Differences in how Males and Females Process Television Advertisements

Throughout the semester we have discussed the differences between males and females across a variety of topics. One of the many topics this idea has applied to is the topic of the media. We have discussed how the media influences adolescence, and how this differs among gender. A study done for the Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media titled, "Adolescent Evaluation of Gender Role and Sexual Imagery in Television Advertisements" yields some interesting finds.

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1207/s15506878jobem4703_7

This study's participants were 227 males and 158 males aged 13-16 from selected public schools. Students were offered anything from 6$-10$ to participate. The most interesting idea that I gained from the study was the result analyzing the fifth hypothesis of the experiment: The more traditional gendered and sexist beer ads, with and without sports content in them, will elicit more counterarguments compared to other ads, from females than males. The results stated that, in response to hypothesis five, "more overall counterarguments resulted if the ads presented traditional gender roles, higher sexist or sexual imagery, and were targeted to males, compared to ads with less traditional gender roles, and low sexism or sexual content." This result may seem expected and appropriate, however, what can we make of this in terms of how the media influences gender roles? Does this mean that the media influences females more than males in regards to gender roles, or vice versa? I am interested to see what you think.

Napping

Since my presentation I’ve been looking into adolescents and napping, and I’ve found that there are a very limited number of studies on the effects of napping and adolescents other than it being just thrown in with the sleep they get at night.  I did find one study with 231 adolescent participants that was done to test a correlation between napping and dysfunctional cognitions and negative effects. I was most interested in the number of nappers verse non-nappers in their sample. 65, or 32%, were nappers, which they defined as adolescents that habitually napped at least twice a week compared to 140, or 68%, who were non-nappers. So the nappers were still a significant third of the group compared to my number of kids that have bed times. Napping could be an alternative to going to bed earlier because  teenagers seem to have an easier time self-regulating naps, no one tells them to take them, they just listen to their bodies and sleep. Interestingly enough the study seemed to conclude that napping was not wholly positive.

 “…nappers demonstrated significantly more dysfunctional cognitions, anxiety, and stress symptoms, when compared to non-nappers. In contrast, no significant difference was found for depression.”

It doesn't seem to be an extensively researched and discussed topic which I find surprising considering how many teenagers do take naps.

I found the study on EBSCO so you'll probably have to log in if you'd like to read it, but here's the link.
EBSCOhost Link
Its title is "Adolescent napping behavior: Dysfunctional cognitions and negative affect." if the link doesn't work.

Drinking Laws

Hey Everyone,

I have been doing a little reading in between frantic writing for all my finals, and I came across a quote I liked from an addiction expert by the name of Stanton Peele LINK. He said, “Making hard-and-fast rules creates the sense that alcohol is some magical potion.” So in combination with the discussion we had in class about teen partying and laws related to teens' age restrictions, should we lower age restrictions, especially for drinking? European countries, that have little to no stigma about drinking and have for a long time. Their laws show this, as well as the statistics of drink and drive accidents. 

What do you think?

How I Met Your Mother

Something I’ve been thinking about ever since our class discussion on the hook-up culture prevalent in our age group is the premise of the sitcom “How I Met your Mother” which my younger sister got me into. The title through me off at first, it seemed like it'd be met with an older audience. The show’s demographic is primarily 18-49 year adults, but I know my younger sister and her friends who are 16/17 are also dedicated viewers and they aren't the only ones in that age group.  The show’s protagonist, Ted, is a single male who wants nothing more to fall in love, get married, and have kids. The entire show is being told in a series of flashbacks to his two kids as a form of punishment from the moment he started searching for their mom. His two best friends are a couple, Lily and Marshall, with the perfect relationship who get married during the series and have only ever been with each other. He’s also friends with a womanizing single male, Barney, who’s the champion of the hook-up culture who has keep a list of the 200+ women he’s slept with.  

As I’ve progressed along in the series I can’t help but think of it as a very strong reaction to the hook-up culture. From the marriage of Marshall and Lily who meet in college and have been together ever since, and the two characters who seem most opposed to having kids and settling down, Robin and Barney, changing as the series progresses. Where I am at currently, Barney wants to be back in the first serious relationship he’s ever had and Robin is in one where it’s serious enough that she moved in with the guy. 

My sister’s favorite characters interestingly enough are both Barney and Ted, who represent the opposing sides of hook-up verse marriage. I’d be interested in knowing what kind of effect it has on teenagers and the twenty somethings, because it has certainly caught the audience’s attention, but my sister want talk about it aside from “it’s perfect” and it’s relatively new so I haven’t found anything written on it.

HBCU Overview

The clip below provides an overview of the significance of HBCUs in America. Considering that many of your enjoyed my presentation, I figured that you would appreciate an explanation from an expert and historian within the field. Hope you enjoy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzwi95N7arw

The Crazy 20-Somethings

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jennagoudreau/2012/04/24/why-we-need-to-take-20-somethings-seriously/2/

I questioned the connections between the quarter-life crisis and our economy in class yesterday, trying to bridge why it is that our generation seems to be going through this phenomenon. We concluded something along the lines that consumerism and socio-cultural attitudes about gender and education have all placed extra pressures and expectations on us... This article discusses why we need to take the 20-somethings seriously; the author gives biological reasons, citing that our brains are not fully developed--this is an argument we've all discussed in class but have overrided with arguments more for nurture, rather than nature. The author also explains the how relationships have changed and even how the economy factors in to this... So, going back to the question posed yesterday, should we officially recognize the 20-somethings as a developmental stage? It is obviously a very different stage for people and a lot the issues faced by this age group are specific to our culture now, so should we adapt to this or not?

Financial Strain and Perception of 20 year-old's

http://www.circleofmoms.com/moms-of-teenagers/how-do-i-get-a-20-year-old-to-stop-texting-all-day-get-off-her-butt-and-do-something-487341

Guys, the above link is to a blog I found while doing some searching for info on 20 year-old's. Most of the blog is not scholarly, but I thought it raises an interesting point. The topic is about a mother's struggle with her daughter, who seems to be obsessed with texting and not motivated to go school. In the article we read for class, Epstein mentions the idea that there appears to be a strong connection between parents and their children, and that neither the parent, nor the child wants to let go of this connection. However, I feel that Epstein neglects to realize the importance that the economy has on this connection. Epstein hints at the fact that more schooling is required and much fiercer competition exists today for even the most basic of jobs. If a teenager is unable to find a job, how are they able to support themselves in a society that places so much emphasis on financial prosperity. Without a job, a teenager does not have the wealth necessary to survive. Statements on this blog such as "  She's 20 cutr the cord. Who's paying her bill?" and "Where does she get the money for the phone? In my mind, the mother and the people responding to the blog post seemed to be overly concerned with the financial strain of having a daughter obsessed with texting. Moreover, those responding to this question seemed to support the idea that texting obsessively is acceptable if the person doing so pays the texting bill. I ultimately believe that society's main concern with 20 year-old's is financial. Modern society enforces the idea that a person at the age of 20 cannot depend on a parent for money. I simply ask "why is this a problem."

Body Image and Increased Exposure to the Media

I stumbled into a video tonight on youtube, and ended up watching the entire documentary.  It is produced by Cutting Edge, a documentary series from the UK that was founded in 1990.  The documentary focuses on Dana, an 8 year-old girl from the UK who developed anorexia.  She is sent to an eating disorder clinic for teenagers for a 12-week program, the entirety of which is seen in the video.  The producers also interview the staff members and other patients of the clinic, as they discuss how eating disorders are affecting younger and younger people today.  They believe that a lot of this is due to the increased media attention that dieting and beauty have had in recent years, and that children are more and more susceptible to these influences.  The documentary is posted in 5 parts (totaling about 50 minutes), and if you have time to watch it, I highly recommend it.  It is very interesting and makes me wonder what the future of eating disorders will be like.  Dana is only eight and is already wearing make-up on a daily basis and concerned with her body image enough to completely starve herself.  What will happen to children, say a 6 year-old, in another ten years or so, when the media is probably even more influential and prominent?

this is part 1 of the documentary: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zz0NkVtSdkQ

Interesting Study on Body Image

After observing Joe's presentation today, I was inspired to research a study that discussed issues with body image satisfaction and influences on this satisfaction. What I found was a study that matched perfectly with what I was looking for.


http://dro.deakin.edu.au/eserv/DU:30001199/mccabe-parentpeer-2001.pdf


This study was conducted among 1,266 students (622 males, 644 females). The students ranged from grades 7-10 and were from Melbourne, Australia. The results confirm almost everything Joe discussed and hypothesized, so I thought now would be a good time to post this. The results address the overall satisfaction of body image between males and females, and they also address the influences of parents, media, etc. One thing that Sonam suggested in class today was that the media has more of an influence on females than males regarding body image. The results confirm that this is also true. To see more interesting finds on this topic, check out pages 235-238 under the discussion section. This study is pretty awesome it definitely deserves a couple looks.

Teen Proactiv Commercial

Also, this is the second advertisement I had people watch for my survey (for some reason, it wasn't working in class).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyET522rKMA

I followed it up by asking whether or not it was a convincing advertisement. Why or why not? The majority said no, it wasn't as convincing as the first one I showed (which was just a generic Proactiv commercial with no celebrity endorsement). They argued that it was less relatable and that celebrities don't always tell the truth. They're just endorsing it for money so it's hard to believe everything they say. However, those who said yes argued quite the opposite. They said it was relatable and that being a fan of the celebrity, having that celebrity give their stamp of approval would cause them to want to buy the product even more so they can be "just like them". Only a small number thought it was convincing though, and curiously enough, they were all girls. I wasn't sure if that was just because I used Justin Bieber as a celebrity example since people tend to have strong opinions of him one way or the other, but it was curious nonetheless.

Video Games and Teen Depression

I came across this article today that was somewhat related to Jack's research topic (in the video game aspect). 

http://www.ingame.msnbc.msn.com/technology/technolog/video-games-can-help-teens-combat-depression-study-suggests-730703

We got to talking about how violent video games affect teen behavior outside of the video game environment, and I found it kind of ironic that there are actually video games being made to combat teen depression. The video games are violence-centered, allowing teens to literally shoot down GNATS (Gloomy Negative Automatic Thoughts) which eventually become SPARX (Smart, Positive, Active, Realistic, X-factor thoughts). I for one think it sounds a bit silly, but apparently studies have shown that this game is actually pretty effective in reducing depression levels versus traditional therapy. Any thoughts?

Teenage Brain Video!

Hey guys,

So in my neuroscience class, we're reviewing for the final and we watched this really cool video in class that definitely relates to our discussion of the teenage brain and its development. It relates the biological aspects of the adolescent brain to behavior and discusses how the brain actually grows and develops. I really enjoyed the video, its only about seven or eight minutes long, so you guys should check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPMP68QP698

Research Help Please!

Hey guys!

So I believe I already did this after my presentation about crisis but I wanted to double check that I got the numbers right, as a part of my research for the final paper. I defined crisis as an unstable or significant time in which decisive change may occur. According to Erikson, in adolescence a crisis is considered to be a result of "pressures placed on the adolescent as they attempt to construct and identity that will gain the support of their friends, family, and society at large." Based on this description do you believe that you have experienced a "crisis" during your adolescent years? If you don't feel comfortable discussing the particular event, I totally understand. I was just hoping to see how many identified with this concept. Thanks for your time! 

Teens and the News

Hello everyone. I created a news survey today on my topic for my final research paper that is more geared toward teenagers and their news media intake. I will certainly utilized my original survey as well but feel like this new one will provide more tailored answers for my research. I figured that I would post it to the class blog for people to view and perhaps take if they can spare a few minutes. I understand that we are all extremely busy this time of year so any responses would be much appreciated.

Here is the link to my survey: http://www.eSurveysPro.com/Survey.aspx?id=c5d25c43-d18f-43a4-9586-56d0c712e2aa

Blue Light

Article Talking About the Study: http://www.lrc.rpi.edu/resources/newsroom/pr_story.asp?id=182
Study's Abstract: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20150866?itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum&ordinalpos=1

When I gave my presentation last Tuesday I brought up the topic of blue light in relation to how much sleep teenagers are getting based on a study I had found while researching melatonin. The study was testing the importance of blue light by having 11 eight grade students wear specialized glasses that stopped blue light from reaching their eyes. They did the study for five days and by the end of the study there was a 30-minute delay in sleep onset. So by delaying blue light onset, it delayed sleep onset by 6 minutes each day they were restricted from it, which over time can significantly add up.
The implication of the study was that a lack of morning light could be a strong factor in later bed times for teenagers. Especially since there are periods of time where it is especially dark in the morning when teenagers are heading to school, sometimes the sun doesn't rise before they enter their school building. The positives are that school schedules would not necessarily have to be moved forward if school room designs allowed more sunlight inside their rooms or other adequate light sources.
From the research I've been making on the biology of sleep, light seems to be a really important factor in how much sleep teenagers are getting, and I wanted to share this particularly interesting study.

Beauty Industry

 In class we talked a lot about media influence as well as the idea of an "ideal" woman or man. I just saw this commercial from Dove, which I thought was quite interesting and related directly to what we talked about about. In the video it shows little girls and then a bombardment of different media all talking about what woman should look like. At the end it says "talk to your daughter before the beauty industry does." What do you all think of this campaign? I find it fascinating and I'm curious to see what else they do with it.

Teen Mom!

Also, here are the videos I planned on showing the class about the TV show I researched: Teen Mom (1 and 2).

Teen Mom Season 3 Trailer: http://www.mtv.com/videos/misc/661378/teen-mom-season-3-trailer.jhtml#series=2214&seriesId=29240&channelId=1&id=1665305

Teen Mom 2 Season 2 Trailer: http://www.mtv.com/videos/misc/711497/teen-mom-2-season-2-trailer.jhtml#series=2214&seriesId=34714&channelId=1&id=1674362

The show is clearly targeted towards a teenage girl audience, focusing largely on the teenage mothers (hence the name of the show), and their relationships with their parents and significant others, but not actually focusing on the parents' or males' individual lives. The show features a variety of situations that young mothers may face, and while some of the drama on the show seems almost scripted to me, I believe that many teenage mothers can relate to the scenarios seen in the show. I think this show has definitely influenced some teenagers to not have sex (or to at least be a lot safer about it) and it has helped other teenagers cope with becoming young mothers.

Teens and Sleep as Portrayed in the Media

This article relates to both Cori and Ray's research topics. The article discusses the negative side effects of teenagers not getting enough sleep; however, it doesn't mention that nearly all of these side effects also happen to adults who don't get enough sleep each night. It also serves as a simple example of how teenagers are negatively portrayed by adults in the media.

http://health.msn.com/health-topics/addiction/sleepy-teens-prone-to-bad-behaviors-study-finds

The Go-Nowhere Generation

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/11/opinion/sunday/the-go-nowhere-generation.html?_r=1&src=me&ref=general

This NY Times article mentions an issue that we touched upon during our discussion about the Internet and teens. We all seemed to agree that teens do spend a lot of time on the Internet, but they don't consider their lives online to be reality. Though this article is largely concerned about how immobile our generation is and how these less risk-averse behavioral changes will affect our economy, there is also mention of how teens who are opting to spend more time on the Internet are not opting to do more functional things like get a driver's license. Of course this is very small point to make given the larger argument in this article, but I think there is reason to believe that the way teens now percieve risk has also changed because of the Internet. Why go out in to the real world and take real risks where real consequences can occur when one has the option to play on the Internet and construct multiple identities and realities without tangible consequences?

One Tree Hill

As I mentioned in class last week, I studied One Tree Hill for the teenage TV discussion. Unfortunately, because of time constraints, not everybody was able to show video clips from their respective shows. At Dr. K's suggestion, I decided to post the videos I wanted to show on the blog.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adq5PLAqRbs

This video is from the second season of the show. During this season, the cast is followed during their junior year of high school. This particular video portrays a slumber party scene that appeared in the show. I thought this video was a very effective example of the idea of the "girl code" that we discussed in class. As you can hear  in the video, very typical name-calling is used with terms such as "slut" or "whore." Moreover, I believe that this scene encourages young girls to act in this same manner. They observe the attractive popular acting this way, and see many benefits from doing so. Ultimately, watching this show provides teenage girls with the ability to escape the consequences of acting poorly - an idea which Clark mentioned in class. When watching this show, girls quench their desire for drama, but are relieved of any of the consequences of involving themselves in it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wR3ta-woRpk&feature=related

This video is from the fourth season of the show. During this season, the actions of the characters are chronicled throughout their senior year until high school graduation. This particular episode addresses the "jock" and "cheerleader" ideas that we brought up in class. This particular episode definitely sensationalizes the teenage years; the basketball team wins the state championship, the star athlete wins the beautiful cheerleader. The ideas posed in this episode definitely exemplify the ideal teenage experience, an experience not every teenager is able to have. Viewing this show allows teenagers to develop an understanding of what having this experience entails, as well as emotionally experience it. This idea reinforces the concept that watching teenage TV shows allows teenagers to relate to a character and find a new identity in the show.

Teenage Portrayal in the Media

Hello everyone,

Yesterday I presented my status for my research project on teenagers and the effect that the news media has on them. I attempted to show two videos in class that I thought illustrated some of my points however the computer chose not to cooperate with me. Anyway, the two videos serve as examples of news media portrayals of teenagers. One delves into teenage violence as attempts to solve the issues behind what can drive teenagers specifically to the brink of murder. The other talks about the teenage obsession with texting.

I was eager to share them with the class and wanted to perhaps get some of your opinions. Since I was unable to do so, I figured I'd post the links here on the blog to see if anyone had any opinions on them.

Here are the links:

Violence ttp://cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/crime/2012/02/29/drew-psych-profile-oh-shooter.hln.html

Texting http://cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/international/2010/11/15/wv.texting.teenagers.bk.d.cnn.html

Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy

Yesterday in class, we discussed the effect of technology on adolescent development. The question of whether there is distinct difference between "real" and virtual lives was presented. I came across this article about the use of virtual reality therapy for treatment of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans with PTSD. Reliving traumatic memories through a digital medium has proven effective in relieving stress and anxiety. I think it helps to support the argument that virtual experiences can have a strong effect on "real" perception.
http://www.army.mil/article/33128/

Does No Mean Yes?

Throughout the years the media has become a larger and larger force that can not be ignored. The internet is used by adults and adolescents alike, and although there are many benefits to using the internet, there are also many dangers. One of these dangers is the use of SEIM (Sexually Explicit Internet Material). As technology has become increasingly prevalent in our society, so has the use of SEIM. What are the repricussions of using SEIM? Are there positives? Are there negatives?

http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/pdf/10.1089/cyber.2010.0189

This study titled "The Influence of Sexually Explicit Internet Material and Peers on Stereotypical Beliefs About Women’s Sexual Roles: Similarities and Differences Between Adolescents and Adults" was written by two Ph.Ds for the "Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking"journal in 2011. 

In particular, this article focus' on the concept of "token resistance" to sex among women. Token resistance is the concept that a woman says no to sex when she actually intends to have sex. The argument is that SEIM provides a lot of exposure to token resistance among women, and that according to Social Cognitive Theory, adolescents and adults alike will acquire beliefs about token resistance as a result of SEIM. Social cognitive theory suggests that individuals observe their environment and acquire or modify mental representations of ideas and behaviors that are rewarded. Do you believe that this process is the same for both adolescents and adults, and that SEIM will affect them equally? Do you believe the token resistance is a reality and not just something we see through SEIM? Do you feel that token resistance to sex can be expressed through both men and women, or just women? How do you feel about SEIM and token resistance? There is plenty of room for discussion regarding this topic please feel free to respond.

Gender differences in high school physics performance

After discussing the differences in gender throughout class, and reading some of the posts on the blog, the 

notion that gender differences are a result of societal influence is apparent. Although many of the points raised in class are persuasive and valid, I am still not convinced that there is no biological difference between men and women. I truly believe that biology plays a part in the way women and men act. An effective example is the population of girls that were enrolled in high school AP physics classes in 2009. Roughly encompassing, 36.5% of AP physics students, female high school students are fairly represented (White 1). However, female performance on the AP Physics exams demonstrates a strong sense of incapability when compared to males’ performance. Males and females do not take and pass the AP Physics exam at the same rates (White 1). Not only do fewer eligible females take the end-of-year exam, but they also perform more poorly. Specifically, an average of 55% of females passes this exam in comparison to 68.5% of males (White 2). Although each student taking the exam covers the same material in class, is asked the same exam questions, and has nearly identical testing conditions to other students, females consistently perform more poorly on the exam. Statistics seem to favor the idea that men are more capable in science fields, such as physics. In a society that places a strong emphasis on science and technology, the argument that men have a sense of superiority is fair.

The article from which I obtained this material can be found at 

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:793Q3CUluRsJ:www.aip.org/statistics/trends/reports/hsfemales.pdf+Female+AP+physics+scores&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESjdp4z9nlpGRbmR-BbAvqyW7vwNkTnOmheXXnuBGc2djajablhr6W26jitPeq9vJY-CgbyxZlN6qEvgxNuqgSbaJnptT2ltjC72mkmF0BhScx7xQzN89wYU6kCv0JPRqkG9-4s0&sig=AHIEtbQqhHyY0Rdg1D_QFYgsdtUXMGIKUQ. 

This article provides numerous statistics and graphs that demonstrate significant differences between males and females. Although the number of females taking high school physics classes has increased, female performance on the AP Physics exam remains below the performance of males on the same test. Biology provides an answer for the differences in performance. Males and females learn the same material and are subjected to the standardized questions on the AP exam; yet, performance still differs. Such difference indicates the fact that men possess a particular biological quality that allows them to have a higher aptitude for physics.

"I'm Christian...unless you're gay"

This article is starting to become viral, and I thought that it was definitely worth sharing on this blog. I don't think it needs any sort of introduction; its message speaks for itself. Just read this man's blog post, and I'm also attaching a very moving response to his post. Enjoy and I hope you feel the need to share it with others like I did. :)

http://www.danoah.com/2011/11/im-christian-unless-youre-gay.html
http://www.danoah.com/2012/04/a-teens-brave-response-to-im-christian-unless-youre-gay.html

Imitations of Immortality

Yesterday's discussion on the way Teen TV influenced teenage behavior and values was certainly interesting. It sort of correlated to my subject for my research assignment so I decided to take a piece of my research to somewhat further the discussion and to illustrate something that seemed interesting to me. The article that I came across was written in 2001 by Elizabeth Lewis and was titled Imitations of Immortality.

The basic premise of the work is that adolescents are being taught not so much by their parents but by the media. The author alluded to the fact that when children are young they question their parents all the time and their parents have the opportunity to mold their minds and teach them about the nuances of life. The article then asserts that as the children get older, parents begin to have to compete with the media for the role of primary educator when it comes to the queries of their children. The article characterized the media as preying on the naturally inquisitive minds of children. This creates a phenomenon where TV and parents have to battle for the right to teach their children about societal behaviors, life, sex, drugs, alcohol and all of the other things that a young impressionable mind needs guidance in terms of.

It made me wonder, do parents have a chance against the influential abilities of some of the teen television that we discussed in class and that permeates television? Also, why does it seem that parents so consistently lose their grasp in terms of being the main molder of their children's minds? This may not be the case in every situation because many of us attested to the fact that we did not develop values from what we saw on TV growing up, but some teens certainly do. In those instances, what roles could parents and adult influences potentially play in terms of curbing the media's profound influence?