THE TRAUMATIC IMPACT OF MEDIA HUMILIATION, MISREPRESENTATION AND VICTIM-SHAMING ON NARRATIVE IDENTITY AND WELL-BEING A dissertation submitted by CHRISTINE MARIE to FIELDING GRADUATE UNIVERSITY In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN PSYCHOLOGY With an Emphasis in Media Psychology This dissertation has been accepted for the faculty of Fielding Graduate University by Committee: Pamela B. Rutledge, PhD, Faculty Reader Daniel R. Sewell, PhD, Faculty Research Specialist Steve K. D. Eichel, PhD, External Examiner TRAUMATIC MEDIA MISREPRESENTATION THE TRAUMATIC IMPACT OF MEDIA HUMILIATION, MISREPRESENTATION AND VICTIM-SHAMING ON NARRATIVE IDENTITY AND WELL-BEING by Christine Marie Abstract In today’s media-saturated world filled with YouTube videos, social media, crime shows, contest shows, and reality TV, there is ample opportunity for average citizens to be humiliated or misrepresented in the media. Although media effects have been studied for decades, in almost every case the research has focused on how the media has affected the consumers of the media. This study, however, is interested in the impact of a negative or false media portrayal on individuals who were the subjects of the media, not the consumers. A mixed- methods phenomenological research approach was used to uncover the lived experience of those who have been humiliated, misrepresented, publicly shamed, or victim-blamed in the media. Quantitatively, 22 individuals answered the Peritraumatic, Dehumanization, Humiliation, Objectification scale, as well as the Centrality of Events scale, both modified to measure humiliation and misrepresentation in the media (MHM). A Pearson’s correlation between these two trauma scales showed a strong significance at the .01 level. Qualitatively, questions probing Heidegger’s existentials (lived things, lived time, lived space, lived body, and lived relationships) using five hermeneutic phenomenological lenses (humiliation, trauma, identity, power, and well-being) were explored to unveil the essence of the lived MHM experience. ii TRAUMATIC MEDIA MISREPRESENTATION Results support that survivors of MHM consider it a unique traumatic experience with a life- changing negative impact on multiple aspects of their lives and well-being. Results were amplified for trauma survivors. Dehumanization and powerlessness play a key role. Themes for recovery, post-traumatic growth, and implications for future research are discussed. Key words: humiliation, narrative identity, media misrepresentation, trauma, victim-blaming, public shaming, well-being iii TRAUMATIC MEDIA MISREPRESENTATION Copyright by Christine Marie 2020 iv TRAUMATIC MEDIA MISREPRESENTATION Acknowledgments This process was hard. It was also intense, exhilarating, and supported by many. First, I thank my dissertation chair, Dr. Jerri Lynn Hogg, the academic force of nature whose brilliance and positivity inspired me to rise up and become the scholar that I never dreamed I could be. I am deeply grateful for Dr. Dan Sewell, my methodologist, for teaching me to be particular about excellence in the details, and Dr. Pamela Rutledge, my faculty reader, for her example of professionalism, her guidance, and her insight that made my research more worthy of academic respect. I am also grateful to my external examiner, Dr. Steve Eichel from the University of Pennsylvania, who asked provocative questions, and shared his wisdom and perspective about this topic, reminding me that what I had to say was worth saying. Other professors who have deeply impacted me along the way include Dr. Karen Dill- Shackleford who infused me with a new passion and understanding of social justice, Dr. Gary Hare who taught me to question everything and think critically, Dr. Regina Tuma who inspired me with her electrifying zeal for media psychology, the late Dr. Donald Polkinghorne whose lessons in semiotics altered the way I saw meaning in the world, and of course, Dr. Jason Ohler who opened my mind to the powerful world of story and narrative identity, which not only impacted my research, but impacted my whole life. I am also delighted to thank the Fielding librarian, Abby Rae, whose eager assistance was invaluable at helping me track down hard-to-find research that was critical to this dissertation. Aside from academic influences, I want to acknowledge my husband, Tolga Katas, who could have easily forgotten he had a human wife when I was frozen behind my desk seemingly forever as I fixated on this research. Thank you, Tolga, for being my greatest v TRAUMATIC MEDIA MISREPRESENTATION champion, for understanding why I took so long in the bathtub, and for believing me when I said I needed the thinking time to complete my dissertation. I really did. My best academic problem-solving somehow arose from the bubbles. I’m grateful for my daughter whose proofreading of my various papers along the way, combined with smart conversations and reassurances, kept me on the straight and narrow path. I’m grateful to all my children, Christian, Tim, Kandice, and Emerson, for sharing me with the university, for doing more than their portion of the family duties, for setting me on fire to wake up from the occasional paralysis of writer’s block and drag myself across the finish line. More than anything, I did this for them, and because of them. I also have to thank my mother. When I was in a confusing place about my future after my own traumatic media misrepresentation experience, it was my silver-haired mom who said, “Chrissy, why don’t you go back to school?” This unexpected question, followed by a sterling recommendation of Fielding Graduate University by my friend, alumna Dr. Susan Spicer, sparked a change in my life course. Additionally, I’m thankful to my siblings, Mike, Suzi, and Pam, who sacrificed for me and helped me in heartfelt ways that I will never forget. Finally, this work would not have been completed without the support of my dear friend David Bishop. He always believed in me, rejoiced in my successes, and made this journey possible. Thank you all for giving me wings. vi TRAUMATIC MEDIA MISREPRESENTATION TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE - INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................... 1 Background ....................................................................................................................... 1 Contemporary Media Climate .......................................................................................... 3 Researcher Subjectivity .................................................................................................... 8 Personal Disclosure .......................................................................................................... 9 Statement of the Problem................................................................................................ 12 Purpose of the Study ....................................................................................................... 12 Significance of the Study ................................................................................................ 12 CHAPTER TWO – LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................................... 18 Introduction..................................................................................................................... 18 Part I - Narrative Identity .................................................................................................... 19 Narrative Foreclosure ..................................................................................................... 21 Personal Myth ................................................................................................................. 21 Components of Narrative Identity .................................................................................. 22 Agency ............................................................................................................................ 22 Communion .................................................................................................................... 23 Contamination Sequence ................................................................................................ 23 Redemption Sequence .................................................................................................... 24 Meaning-Making ............................................................................................................ 24 Exploratory Narrative Processing ................................................................................... 25 Coherent Positive Resolution ......................................................................................... 26 Narrative Identity and Phenomenology .......................................................................... 27 Cognitive Dissonance and Identity ................................................................................. 29 Part II - Humiliation ............................................................................................................ 30 Definitions ...................................................................................................................... 30 Humiliation: An Attack on Identity ................................................................................ 32 Humiliation and Power ................................................................................................... 33 Humiliation through Dehumanization