Video Assessment: Watch One Of The Following Movies Plays In

Video Assessmentwatch One Of The Following Moviesplays In Its Entiret

Watch one of the following movies/plays in its entirety: Just Mercy, 12 Angry Men (play can be found on YouTube), Remember the Titans, or Legally Blonde. Choose THREE topics and write a 2-page analysis on how these topics are applicable to the movie. Not every topic will be relevant to every movie option so be sure to only choose options that make sense with the movie you chose to watch. 1. Levels of awareness 2. Cognitive dissonance 3. Id, ego, superego 4. Erikson's stages of development 5. Prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination 6. Episodic and semantic memory 7. Sensation and Perception 8. Consciousness 9. Classical conditioning and operant conditioning 10. Social learning 11. Kohlberg's theory of moral development 12. Drive-reduction and/or optimal arousal theory 13. Maslow's hierarchy of needs 14. Emotions and goals 15. Personality (choose ONE theory and only one if you use this topic) - if you try to use too many theories/perspectives you will drown in your attempt to separate the information and organize it 16. Altruism 17. Conformity and group influence 18. Social identity 19. Stages of stress Again, choose three of these options and defend your answers. You should use at least ONE outside source. Be sure to cite it. Whichever three you pick, be sure to be specific when analyzing. If you have any less than a page, you need to go back and be more specific. Your extra source can be used to back up any of your analyses, but be sure to cite it and the video on a separate reference page to help you get practice citing. THIS SHOULD BE WRITTEN LIKE A PAPER. You need an intro, your analyses, and a conclusion. TechFite Case Study Background of Company: TechFite is traded on NASDAQ and has approximately 1,000 employees. The company’s core business involves consulting with and advising Internet organizations on promoting and monetizing their online business ventures. Most of the company operates legally and ethically with good internal financial oversight. However, its Applications Division has recently been reported in the news media for undertaking some disturbing business practices. This division consults with start-ups on launching new applications and apps online. Assignment: The chairperson of the board commissioned me, John Jackson, to investigate the IT and business practices of the Applications Division. I hold an MS in network security and am qualified as a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), and I have 12 years’ experience in cybersecurity. In addition, the chairperson has consented to allow Maria Harrison to assist me. She is a private investigator who holds an MS in criminal justice and has 15 years’ experience in corporate investigations. Findings: I interviewed Noah Stevenson, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Orange Leaf Software LLC, whose company was cited in recent news articles about the Applications Division. Stevenson indicated his company had meetings with the division’s representatives to possibly hire TechFite for consulting services. Prior to divulging any technical details, Applications Division head Carl Jaspers executed a nondisclosure agreement (NDA) with Orange Leaf. As a part of the preconsulting process, Orange Leaf’s CEO, chief technology officer (CTO), and lead software engineer completed questionnaires that included technical information about Orange Leaf’s products. Ultimately, Orange Leaf decided not to hire TechFite’s Applications Division for a variety of business reasons. Months later, Noah Stevenson was disturbed to find out a competitor was launching some products very similar to those of Orange Leaf. A similar scenario occurred in an interview with Ana Capperson, CTO for Union City Electronic Ventures. She described the same fact pattern as Orange Leaf’s. That is, after this company decided not to use the Applications Division, proprietary information eventually found its way into the hands of a competitor. Both potential clients provided copies of the questionnaires to me, and they do contain information that could be of value to a competitor. Copies of the NDAs executed by Carl Jaspers were also provided. A check of the Applications Division’s customer database revealed that the two competitors identified by Stevenson and Capperson are existing clients of TechFite’s Applications Division. The Applications Division has a Business Intelligence (BI) Unit, which gathers publicly available information about companies in the Internet sector to benefit the division’s marketing of its services and to aid clients. Such an operation is legal and is common in the industry. However, I was interested in what kind of oversight the unit had to prevent the abuses alleged by Stevenson and Capperson. IT Security Analyst Nadia Johnson of TechFite’s Applications Division reviewed reports for the chief information security officer (CISO) and revealed the organization had performed a credible job of protecting the division’s network against external threats. Vulnerability scanning, penetration testing, and UTM (unified threat management) were all in place. Documentation on internal oversight, especially of the BI Unit, however, was lacking. There were blanket summaries that no irregularities were found in internal operations. What was missing were specific discussions of auditing users’ accounts, checking for escalation of privilege, enforcing data loss prevention (DLP) on sensitive documents, and surveilling internal network traffic and activity. Also disturbing was the lack of coverage on the critical issue of safeguarding sensitive and proprietary information belonging to existing clients, potential clients, and previous clients. No plan was evident in keeping different clients’ information segregated from each other and employing a Chinese wall methodology. (No general policy at TechFite requires such a methodology.) Within the BI Unit, the principles of least privilege and separation of duties were not enforced. Every workstation and computer had full administrative rights. In the marketing/sales unit associated with the BI Unit, the same person can create customers (clients), report sales, and post sales on the system. In fact, there is no IT segmentation or separation between the two units—data or applications.

Additionally, background checks into IT Security Analyst Nadia Johnson raised some questions. First, Jaspers (head of Applications Division) regularly gives Johnson’s boss, the CISO, positive recommendations about Johnson during annual reviews and she gets ample raises. Johnson’s social media posts have photos and text documenting her frequently attending social events hosted by Jaspers. A recent post even thanks Jaspers for a gift on Johnson’s birthday. (Currently, no policy at TechFite bars social relationships between IT Security staff and those they conduct oversight on.) We audited the client list database for the division (an action never done by Johnson). Most of the clients are well-known companies in the Internet arena. We researched the businesses we did not immediately recognize online. All but three came up as legitimate companies in the Internet field. These three organizations—Bebop Software of Alberta, FGH Research Group of Indiana, and Dazzling Comet Software of Florida—had no real Internet presence. Further investigation revealed they were all incorporated in Nevada. The registered agent for all three corporations was Yu Lee, who attended graduate school with Carl Jaspers at Stanford University. We crosschecked with the TechFite Financial Unit and found all three companies pay for services at TechFite with checks drawn from the same bank: Freeworkers’ Pennsylvania Bank, NA in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Given this pattern, these three clients may not be actual, real clients but may simply be conduits for moving money into TechFite’s sales figures for the division. Since TechFite does not do business with Freeworkers and does not have accounts there, the bank may provide an off-the-books method of making payments elsewhere. In auditing IT user accounts for the division, we found most to be created in the normal manner for TechFite. (A manager requests that an employee receives account access with the appropriate privileges.) However, two accounts were created solely upon the request of Carl Jaspers. The employees assigned to the accounts have not worked for TechFite for over a year. However, the accounts are in constant use. Emails associated with these accounts are addressed to parties who are not clients of TechFite. Some of the emails refer to intelligence-gathering activities against various companies, including references to “dumpster diving” and “trash surveillance.” All TechFite employees at the time of hire sign a release permitting company surveillance of any electronic communications using TechFite equipment. Accordingly, we remotely deployed Encase Endpoint Investigator on BI Unit computers and digital devices. We discovered the Metasploit tool (used for system penetration) on multiple machines. In addition, evidence on the hard drives indicates recent penetration and scanning activity into IP addresses for several Internet-based companies. Among the BI Unit employees, Sarah Miller, the senior analyst, has the most traffic in scanning other companies’ networks. Analysts Megan Rogers and Jack Hudson take direction from Miller in doing similar efforts. Hudson also coordinates efforts by third parties to gather intelligence through surveilling and through mining companies’ trash. Furthermore, social media research on Hudson revealed his membership in the Strategic and Competitive Intelligence Professionals (SCIP), which has a very strong code of ethics against covert and illegal BI activities. Finally, and very disturbing, the BI Unit, through its dummy user accounts, has gained access to other groups and units within TechFite outside its own division, without proper authorization. Escalation of privilege has occurred on these accounts to permit access to legal, human resources (HR), and finance departments. Networking monitoring logs reflect regular traffic between the BI Unit and these other departments to examine financial and executive documents. [End of report]

Paper For Above instruction

Introduction

The intersection of psychology and media representations offers a unique lens through which societal dynamics, individual behaviors, and moral considerations can be examined. Films and plays like Just Mercy, 12 Angry Men, Remember the Titans, and Legally Blonde serve as cultural artifacts that depict complex human interactions and social issues. Analyzing these works through psychological theories enhances understanding of characters' motivations, group influences, and moral development. This paper explores three psychological concepts—Cognitive Dissonance, Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development, and Conformity and Group Influence—and applies them to the selected movie, Just Mercy. The choice of these topics allows a comprehensive examination of how individuals rationalize moral dilemmas, evolve morally, and are influenced by group pressures within the film’s narrative.

Analysis of Cognitive Dissonance

Cognitive Dissonance, formulated by Leon Festinger, refers to the psychological discomfort experienced when an individual holds two or more contradictory beliefs, values, or attitudes. In Just Mercy, the character of Walter McMillian exemplifies this phenomenon. McMillian, an innocent man, is convicted of murder due to flawed evidence and racial biases. Throughout the film, McMillian psychologically grapples with the dissonance between his perception of justice and the blatant injustice inflicted upon him by the legal system. His unwavering hope and faith in the legal process contrast sharply with the reality of systemic corruption and racial bias, creating internal conflict. His repeated efforts to prove his innocence reflect attempts to reduce this dissonance by aligning his beliefs with his lived reality. Additionally, the attorneys and advocates in the film, such as Bryan Stevenson, also experience dissonance as they confront systemic injustices, motivating their persistent fight for reform despite resistance and setbacks. This internal struggle underscores the psychological toll of confronting uncomfortable truths and the motivation to resolve dissonance through activism and moral conviction.

Application of Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development

Kohlberg’s stages of moral development categorize moral reasoning into levels: pre-conventional, conventional, and post-conventional. In Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson’s moral reasoning reflects post-conventional morality, characterized by a commitment to justice, human rights, and ethical principles above societal laws. Stevenson demonstrates a moral development that transcends societal norms to advocate for systemic change, emphasizing human dignity and equality. Conversely, characters like District Attorney Tommy Chapman often exhibit pre-conventional or conventional reasoning, guided primarily by rules, authority, and societal expectations, which in this context, perpetuate racial biases and injustices. The film’s portrayal of moral development highlights the capacity for moral judgment to evolve, challenging viewers to consider their moral reasoning standards. Stevenson’s moral stance aligns with Kohlberg’s highest stage—post-conventional morality—where principles of justice and human rights take precedence over laws that are unjust or discriminatory.

Conformity and Group Influence

The concept of conformity and group influence is vividly depicted in Just Mercy through societal and institutional pressures that uphold racial inequalities. The biased juries, police, and legal actors demonstrate how group norms and shared beliefs can reinforce discriminatory practices. For instance, the racial biases prevalent within the legal system influence jury decisions and law enforcement actions, reflecting conformity to prevailing prejudiced norms. Bryan Stevenson and his advocates often challenge these group influences by fostering moral independent thought and activism. The film underscores how social influence can either entrench injustice or serve as a catalyst for change. It depicts individuals’ resistance to conforming to racially biased norms, illustrating the importance of moral courage in challenging groupthink and promoting social justice. This analysis reveals how conformity within social groups can perpetuate injustices, but also how moral individuals can influence group norms to effect change.

Conclusion

Analyzing Just Mercy through the lenses of Cognitive Dissonance, Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development, and Conformity and Group Influence provides profound insights into individual morality, societal pressures, and psychological conflict within the narrative. The film exemplifies how systemic injustice creates internal dissonance and highlights the potential for moral growth amidst adversity. Moreover, it showcases the powerful influence of social conformity, raising awareness of the importance of moral courage in confronting unjust norms. These psychological perspectives deepen understanding of the characters’ motivations and the social dynamics at play, emphasizing the ongoing struggle for justice and moral integrity in society.

References

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• Kohlberg, L. (1981). Essays on Moral Development: Vol. I. The Philosophy of Moral Development. Harper & Row.
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• Bandura, A. (1977). Social Learning Theory. Prentice-Hall.
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