Intro, Literature review and Method section-Psy Due Tuesday

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Running head: Assignment 2 Final Project: Literature Review 5

Assignment 2 Final Project: Literature Review

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Assignment 2 Final Project: Literature Review

Eisend & Möller (2007) believe that media consumption plays a vital role to influence body images and body satisfaction. Television and magazine advertisement with attractive role models will raise comparison standards for physical attractiveness. Prior research on mass media exposure and its effect on body images emphasize on body dissatisfaction and body perception while it fails to integrate beauty-related consumption behavior. Eisend & Möller (2007) provide a cultivation theory that holds that the continued exposure of television t adolescents will have a subtle and cumulative effect to shape views of social reality. Most of the young people consume a lot of television content to define their representations of reality. Television reality contains a lot of distortion and reality, and that leads to heavy consumers of it to form a distorted social perception concerning the world. An increase in television viewing leads one to have biased social perceptions. Other cultivation studies provide evidence that television exposure influences perceptions of consumer reality. Socio-cultural ideals for body appearance illustrate that repeated exposure to media would have an effect on women measure of self-worth. The western culture has recently endorsed thin female body an issue that affects women. Similarly, the ideal male body is a tall, lean, and muscular figure. Granatino & Haytko (2013) finds that girls begin to have a desire to become thin at the age of seven and boys are aware of their body size at the age of nine. Most of the researchers agree that at a young age, both boys and girls are aware of their body image and self-image becomes stronger as they grow. Granatino & Haytko (2013) question whether the desire to become thin affects all adolescents in the same way. Most of the researchers accuse the media of giving young consumers unrealistic perception of body image that continues until they mature. For example, male and female participants that engage in fashion show have to attain a certain Body Mass Index. The media depicts thin female models and muscular male models an image that is hard to attain. While most of the adolescents that view these images contend that it is hard to attain the defined shape they still compare with the models, and that leads them to have low self-esteem and confidence. The application of perfect role models can lead adolescents to have low levels of satisfaction with their body image.

According to a recent research conducted to investigate the effect of women when they model in fashion magazines is that they have a desire to weigh less and fear being overweight. Women after viewing models switch to traditional dieting or engage in harmful weight control practices. A thin-ideal body image links to women dissatisfaction with their bodies. Research by Eisend & Moller (2007) says that adolescents spend close to 17 hours watching television each week. Others engage in video games, the internet, or watching movies. That illustrates a swift uptake by adolescents of new forms of media and unprecedented access and exposure to its content. The male students attach an importance to the influence of role models and gender differences, unlike female students. Ample evidence points that most children and teenagers are unhappy with how they look. There is a stereotype of body shape where obese, and overweight body shapes are described in a negative way, unlike slender body types.

Granatino & Haytko (2013) applies large-scale surveys to investigate the possible media influences on body image. The correlation findings indicate a significant degree of association between media exposures and perception of reported behaviors. Since history, dominant communication projects beauty ideals while visual art depicts distinct images to denote the epitome of feminine beauty. The present modern media presents role models that adolescent tend to emulate. Television, magazine, and films present realistic representations of role models. Through computer advanced technology, it is possible to enhance specific attributes and features of the role models to create a perfect and unblemished form that appears natural. One of the psychological mechanisms that underpin mediated influences on body perceptions is the tendency to make comparisons between different role models (Eisend & Moller, 2007).

According to Winham & Hampl (2008), the feminist theory elaborates the perception of women in today’s society. Treating women as objects makes them have a low self-esteem where they feel inadequate with their body images. Self-esteem is a major factor that determines body dissatisfaction in women. Women through television media are led to believe that their body image associated with their self-worth. High self-esteem associated with positive body image and that lead them to respect their mind and body. Literature that relate to media and body image finds that media wields significant power to influence female adolescents since constant bombardment with thin abnormal images results in an increased dissatisfaction and disorderly eating among female adolescents. The pervasive transmission of societal beauty ideal results in the pursuit of extreme thinness for most of the female adolescents. Similar research finds that adolescents exposed to ideal body images as depicted by the media increase body dissatisfaction decreased self-esteem, and negative mood states. Research literature on prevention programs designed to change the impact of media on adolescent body image finds that intervention programs are luxurious and ineffective.

Winham & Hampl (2008) say that different environmental and cognitive factors can affect human behavior. As adolescents view role models on the television, they form beliefs that will affect their future behaviors. The two researchers have undertaken a study to explore the perceived influence on television media on feelings concerning clothing styles, body weight, and eating habits. The influence of television on adolescent behaviors ranges from physical inactivity, crime, poor nutrition, and sexual promiscuity. The young adults that are in the stage of establishing own identity and development of abstract thoughts can have a lot of influence from television media since they find it more credible. People can self-regulate their exposures to television media and self-reflect on messages they decide to process. Plenty of distorted television programming that has no relevance to adolescent social reality will shape their future in a negative way.

The effects of subtle television are that it denies the viewer shows that are in tandem with social reality. Since television programming shapes behaviors, the adolescents can recognize their peers or other people in terms of television programming. For example, the youth that do not engage in drug and substance abuse can start through television depiction of these activities. Television faults when it promotes unrealistic body images and contributes to the development of eating disorders. The thin body depicted by the media associated with body dissatisfaction and low self-worth especially on the women. A meta-analysis of media and effects of body image suggests that images of thin women can also increase the satisfaction of respondents with their bodies. It is clear that television role models and characters mark a contrast when it comes to body weight. Research shows of a cognitive disjunction between television and social reality. The constant depiction of thin women and physically fit men will foster the development of eating disorders, the use of steroids, or other unhealthy interventions among the adolescents. One can perceive the television realities as fictional as cartoons.

References

Eisend, M., & Möller, J. (2007). The influence of TV viewing on consumers' body images and related consumption behavior. Marketing Letters, 18(1-2), 101-116.

Granatino, R., & Haytko, D. L. (2013). Body image, confidence, and media influence: A study of middle school adolescents. Journal of Applied Business Research, 29(1), 45.

Winham, D., & Hampl, J. S. (2008). Adolescents report television characters do not influence their self-perceptions of body image, weight, clothing choices or food habits. Young Consumers, 9(2), 121-130.