How Your Attitudes and Opinions are Influenced

 In this session you will learn how newspapers can sensationalise facts and also get information wrong. They discuss how this can 

impact on our own attitudes and wider society. Finally you will consider the importance of developing your own understanding and finding out the facts, so you can be confident in your own ideas and opinions.

 

Watch this video on the power of advertising

 

Discuss how advertising influences our attitudes, behaviour and

lifestyle choices

 

 

This advert from the 1970s was the catalyst for Coke going global

and becoming the most popular soft drink ever!

If Pepsi had made a better advert first, they may have been

the top seller.

 

• Why do you think it influenced so many people?

• How does advertising impact on our attitudes and choices?

• So is advertising a good or bad thing?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two minute challenge:

In pairs, list as many things as they can that influence

people to do orthink something e.g. friends, personal experience, 

magazines. Share as a class,going round and not allowing repetition.

 

 

Diamond 9 Activity

Using this worksheet to create and cut out nine cards that feature

different external influences.

Rank them into a diamond shape; withthe most important

characteristic at the top point and least important at the

bottom (see the slide for an example).

First rank individually , then agree on the ranking as a group, Discuss

which has the greatest influence. Are these influences good or bad? 

 

 

•Which influences your attitudes the most?

•Do they influence your attitudes for good or bad?

•How much do you decide based on your own attitudes and opinions? 

 

 

 

Headliners Activity

• Work in teams.

• Using these powerpoint slides, look at how three different headlines report the same issue. One is real and two are spoofs. You need to work out  which one you think is real.

• Look at fact verus fiction and the impact of creating sensationalised headlines

 

 

 

• How do headlines, impact our opinions and attitudes? 

• What behaviour could this lead to in society? 

 

 

In pairs, create your own headlines.

• One will be sensationalised and create a negative attitude, and one will be based on fact providing a balanced view.

• You could use the article in this worksheet which reports some student protests.

• When creating a sensationalised headline, you should try to create a negative view of the students in the news article.