According to psychological studies there are two main types of operant conditioning - a form of learning in which behavior is modified by consequences.

• Reinforcement - the goal is to reward desirable behavior, and thus increase the rate at which the desirable behavior is performed.
• A dog is given a treat after sitting when told.
• Punishment - the goal is to decrease undesirable behavior by introducing a negative stimulus that is associated with the undesirable behavior
• A dog stops stops jumping on family members because they are scolded.

Side Note: The definitions given are very surface level. In actuality, there are many more facets to reinforcement and punishment, but for the sake of this blog post, the above definitions will do.
Depending on what you want to achieve, you use punishment or reinforcement. Let's talk about one specific behavior that we are all trying to change: the lack of diversity in media.

There are articles all over the Internet criticizing TV shows, movies, magazines, etc. for their depiction of the “ideal” in their content. People seem to be under the impression that this criticism, a form of punishment, will help to increase diversity in media. But will it really?

What do people in the media want? Do they want people to love their content with all their hearts? Or do they want attention? Spoiler: they want attention because that’s what bring in revenue. That's the nature of business. The more articles that come out slamming a TV show for having yet another blond, white, female lead, the more TV shows are willing to cast those exact parts, because they get talked about, increasing views and therefore revenue.

We all know a person who is motivated purely by the desire to gain attention, whether good or bad. They'll pick fights just to get people to talk to them. Sometimes they're the sweetest person ever and sometimes they’re absolutely terrible. Whatever it takes to get people to look at them and think about them. The media is like that person.

So, how do you change the behavior of someone whose only motive is attention? You ignore the bad behavior and reinforce the good. Ok, hang on. I know what you're thinking. "We can't just ignore the fact that the media is putting out stereotypical and sometimes offensive content." And you're right. We can't. And we aren't.

By writing articles or having discussions about how a certainTV show, movie, magazine, what-have-you portrays an extremely diverse group of people or uses correct terminology, we are addressing the problem in a positive way. Media will quickly adjust to give us the content that we are talking about: the good stuff.

So let's stop complaining about the media that is doing it wrong, and start heralding the media that is doing it right. Before you know it, we'll be surrounded by wonderful influences. All it takes is a little positive reinforcement.

With that, I will leave you with a few commercials I’ve seen that I believe are worth sharing and good examples of things we should be praising.