Reality Test
Psychologists talk RealiTV!
Two licensed psychologists look at what we can learn about culture, societal oppression, social privilege, and ourselves from reality television. Grounded in their sociopolitical positions as relational, anti-racist, feminists, Dr.s Kay & Ray address the power dynamics; social (in)justice; intersecting oppressions, marginalizations, and privileges; and sociohistorical context present in numerous, popular reality television shows, while also celebrating the hope and empowerment that can be found.
At the end of some of our first episodes (3, 4, & 8), and now as separate episodes, “Mental Health Check-Up” segments explore brief mental health interventions, self-help tips, or other concepts from psychology for us all to further noodle on!
We hope to inspire further discussion about psychological and sociocultural aspects of our favorite reality tv shows, offering rough draft thoughts and ideas for us all to continue thinking about. After all, reality television ultimately provides an engaging format for learning about human behavior, mental health, and sociopolitical systems—let’s learn together!
DISCLAIMER: In the context of this podcast, we are not acting as therapists, neither for you nor for the reality castmates we discuss. We are, instead, bringing in our whole human selves, supplemented by mental health and psychology knowledge. We both adhere to social constructionism, such that we believe all knowledge is co-constructed in the context of relationships and we all have our own reality, informed by our own biased memories and subjectivities.
Despite realiTV making us all believe we know the castmates, we clearly do not, and we cannot ethically diagnose them or speak with certainty about their dynamics without conducting formal psychological assessments. Thus, our opinions will be merely (easily erroneous) opinions, informed by our biased perspectives, and while we may discuss diagnoses, we will avoid assigning them to castmates. We've spent years developing our professional roles as psychotherapists, professors, supervisors, and consultants, but we are new to podcasting--as you'll notice! Thank you in advance for your patience and feedback :) This will be an imperfect, but growth-fostering process, and we appreciate your engagement with it and with us! Thanks, y’all.
Reality Test
MHCU 6: Gray Rocking & Love Bombing
In this Mental Health Check-Up (MHCU), the 6th installment, Dr. Ray discusses the popular relational terms of gray rocking and love bombing, offering definitions, examples, and recommendations! Remember when Ariana referred to herself as Gray Rocking in response to Sandoval’s narcissistic behaviors? This is what she was talking about! If you're finding you're noticing similar narcissistic behaviors in the context of your relationship with a loved one, it may be helpful to hear about this technique, attending to the context and possible consequences, and perhaps doing further research. Take care of yourself!
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Gray Rocking References:
Biçer, C. (2020). Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all? Narcissistic leaders in organizations and their major effects on employee work behaviors. Nevşehir Hacı Bektaş Veli Üniversitesi SBE Dergisi, 10(1), 280-291. https://doi.org/10.30783/nevsosbilen.65378
Lancer, D. (2019). The price and payoff of a gray rock strategy. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/toxic-relationships/201911/the-price-and-payoff-gray-rock-strategy
MediLexicon International. (2024). Grey rock method: What it is and how to use it effectively. Medical News Today. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/grey-rock#summary
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If you are experiencing/surviving domestic violence, please contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233 or text BEGIN to 88788.
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Reality testing is when we check an emotion or thought we’re having against objective reality.
So, here in Reality Test, we’re going to be testing the thoughts, emotions, interactions, and producer antics of reality television against what we know, as licensed psychologists, about objective reality.
Come Reality Test with us!
Hosts: Dr. Kay & Dr. Ray
Thank you to our sound extraordinaire, Connor!
Instagram: @drkaypods @drraypods
TikTok: @dr.realitv
Facebook Page: Reality Test Pod
YouTube Channel: @RealityTestPod
Email: realitycheckpodding@gmail.com
