Psych Attack

Snack Attacks are short segments taken from a full episode, so you can have a quick topic taster.

This Snack Attack comes from episode 30 'Apple Cider Vinegar: Panel discussion about the Australian TV drama'

Dr Suzie Gibson explains what we can learn about ourselves and the society we live in by analysing fictional texts.

For links to related research articles and books mentioned in this Snack Attack, go to the full episode show notes.

What is Psych Attack?

Psych Attack focuses on the diversity of the domain of psychology. Join us for a relaxed conversation with experts discussing the topics they are passionate about in psychological research and/or practice. The aim is to better understand the spectrum of human experience, the methods used in psychology, and the people attracted to working within it. The conversations will be of interest and accessible to novice and experienced psychology listeners alike.

Hosted by Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald (jasminebmacdonald.com.au).

Suzie

So there's no way we can actually undertake an assessment of character based on the person we're dealing with, the character as depicted in the series, so that there is a gap.

And I think there needs to be recognition of that. And on that note, people might think, well, why analyzing a text when it's not the real world? Well, the thing is, texts are the interface between us and the world. That's how we negotiate the world often. I mean, we we do it through language to begin with. The language we're currently using.

And language is a form of text too. So there's always a mediator effector between us and the real world. And looking at esthetic forms like this television series, it often reveals things about us, the way we respond, the way we interpret it. It actually blows back on us too. So it's very revealing sort of activity in all sorts of ways.

It reveals individual character, it reveals cultural that values, social values, potential sexism, all those sorts of things. So it's always fascinating to look at texts because they, they tend to reveal us as much as we reveal them.