1.

Today, I want to talk about self-regulatory focus theory and how the actions of leaders can affect
the way followers approach different situations. Self-regulatory focus theory is a theory
developed by Tori Higgins. He says that a person’s focus at any given time is to either
approach pleasure or avoid pain. These are two basic motivations that each and every one of
us has, and they cause us to have different kinds of goals. Promotion goals in different life
situations emphasise achievement. Prevention goals are oriented towards the avoidance of
punishment. In a specific situation, our thoughts might focus more on promotion goals or more
on prevention goals. The theory suggests that two factors affect which goals we are focusing
on. First, there is a chronic factor. This factor is connected to a person's personality and says
that each person has a basic tendency to either focus more on promotion goals or focus more
on prevention goals as part of his or her personality. Second, there is a situational factor which
means that the context we are in can make us more likely to focus on one set of goals or the
other. For example, we are more likely to be thinking about pleasure and to have promotion
goals when we are spending time with a friend.
In contrast, if we are working on an important project for our boss, we are more likely to try to
avoid making mistakes and therefore have more prevention goals in our mind. Research has
shown that the goals we are focusing on at a given time affect the way we think. For example,
when focusing on promotion goals, people consider their ideal self, their aspirations and
gains. They don't think about what they can lose, so they think in a happier mode. They feel
more inspired to change. When people are focusing on prevention goals, they think about their
“ought" self. What are they supposed to be? What are people expecting from them? They
consider their obligations to others. As a result, they experience more anxiety and try to avoid
situations where they could lose.
Now that I have talked about the two focuses and how they affect people, I want to look at the
idea that the way leaders behave, or their style of leading, can affect the focus that followers
adopt in a specific situation. In talking about leadership, we often mention transformational
leaders and transactional leaders. Transformational leaders, when interacting with their
followers, focus on their development. In their words and actions transformational leaders
highlight change. Their speech is passionate and conveys a definitive vision. All of these
things can encourage followers to think about what could be. In other words, they inspire a
promotion focus in their followers.
In contrast, transactional leaders focus on developing clear structures that tell their followers
exactly what is expected of them. While they do explain the rewards people will get for following
orders, they emphasise more how a follower will be punished or that a follower won't get
rewarded if his or her behaviour doesn’t change. In short, they emphasise the consequences of
making a mistake. This emphasis will clearly lead followers to focus on avoiding punishment
and problems. This is clearly a prevention focus.
In conclusion, it is important to understand that one focus is not necessarily better than the other
one. For a designer who works in a field where a lot of innovation is needed, a promotion
focus is probably better. In contrast, a prevention focus which causes people to work more
cautiously and produce higher quality work might be very appropriate for a job like a surgeon,
for example. The main point of the research, though, is that the actions of leaders can greatly
influence whether people approach a situation with more of a promotion focus or more of a
prevention focus.
2.
Interviewer: Today I’m talking to two young journalists-Angus Brown, a news reporter on a
national daily, and Yolanda Zouche, a features writer on a London evening paper. You’re both
not only successful in your careers, but enthusiastic about them too. What would you say is the
most challenging aspect of your work. Yolanda?
Yolanda: I’m tempted to say nothing really- I like it all, some things more, some less. Our
features are a mix of things that have been thought of and researched and written in advance,
and more urgent, topical pieces with a quick turnaround. I’m sometimes sent out on a story
that’s needed for the next day. It’s pretty scary when you know you’ve got just a few hours
– and it can involve finding people whose addresses you don’t know. That’s the same with any
story, of course. You’ll have to think up ideas for pictures to go with it and, write your piece to a
fixed word count – but you soon find yourself doing this automatically.
Interviewer: And what do you both enjoy about your work?
Yolanda: Well, I suppose I’m quite a nosy kind of person, so I love digging out stories that
haven’t been reported – I’ll go from interviewing a singer about a forthcoming tour to
investigating some crime, all in one day perhaps. I’d be bored otherwise, I think, and then it’s
all got to be presented in a way that will make people want to read it.
Interviewer: And you, Angus?
Angus: There’s no way I could describe ‘my typical working day’ – that’s the sort of question
people often ask. And that’s really why I enjoy it so much I suppose – so many fascinating
people to talk to, and so much to learn.
Interviewer: Like several other papers nowadays, Angus, yours has an online version. What do
you think is the greatest significance of the change to digital?
Angus: It’s completely altered the way we think about the news. Things move so very quickly,
and we really do need to stay receptive to all the opportunities the medium has opened up. I
think maybe more people are better informed these days. We’ve certainly become a rolling
news operation – I can now file a story as soon as it breaks, early and then update digitally as I
find out more. And if I get anything wrong, people are all too quick to point this out on social
media.
Interviewer: Finding a job is not easy for anyone – what was it like for you Angus?
Angus: It certainly wasn’t easy. People continually told me that print journalism was dead, and
there was no money in it, but in fact I had to beat 1,800 applicants to get on the graduate
scheme. Before that I’d been on a couple of temporary work experience placements with a local
paper – you can do these to get a taster of the work, but there’s no salary… I managed
financially because I was doing some part-time teaching at the same time. You really need
some sort of support network of people with influence too – luckily the work experience provided
that.
Interviewer: Tell us what qualities you think a would-be journalist needs, Yolanda.
Yolanda: There’s no straightforward answer to that – I’ve got an English degree and Angus is a
historian, I believe… that’s his academic background. There are plenty of good courses around,
and eventually you’ll have to get to grips with some of the technical stuff – like media law, and
so on. But remember no one is ever going to employ a shy retiring type with no ideas.
Being able to write clearly and quickly, and think through a tangle of information is obviously
helpful – but these are things you can develop with practice.
Interviewer: And what would you say, Angus, is a good preparation for an aspiring journalist?
Angus: I’m wary of long periods of unpaid work experience – you can easily end up doing
someone else’s job for free, but some is pretty well essential. Listen to people’s conversations.
It’s a great way to get ideas for stories – everything you see and hear is copy for articles. Being
a good writer is obviously an advantage as I’ve said, but it’s more important to have something
to write about. You don’t need to be, and probably won’t ever become, an expert in
anything, but you’ll have the chance to engage with a huge variety of different issues and
topics.
Interviewer: Thank you both for sharing your ideas and experience.

3.
4.
N: In 2011, it was declared that Afghanistan was one of the most dangerous places in the
world to be a woman. But that wasn't always the case. In the 1960s and early '70s, Afghanistan
was often viewed as more progressive than neighboring countries when it came to women's
rights. Back then, women were able to pursue an education, get a job, and even vote. But when
Islamic fundamentalist group, the Taliban, seized control of the country in the mid '90s,
everything changed.
PB: Why are women treated the way they are? A lot of it is the culture. A culture that's
existed for so many years.
N: That was Paula Bronstein, a photojournalist who has spent the last 15 years
documenting life in Afghanistan, with a particular focus on women, a group that is once again
finding its voice as it strives to distance itself from the Taliban's ideology.
PB: This is a very conservative culture in terms of Islam and the thoughts and the feelings
about what kind of presence a woman has in society.
N: When the Taliban took over in 1996, a strict version of Islamic Sharia law was imposed
across Afghanistan. With a number of specifically aimed at stripping away the fundamental
human rights of women and girls, bans were imposed on women. They couldn't even leave the
house without a male chaperone, and were required to a burqa so as not to show any bare
skin. Disobeying these laws often meant brutal punishment, and the fear of reciprocation is
still so great that some women have continued to abide by these laws even though the Taliban
was ousted from power back in 2001.
PB: They were so programmed to not being seen, hiding behind the burqa, and then
somehow feeling like even my camera can x-ray them.
N: This was a challenge for Paula. However, over time, she eventually started to gain their
confidence.
PB: In Afghanistan you sit down to have tea, that's how you discuss everything. That's how
you get to know people. It's the culture. Me being a female photojournalist means I can get a
certain kind of access that perhaps male photojournalist cannot.
N: Paula's unique access allowed her to document a side of Afghan life that is rarely seen
by the West.
PB: There were so many women's issues to document, and stories to be told-- poverty,
forced marriages, many of them being child brides, the abuse that goes on within the
household that nobody sees—physical abuse, mental abuse, domestic violence in general. No
one felt it was important to have an educated woman, so quite a few of them are illiterate.
N: Low levels of literacy and old social stigmas that around the idea of working women
meant that the majority of Afghan families rely almost exclusively on a man's income. However,
the number of wars over the last three decades has meant that many women have been left
widowed and without a household income.
PB: What happens to women who don't have a male who dictates their life? All of the sudden
there's a uneducated woman who has to try to feed her kids. How is she doing it? Women's
issue, here's the legacy of the war, the country has got so many permanent scars.
N: During her time in Afghanistan, Paula did document some cultural shifts in favor of
women's rights. In 2014 she took these photos of young women rallying for Ashraf Ghani during
the presidential elections.
PB: I really love the fact that women have—they were in huge numbers, without burqas,
waving flags, and it was just kind of a joyous occasion. I loved the energy of the women that
were—they had come out to vote, they were at rallies, they were just really involved. I felt like
that's a positive—kind of a positive sign.
N: And there are other sign that things might be changing, albeit slowly. There are still
many obstacles. The Taliban continues to be a strong presence here, and longstanding social
stigmas about women's rights are still a problem. For Paula, it's hard to gauge how long it will
take for Afghan women to truly stand on equal footing with men. But she does believe that the
spirit to make that change does exist among the women she has met.
PB: They really do show amazing amounts of stamina and just pure passion to do what they
want to do in life.
N: The Taliban still has strongholds in parts of Afghanistan. To find out what it's really like
for American soldiers deployed to these regions, take a look at Discovery's new series, Taking
Fire, premiering September 13th at 10:00, 9:00 central.