Headlines, emotions and utopia

Abstract

This study elaborates on the influence of newspaper headlines in the constitution of the social imaginary. It also shows the type of cognitive/emotional calculus that readers make by processing them. To this end, it considers the contribution that Journalism makes to the adaptive needs of the public. By examining a sample of 100 titles published in Folha de S.Paulo this study also identifies the ‘reflex and mirror images’ inferred by audiences from what is subliminally given in the headlines. It also shows the rationales applied in decoding this material and it tests the reception of 11 selected titles among 28 respondents. This study reveals that Journalism has a central role in consolidating the values of the public.

Keywords:
Headline; Utopia; Social Unconscious; Drive; Emotion

Resumo

Este estudo elabora sobre a influência dos títulos jornalísticos na formação do imaginário social. O cálculo mental que os leitores podem realizar durante o processamento deste tipo de informação é também analisado. São identificadas ainda as ‘imagens espelhadas’ e as ‘imagens reflexas’ de uma amostra de 100 títulos publicados na Folha de S. Paulo assim como os rationalesaplicados na decifração do material selecionado. Por fim, o estudo testa a recepção de 11 títulos escolhidos e considera a contribuição ‘darwinista’ do Jornalismo às necessidades adaptativas do público ao ambiente. O levantamento revela que o Jornalismo exerce um papel sutil, mas grave na consolidação dos valores do público.

Palavras-chave:
Título; Utopia; Inconsciente Social; Pulsão; Emoção

Resumen

Este estudio se ocupa de la influencia de los títulos de noticias en la constitución del imaginario social. También muestra el tipo de cálculo cognitivo/emocional que los lectores hacen. Para ello, tiene en cuenta la contribución que el Periodismo hace a las necesidades de adaptación de los ciudadanos. En la muestra de 100 títulos publicados en Folha de S.Paulo seleccionados el estudio identifica las ‘imágenes invertidas’ y las ‘imágenes reflejas’ que el público puede inferir de lo que se da de manera subliminal. También muestra los fundamentos aplicados en la descodificación de este material y pone a la prueba la recepción de 11 títulos seleccionados.

Palabras clave:
Título; Utopía; Inconsciente Social; Pulsión; Emoción

A glimpse of an ideal future is obtained by contrasting what we observe in the real world and what we want in our personal thoughts. These mirror images are accumulated in the social unconscious (Fromm, 1975). This is one serious cognitive and emotional effect produced by the news. At one point the resulting feeling is one that makes imperfection something intolerable to the masses. Then, in this moment of true the individual begins to cultivate the radical desire to fix human social existence.

Due to this ability to mobilize human emotions and thinking the press is used as raw material to politics. For example, the opposition parties usually use the news as way of undermining the credibility of the established government and other political parties and groups. In order to achieve this goal rebels also wave newspapers’ headlines to the public. This way they want to awaken people’s imagination. Headlines work as protest slogans. They warn the audience about the state of the world that claims for redemption. This persuasive effect of the news is inevitable, although it is subtle. After all, what the news really reveals is what is lacking in society. Journalism educates the masses to aspire the nonexistent. Due to this pragmatic effect the press makes politics by other means. Over time the audience learns that what is most relevant to their lives is what is being said in silence. But it happens that what is implicit is intelligible. It is something that could be pronounced and therefore can be calculated (ARMENGAUD, 2006; GRICE, 1975; IBAÑOS et al., 2002)

Since good news is bad news, Journalism has the ability to cause in the public some degree of discomfort about the surrounding environment. This dissonant effect produces in public’s mind images of scenes that are not available to the senses. Considering this dystopian vocation of Journalism, the audience begins to wish and dream about what is lacking in her life. These new desires are then disputed in the market of ideas. Since much of what is being reported by the press is ugly and sad, it is natural the public turns to preachers and their speeches wishing better days. Utopias live unknown in the texts of the news. As suggested, in order to come out from this hibernation these glimpses of future are nurtured by vital crises. Existential frustration emerges into consciousness in these times of severe emotional instability. As a result a utopia, when consolidated in public’s mind, makes the defense of a cause. It aims to reverse the existing order. It also articulates the malcontents. Utopian ideas attract the attention of reformists and disseminate hope. It is an effective antidote to existential boredom (Gardiner, 2012). In short, utopia is the mirror image of reality (LLOSA, 2010; MANHEIM, 1985; POPPER, 1987; RICCOUER, 2001; SARTORIIi, 1987).

Cognitive/affective mental processing

This study aims (1) to identify the ‘mirror images’ and the ‘reflex images’ produced by a sample of 100 titles published in Folha de S.Paulo (Brazil); (2) to show the types of cognitive/affective mental processing the public can perform using this material, and (3) to test the reception of 11 titles. The following example shows the methodology used in the analysis of this material.

‘Rebels invade Gadaffi military compound’

Stimulus: War/Armed Conflict

Cognition: It is a civil war.

Emotion and Sentiment: War causes a lot of feelings among those involved in the conflict. Among them *distress, *anxiety, *despair, *horror, *fear, *hate, *panic, *terror. But the Libyan civil war is a distant war. This fact greatly eases the feelings triggered by this title – in the case of the Brazilian reader. Mild emotions includes *disgust, *abomination, *apathy, *indifference, *interest, *concern, *fear and *sadness

Mirror Image- Peace

If a tabloid publishes an average of 120 headlines per issue and a subscriber reads half of them every day between his 18 and 73 years old of age, he will read during his lifetime 1,188,000 titles. Surely this daily and cumulative rumination ultimately will affect the collective mood of the public. It is an affective state of humor that lasts in time although it is less intense than individual emotions.

For example, if one reads the ‘Rebels invade Gadaffi’s military compound’ she/he will understand that the reported fact concerns a ‘war’. In this piece, the forbidden theme of ‘peace’ can be inferred. The psychological effects caused by thousands of titles like this remain dormant.. It is only through emotion the masses are able to quickly access what is present (but not expressed) in the news. That is, in these special moments of crisis people “see” some unexpected piece of information. This ‘irrational’ phenomenon is what explains the surprising eruptions of revolt among the masses.

It is worth recalling that mirror images are those that project themselves in the social imaginary as psychological ‘drive’ inverting therefore the negativity of the headline. The inversion is done by antonymy. Drives are internal stimulus, constant and unmovable force acting within the person. They impose high demands to the nervous system, says Freud (2004, p, 147). This energy that accumulates overtime generates a pressure (drang) requiring finally to be released. On the other hand, reflex images are those that result from headlines with positive meanings. Its main effect is to cause in the public good emotions, those that confront pessimism.

Emotions

The care exercised in the dissemination of news is justified because they arouse the emotion of the masses. It is hard to imagine a Journalism piece that does not seek to cause any sensation in the audience. It happens that the gateway to cognition is the public attention. Moreover, there are lots of stimuli that compete among themselves to control the senses of the public. Such dispute provokes a dispersion of cognitive energy. Our purpose is to highlight the fact that headlines have a central role in this dispute. They are one of the means by which newspapers fight this warfare whose aim is to conquer audience’s senses. It should be noted that the volume of reading can vary up to 500% depending solely on how titles are written. New software can compare in real time the performance of posts’ titles published on the web. For example, a test conducted by Conductor blog compared five types of titles: the normal type (Ways to make the most delicious tea); a question (What makes drinking tea more delicious?); an explanation (How to make the most delicious tea); title with numbers (30 ways to make the most delicious tea); and one talking to the audience (Ways to make the most delicious tea). The one with best result was ’30 ways to make the most delicious tea’. It had 15% more reading than the second one (‘Ways to make the most delicious tea’).

The use of a superlative also helps to attract reader’s attention. The title with a superlative ‘The best ways to train a dog’ was given preference. In the second place was the title with four superlatives – ‘The 27 best and smartest ways ever tried to train a dog’. Another feature to improve the readability of the titles is the use of capital letters – ‘The 27 Best Ways to Train a Dog’. The tests also show that readers do not like uncertainty. Finally, the data gathered in the test show that changing a single word in the title can increase the reading up to 46% (PATEL; PUTNAM, 2013).

All these facts explain why Journalism is also labeled ‘the art of titling’. After all, 80% of all newspaper readers read only titles (something that is happening now also among web surfers). As a result, public’s eye movement becomes an object of desire. The main finding of the studies conducted by the Pointer Institute on this topic in the 1990-91 period showed that the process of reading newspapers follows a pattern of navigation. The colorful pictures attract the eye first. Soon after the vision shifts to titles and from there it goes to the text. According to Garcia e Stark (1) readers navigate the pages of newspapers to find something interesting to read, (2) only 25% of the contents of an issue were examined and (3) only 12% of all pieces were read more than its half.

In the 1999-2000 period a similar study was done by the same Poynter Institute with online newspapers readers. The evidence collected showed that readers’ eyes first saw the titles. Then they moved to the photographs and from there they went to illustrations. These readers superficially examined 75% of the selected materials to read. This study was repeated in 20032004. The dominant titles were the first to attract the attention, especially those positioned on the left corner of the page. Larger titles attracted more the attention than smaller titles. Then, the eyes moved toward the text. The photographs attracted the attention of readers in third place.

As stated, it is assumed here that titles aim to break the chronic readers’ inattention. In order to achieve this goal titles should activate receivers’ feelings. When a person reacts emotionally, but unconsciously to the stimulus it is called subliminal perception. This cognitive school of thought presents the perspective that there is a direct relationship between information handling and the feelings of a person. As a result it is possible to say that two subjects can respond to the same event in different manners (polysemy), and a person can react to the same stimulus in opposite ways in different times. Different events may cause the same emotion in a person as well.

Results

Eleven rationales were used in the cognitive/affective mental processing of this 100 news sample. The emotional reactions were given by the respondents (see below).

Rationales

1. Cognitive processing: It is a war being fought faraway from Brazil.

Affective processing: There is no direct involvement of the public with the conflict. As a result its effect on the readers is mitigated. Only milder sentiments arise.

2. Cognitive processing: This is an internal political conflict in a foreign country.

Affective processing: The news regarding the conflict echoes superficially generating fewer emotions. These emotions can be contradictory.

3. Cognitive processing: This conflict involves a national celebrity.

Affective processing: This title mobilizes in part of the public the desire of the public to judge the celebrity since he is part of the social imaginary of the community.

4. Cognitive processing: It is an international conflict involving a national actor.

Affective processing: Unlike Rationale 1 there is in this case a strong emotional involvement of the public with the occurrence. The controversial nature of the dilemma as announced in the title can produce in the audience mixed feelings and emotions.

5. Cognitive processing: It is a conflict involving national actors.

Affective processing: Titles dealing with national actors produce emotional feelings among readers.

6. Cognitive processing: These facts are occurrences in which human limits are tested.

Affective processing: Competition is not only a frequent topic in sport coverage but also in economics, political and international news. All of them elaborate on heroes and villains, victory and defeat, success and failure, love and hate, life and death.

7. Cognitive processing: It is an occurrence involving damage and guilt.

Affective processing: Emotions/feelings regarding issues of making justice are strong.

8. Cognitive processing: This is an occurrence regarding a fatality event.

Affective processing: Errors, luck and setting something right are popular subjects. They appeal to the public since all of them denote the limits of the human being.

9. Cognitive processing: This is a general and nonspecific category of positive titles. Since they are less frequent in the news agenda they usually call the attention of the public.

Affective processing: These positive titles diminish the sense of threat and danger that instability in society produces.

10. Cognitive processing: It is a topic involving social and moral habits.

Affective processing: This kind of titles creates doubts about what is acceptable and correct and about what can be changed in the manners and customs of society.

11. Cognitive processing: This is a general and nonspecific negative category of titles.

Affective processing: This type of title increases the sense of danger that instability produce(s) in society. It has an impact because it is threatening.

Examining 100 news headlines it can be noted the themes each one of them is offering to the cognitive/affective mental processing, the type of processing a reader can make in his interpretation of the titles and the mental maps (mirror and reflex images) created by them in the reader. In the following table are presented some additional examples.

Rationale 7 is the most frequent. It was applied 20 times in the interpretation of the 100 titles. The next most popular rationales are the Rational 1(16 times), the 9 (14 times), the 8(12 times), the 11 (nine times) and the 6 (eight times). Therefore, drama, good news, tragedies, competition and bad news (which are the majority of the news) are the most frequent stimulus and the most available subjects to reader’s perception in this list of 100 titles. The data also reveal that the vast majority of titles have negative semantic meaning. It means that Journalism as practiced in the real world greatly appreciate bad news. This list of 100 titles focus on a few themes. They provoke in the public a small, but very dense number of aspirations. Noteworthy are the motives of Peace, Honesty, Justice, Good Luck, and Order. Considering the relative importance of each one of them as indicated in Table 1 it can be stated that the latent utopian image has this format.

Table 1
Cognitive/affective processing of 100 titles

Date	Title	Stimulus	Rationale	Mirror/ Reflex Images
23/08/2011	Rebels invade Gadaffi military compound, says TV.	War (-)	1	Peace
18/08/2011	Israel retaliates and kills Palestinian faction leader, says group	War (-)	1	Peace
16/08/2011	Agriculture had ‘corrupted’ bids, says employee.	Corruption (-)	5	Honesty
31/07/2011	American Press says that Congress has reached agreement	Conflict (-)	2	Peace
30/07/2011	Cielo wins gold in the 50m freestyle; Fratus finishes fifth	Competition (-)	6	Colaboration
29/07/2011	Flight 447 pilots’ errors can raise compensation, says lawyer	Vendetta (-)	7	Justice
	Report on Flight 447 points to pilot error, says newspaper.	Mistake (-)	8	Correct
28/07/2011	Rental prices fall for second time, says FGV.	Inflation (-)	9	Deflation
	More than half of Brazilians are against gay marriage, says Ibope.	Change (-)	10	Tradition
26/07/2011	Brazil takes the fifth positions in foreign investments	Progress (+)	9	Progress
	Brazilian tourists spend US$10 billion abroad.	Waste (-)	7	Moderation
	Foreign investment grows 170% this semester	Progress (+)	9	Progress
	Norwegian gunman used drugs, says lawyer	Conflict (-)	1	Peace
25/07/2011	Dollar closes at R$ 1,54 and has the lowest rate in 12 years	Deflation (-)	9	Deflation
	Judge decrees provisional arrest of suspect in Norway attacks	Crime (-)	7	Justice
22/07/2011	Explosion hits government building in the capital of Norway	Conflict (-)	1	Peace
21/07/2011	It is the function of Justice to check signatures for PDS, says Kassab	Corruption (-)	5	Honesty

Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace

Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace

Peace Success Success Punctuality Benefit Luck wealth Innocence

Stability Tradition Moderation Moderation Authority Authority

Pardon Pardon Equality Equality Employability Employability Progress

Progress Progress Cooperation Cooperation Security Security Security

Responsibility Order Order Order Order Deflation Deflation Deflation

Deflation Justice Justice Justice Justice Justice Justice Justice Justice

Justice Justice Justice Justice Justice Justice Honesty Honesty Honesty

Honesty Honesty Honesty Honesty Honesty Honesty Honesty Honesty

Honesty Honesty Confidence

Picture 1
This is another image of the utopia produced by this list of 100 titles

Twenty eight respondents answered the question “What is the feeling you have after reading this title?” A list of 11 titles was offered to each one of the respondents. Each question represents one rationale, as described above. Table 2 presents three examples:

Table 2
Affective processing of 11 headlines. What is the feeling you have after reading this title?

Title	R	Affective processing/ frequency	Title	R	Affective processing/ frequency	Title	R	Affective processing/ frequency
Rebels invade Gadaffi military compound	1	anguish anxiety confusion courage curiosity / 3 distrust contempt / 3 expectation Indignation / 3 insecurity fear / 2 anger / 2 revolt / 2 tension sadness	Agriculture had ‘corrupted’ bids, says server	5	absurd anguish upset deception mistrust / 3 disloyalty contempt inconsistency Indifference / 2 Indignation / 5 irritation justice disgust anger / 4 disapproval revolt / 3 sophistry	Shoeshine lives in a tree	11	admiration anguish curiosity 4 fun doubt embarrassing hypocrisy impotence 2 indifference indifference indignation interest 2 pity / 3 concern 2 anger 2 revolt 2 satisfaction surprising sadness 4

Reactions

The following image shows the frequencies of all emotions produced in the respondents’ answers by this 11 titles sample.

Positive Cluster Negative Cluster Clash of Emotions

Positive Cluster

Negative Cluster

Clash of Emotions

It is worth recalling that the stored energy in each emotion is infinitesimal. The image above aims to show exactly that. It contemplates the frequency of each emotion and the constitution (as an example) of two emotional clusters, one of bad feelings and a second of positive ones. The clusters are established by similar emotions. The strength of a cluster derives from the energy stored in the alliance formed among them. Opposite clusters repeal each other.

Similar idea was developed by Robert Plutchick in the Nature of Emotions. The perspective of this author is Darwinian. When opposite clusters collide it can happen mutual cancellation or the weakening of one of them, something that depends on the emotional loads involved. The emotional clusters are one of the factors that exercise influence on the individual mood as well as in the collective mood. It is a result of the effects news produce on the audience (besides other factors such as entertainment, education, culture, religion, history, individual and social memories). It is noteworthy that connections among clusters are dynamic and random.

The image presented below is an example of a frozen moment of this dynamic phenomenon. The image shows optimistic sentiments (positive feelings) generated by the 11 stories of the sample among the respondents, the toxic sentiments and the clash between them.

Picture 2
Feelings optimistic that produce hope

Picture 3
Toxic feelings that produce disappointment

Picture 4
The Clash of Emotions

Empirical data collected from respondents’ responses reveal that prevail in the public toxic thoughts generated by ‘bad news’ (2.23 negative emotions to one positive emotion). It is easy to see in the picture that there is a collision between two toxic feelings (Outrage/Revolt and Sadness) with two optimist feelings (Joy and Curiosity).

Taking into account the mirror and reflex images generated by the 11 titles of the sample it is possible to show the utopia that is deposited in the minds of the 28 respondents.

Admiration Admiration, Relief, Goodness, Goodness, Courage, Curiosity,

Curiosity, Curiosity Curiosity Curiosity Curiosity Curiosity Curiosity

Curiosity Curiosity Curiosity Curiosity Curiosity Curiosity Curiosity

Curiosity Curiosity Curiosity Curiosity Curiosity Curiosity Curiosity,

Hope Hope Hope Hope Hope Hope Joy Joy Joy Joy Joy Joy Joy Joy Joy

Joy Joy Joy Joy Joy Joy Joy Joy Joy Joy Joy Joy Joy Joy Joy Joy Interest

Interest Justice Justice Justice Justice Justice Justice Pride Pride Pride

Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace Prestige Prestige Reward

Satisfaction Satisfaction Satisfaction Satisfaction Luck Luck Success

Surprise Surprise Surprise Surprise Surprise Surprise Order Order Order

Order Order Order Order Order Order Order Order Order Order Order

Order Order Order Order Order Order Order Order Order Order Order

Order Order Order Order Order Order Order Order Order Order Order

Order Order Happiness Happiness Happiness Happiness Happiness

Happiness Happiness Happiness Happiness Happiness Happiness

Happiness Happiness Happiness Happiness Happiness Happiness

Happiness Happiness Happiness

Happiness Happiness Happiness Happiness Happiness Happiness

Happiness Happiness Happiness Happiness Happiness Happiness

Happiness Happiness Happiness Happiness Happiness Happiness

Happiness Happiness Happiness Happiness Certainty Certainty Certainty

Certainty Certainty Certainty Certainty Certainty Certainty Certainty

Certainty Certainty Goodness Goodness Goodness Goodness Goodness

Goodness Goodness Dedication Dedication Dedication Support Support

Confidence Confidence Loyalty Loyalty Loyalty Loyalty Force Force

Force Force Force Force Force Force Justice Justice Justice Justice

Justice Justice Justice Justice Justice Justice Pride Pride Peace Peace

Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace

Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace

Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace

Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace

Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace Dignity

Dignity Dignity Dignity Dignity Dignity Dignity Dignity Dignity Dignity

Dignity Dignity Dignity Dignity Dignity Dignity Dignity Dignity Dignity

Dignity Dignity Dignity Dignity Dignity Responsibility Security Pleasure

Pleasure Pleasure Pleasure Pleasure Pleasure Pleasure Pleasure Pleasure

Pleasure Pleasure Pleasure Success Charm Approval Approval Dynamism

Dynamism Disembarrassment Disembarrassment

Picture 5
Image of the utopia deposited in the mind of 28 Brazilian respondents

Discussion

As it is known from history, in the remote past there were many popular uprisings. And like today, many of these rebellions surprised everybody. In those ancient days the popular wishes behind the revolts did not arise from the reader inferential mental processing of newspaper headlines and titles. The press simply did not exist and therefore did not exercise any role in the stimulation of collective rumination. This evidence leads us to the conclusion that the news is not the only source contributing to the consolidation of the dreams and drives that demand expression after a period of dormancy and maturation in the social unconscious.

The emergence of the newspaper did not change this situation. For a long time these outlets were not informative. For example, the French Revolution did suffer strong influence from the newspapers, but not from the informative Journalism. The same has occurred in the American Revolution. In the case of Brazil, the informative role of newspapers became a factor only in modernity and urban life. By informing and arousing the passions of the masses, the newspaper came to be feared, watched, censored and persecuted not only in Brazil but in many other places as well. This is the reason why the stamp of the official censorship had become a legal requirement to its circulation in many locations around the world. Since then, the development of the mass Media has built sophisticated information nets. This development made it impossible for individuals to isolate themselves in order to avoid the impact continuous coverage of the events causes in the audience. It can be said that in our times the social life is on online. Therefore, besides scientific fiction and political philosophy, Journalism is also educating people about the future.

Putting it in another way, the main attribute of Journalism is to be a useful tool for the adaptive needs of human beings to their environments. The power of information resides in this strategic role of helping the public to avoid risks and to survive adjusting to the new emerging circumstances. Unlike to what has happened in the remote past when the volume of data being processed and needed to this adjustment was small, society as a whole became complex demanding from the citizen strong surveillance of the events as well as processing a large number of pieces of information.

Journalism is consumed by the public because it provides antidotes to entropy. The newspaper will be necessary to the extent it will remain able to offer the reader relevant and urgent information needed to his survival. That is, the social role of the informative Media is to fulfill a ‘Darwinian’ mission. After all, “the cognitive activity precedes the emotions in the flux of psychological events” (Lazarus, 1991, p.127). Throughout the existence and with the help of the press people develop beliefs about how things work. This general knowledge allows them to estimate and evaluate consciously or unconsciously the effects of their relation with occurrences of their environment. At this precise moment their sentiments are converted into emotions.

As mentioned earlier, many factors contribute to the activation of emotions that combine to break the silence that is imposed on the citizen by the standard thinking and by the social customs. It is impossible to calculate the quantumand the mix of stimuli capable of forging in a certain time and place the spirit of the ‘angry man who does not want to bend” (Camus, 1996; p.131). This author classifies this type of rebel as “possessed”, i.e. someone who is possessed not only with rage but also with dreams. The students’ rebellion of 1968 in Paris; the toppling of the Berlin Wall and the protest of the youngsters in Beijing in 1989; the revolt of the masses in the Soviet Union in 1991 and the rebellion of the youngsters in the Arab states starting in 2010 are examples of this type of crisis that spread (with the help of TV coverage) as a trail of fire, a phenomenon that has been called sometimes as ‘mental contagion’ and sometimes as infection, bandwagoning, imitation, emulation and horizontal escalation diffusion (FORSBERG, 2014; RAPOPORT, 1970; RICHARDSON, 1948; SPERBER, 2011) Protests and violence are ways ‘angry men’ have to solve the conflict that arouses in their spirits. It is a result of a clash between the images coming from the outside world and those feelings coming from inside their souls (LAZARUS, 1966, p.21)

What this study aims to show is the type of contribution Journalism can make to the diffusion of utopian messages. As said before, they arouse in those special moments of existential crisis. The news help to ignite the collective (bad) humor that until then was ruminating in silence the pain of the world. Our example shows that the Brazilian readers by been exposed to the stimuli of these 100 headlines are touched by 21 values caused by mirror images. Another eleven values are produced by reflex images. Both are projected into the social unconscious. All these images (the mirror and reflex images) work as mental ‘imprints’. Imprinting is a concept suggested by Konrad Zacharias Lorenz, the well known Austrian zoologist. He suggests that an individual has to be exposed repeatedly to the same external stimuli to learn something. Recent lab studies show that this learning process is neither fast nor irreversible. He is no limited to a specific time either (CARDOSO, 2001). According to Lorenz, the ‘imprinting’ (caused by titles, in the case of this study) has a delayed effect on people’s behavior.

In sum, headlines work as the advertisement does. This way Journalism attempts to break the blockade imposed to awareness by audience’s apathy. These few words transmitted with some fanfare provoke in readers (subtly and unconsciously) aspirations and desires. This way people learn not only from what is being said loudly in the titles and headlines, but also from what is being communicated in silence. Finally, the title is also powerful because the interdicted utopian message is the clandestine traveler of the news.

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• WAINBERG, Jacques A. O dilema do rebelde: persuasão ou sectarismo. Galáxia, São Paulo, n.26, p. 34-47, dez. 2013.

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  Jan-Jun 2015

History

• Received
  24 May 2014
• Accepted
  22 Dec 2014