Archive for year: 2014

In the current chapter, we’re learning about voting within groups. This chapter is prevalent with every survivor episode.

In episode 8, Baylor turns her back on Josh after he “threats” her on why she needs to vote Jeremy, not him. This turns Baylor off, making her voting decision easier to vote against Josh instead. She then continues to persuade John & Jackie to vote against Josh, ultimately leaving Josh to be the next survivor out.

Every survivor seems to be team John & Jackie, never questioning whether they should be voting against them; instead it comes off as if everyone is “kissing their butts” wanting them on their side. Hmm, I wonder if that’ll change soon.

Stay tuned group commys!

In this episode of Survivor, the contestants have lasted 16 days in the competition. With the two tribes officially merged together, I could sense that the rising tension between Jeremy and Josh really come to fruition. It was also apparent that Julie was slowly losing her mind, which ultimately led her to the “Million Dollar Decision” to leave the show, and leave Jeremy and his allies a person short of a Majority.

The chapter elements that stood out in the episode to me were the Decision Making Questions:

• Question of Fact- I saw this when Josh went to Jon and Jaclyn to recruit them to his alliance. Josh tried to sway them with gossip about Jeremy, which caused the power couple to second guess their decisions,and ask themselves if what Josh said was true or false.
• Question of Conjecture- I always see this in the episodes when it gets closer to tribal councils, when they have to wait to see the outcomes; “Am I going to stay, or am I in danger of being voted off?”
• Question of Value- I saw this a lot in Baylor in this episode when she had to choose between her alliance with Josh or siding with her Mother (which meant Jeremy and other former Hunapu members). Baylor had to choose which alliance was more worthwhile and determine which would be right and wrong for her progressionin the game.
• Lastly, the Question of Policy- This was apparent when the tribe discovered that Julie had been going against the basic tribal (though unspoken) policy about food. The tribe had to decide how they were going to deal with her for being selfish.

“Lobo Canyon is a must. Spectacular hike. Spectacular island.”

This weeks episode was a full on display on how leadership can affect a group.  The two dueling “leaders” Josh and Jeremy squared off in a decisive week of the show.  Survivor went out of its way to really promote the showdown between the leader of both alliances.  Every plot line of the episode revolved around who would win in this battle for power.  Josh wants to vote out Baylor? John finds a hidden immunity idol? Wes can’t handle a few martinis? All of these plot lines were connected to how the weeks tribal vote would play out.  And we found out Wes can drink around what appeared to be 3 martinis.

Josh and Jeremy both made different plays for power.  Josh really seemed to be going for a coercive type of power over Baylor.  He kept reminding her that she owed him due to previous actions by Josh.  He kept pushing onto Baylor what he thought was the correct actions that needed to take place.  Josh also attempted to run a very autocratic alliance.  All of the groups decisions seemed to be based upon what he felt was correct.  I dont think any other plan was ever even mentioned until Josh started saying he felt voting Baylor out was the right move.  Jeremy on the other hand seems to have more of a delegated type of power.  His alliance has referred power over to him but he runs a very democratic style.  There was never a wavering moment amongst his alliance.  Now winning the immunity challenge clearly helped his cause, but Jeremy really seems like he is very loyal to his group.  All throughout the show he has been seen fraternizing with his fellow tribe members and they all seem to get along.  Which brings up to next week.  Now that Josh is out the obvious plan would seem to be Jeremy’s alliance slowly voting out the other group one by one.  This of course means that none of the will happen and another big curve is on the way.  See you next week!

This episode began with the merging of both tribes and a celebratory meal for all players. Although all were excited to be lasting so far in the game, alliances were becoming apparent – especially between the couples and singles. As they all become one group and compete against each other, people are scrambling to strategize in order to decide who they will vote out for tribal council. The show, in itself, is centered on decision-making focused on voting people out one by one. This is determined through majority rule at tribal council. However, many of the individuals exhibit certain decision-making styles for them to settle on who they personally want to vote out.

It is apparent that the couples – Jon and Jaclyn, Josh and Reed, Wes and Keith, and Missy and Baylor – have some sort of dependence on each other. This, however, is not a negative trait. Because they each have some sort of relationship towards each other, it is obvious that each couple would work together as a team.

There are also examples of intuitive decision-making styles. Missy and Baylor allow their feelings and emotions to get ahead of them and guide how they vote. They initially targeted Dale, as they saw him as a rude and bossy.

Julie is also a mix between the intuitive and spontaneous styles. For example, after she attempts to hide leftover trail mix from everyone, her peers give her the cold shoulder for lying to everyone. She allows her personal feelings to get the best of her as she feels that no one particularly likes her anymore. This, along with her missing her boyfriend who had been voted out, makes her impulsively and voluntarily leave the game.

In my opinion, Jeremy and Josh are the most logical players. They continuously keep in mind that this is a game and they must create alliances with enough people in order to sway the votes. There is a power imbalance between the two of them as they vie for power and control of the majority vote.

Like problem solving realities, the show also has some aspect of politics. Everyone has a hidden agenda to try and stay in the game. People lie and blindside each other to ensure that the outcome they want occurs.