Research Proposal on "How the Media Advertising Affecting Girls Psychologically"

Research Proposal 9 pages (3154 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Psychological Effect the Media Has on Girls

Young children and young girls in particular are extremely impressionable. They worry about their body image and appearance much more than young boys do. This trait usually carries over into adulthood if not addressed early on. The media plays a large role in the way that these young girls feel about themselves. On a daily basis they are bombarded with images on television or in magazines of women who appear to be flawless. When they see these images they feel that this is how they are supposed to look and they begin to judge their own appearance based on what they see in the media. They usually find that they cannot live up to these images and it causes problems that they carry with them throughout their lives. The clinical issues that this study addresses are depression and low self-esteem.

Literature Review

There was a fair amount of literature to be found on this topic. The basic hypothesis is that the media plays a large psychological role in how young girls feel about themselves. The main assumption with this hypothesis is that the role that the media plays is a negative one causing unnecessary depression because the girls feel they can never measure up to the images they see on television or in magazines. The other assumption is that this feeling of never measuring up causes low self-esteem which could lead to unacceptable social behaviors.

Worell, J., & Goodheart, C.D. (2006). Body Image. Handbook of Girls' and Women's Psychological Health (pp. 68-75). New York: Oxford University Press.

The chapter on body image was chosen as a reference for this study because it digs deep into all of the issues which can affect how young girls feel about themselves and their bodies. The authors cover such issues as how the media influences how girls feel about themselves at very young ages and how this issue is not a biological issue but more of a psychological and social issue. Young girls are taught at a young age that in order to be successful, they must be thin and beautiful. The media also perpetuates the myth that if a woman tries hard enough, she can become thin and beautiful. The authors attribute these messages sent to girls by the media as the reason why the beauty industry is a billion-dollar industry. They say that these companies sell women products using false claims because the products rarely do what they are supposed to. Yet, girls and women continue to by them holding onto false hope that they will work.

Bell, B.T., Lawton R., and Dittmar, H. (2007). The impact of thin models in music videos on adolescent girls' body dissatisfaction. Body Image, 4(2), 137-145.

Many youth and some adults watch music videos. In these videos the women appear to have bodies which are thin and perfect looking and their faces are usually flawless. As young men watch these videos, they are fed the stereotype that this is what women are supposed to look like. As young girls watch these videos, they feel that they must look like these women in order for the boys to like them. The authors did a study on young girls ages 16 to 19. They had them some of them watch music videos and list th3 words that stood out. The second group listened to the same videos and was asked to list the words that stood out for them also. Next, all of the girls were given a test on body image. The girls who actually viewed the music videos demonstrated a low opinion of their bodies, while the girls who listened to the videos had a healthier body image.

Dohnt, H.K. And Tiggemann, M. (2006). Body image concerns in young girls: The role of peers and media prior to adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 35(2), 141-151.

This article also focuses on the media's effect on the body image of young girls. The authors did a study of very young girls (age five to eight) to gauge their perceptions on their body images. What they found was that even at such a young age, these girls had issues with their body and were also very aware of dieting and how it is designed to make people thinner.

They also discovered that even at such a young age, these girls' body image is heavily influence by their peers.

Ata, R.N., Ludden, AB. And Lally, M.M. (2007). The effects of gender and family, friend, and media influences on eating behaviors and body image during adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 36(8), 1024-1037.

Young girls are not only influence by the media, their family, friend and boys also weigh heavily on how they view their body image. The authors state that for the most part, when young girls see other women on television or in magazines they are fine until they are teased or scolded by family and friends about not having the perfect body. It is then that they feel like they have to measure up to what they see on television and in magazines.

Expectations of Study

Although this study is straightforward, the topic still needs to be explored with solutions suggested because the image that our young girls have of themselves create serious social problems later on in life. These issues should be addressed early on in life. It may seem like a frivolous issue, but the beauty industry is a billion dollar industry which helps to perpetuate the myth that women must look a certain way in order to feel good about themselves and attract love and be successful. Most every commercial on television and every ad in magazines are targeted toward females. They tell us we must use a certain brand of make-up, have a particular shade of hair color, or that women must lose a certain amount of weight because thin is in and curves are out.

What these young girls need to be taught is that beauty comes in all shapes, sizes and colors and that they can be successful and loved without being thin, have blonde hair or wear a particular brand of makeup. What is common is that it is rare that men suffer from such things as a poor body image. This could be because the media does not focus on these issues with men as they do with women. There are so many television shows geared towards women even though they may not be advertised as such. Shows like America's Next Top Model and Gossip Girls all feature young, thin women who are striving for this idea of perfection that doesn't exist.

Discussion

Since the beginning of the existence of television and fashion magazines, women have been targeted and made to feel that they must live up to the images presented to them. This has caused many females to have poor images of themselves because they feel they do not measure up to what society considers beautiful. To make themselves look better, many women have resorted to extreme dieting, excess makeup and even cosmetic surgery. Unfortunately, the way that adult women feel about themselves has been passed on to their daughters and other young girls.

We now live in an age where images of beautiful woman are everywhere. It is difficult to turn on the television or open up a magazine and see a woman who is considered extremely attractive. Rarely are average, everyday women seen in the media because it is perceived that they do not draw the attention that the thinner, younger more beautiful woman does. Worell and Goodheart state that a woman's body dissatisfaction can be a problem because it causes women to buy expensive products that really don't to what they claim to do (p. 69).

Women are made to feel that they must be thin and young in order to be considered beautiful. This causes problems in the long run because young girls who have poor images of their bodies and looks often grow up to be adult women with the same issues. The problem with the images of women that the media feeds to us is that it is largely unrealistic to look this way. The average dress size for women in the United States is a size 12. There are some women who wear much smaller dress sizes, but they are generally in the minority.

The bottom line is that young girls need to know that it doesn't take a dress size in the double digits or a bra size that is at least a 36C in order for them to feel good about themselves. The main reason that many of these girls feel the way that they do about their bodies is because of what they are viewing in the media. However, the media cannot be the sole blame for this problem. Young girls are heavily influenced by what other young boys view as beautiful. They also sometimes are subject to the pressure from… READ MORE

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