Child Psychology - Topic 6: Impact of advertising

Question 1

Background Research - Bandura

Answer 1

Bandura replicated tier earlier study on the transmission of aggression, this time using video-recorded aggressive models. Children’s who observed video-recorded behaviour displayed similar levels of aggression to those who observed a real life model, and in both conditions children displayed considerable more instances of aggressive behaviour than the control group. This suggests that televised role models may have similar levels of influence on children’s subsequent behaviour.

Question 2

Key Research - Johnson & Young (Aim, Method, Sample, Procedure, Results)

Answer 2

Aim:

• to investigate whether adverts portray gender stereotypes via the discourse and themes used.

Method/ Sample:

• used a content analysis of a sample of 147 toy adverts shown in 1996, 1997 and 1999.

Procedure:

1. The adverts were split into the categories, orientated for boys, orientated for girls and orientated for girls and boys.
2. Procedure studied different aspects of the adverts such as the voice over, the use of the word power and the verbs used such as action, destructive and nurturing. Action words included race and fly, destruction words included crush and knockout and nurturing words included cuddle and love.

Results:

• found that most of girls aimed adverts had a female voice over and that in most of times the voice was exaggerated.
• The boys adverts used lots of competition and control words. Whereas girls mainly used nurturing and feeling verbs, 66 times compared to male 0 times.
• The word power was used in boy adverts 45 times but only once in girl adverts.

Question 3

Application (3 small)

Answer 3

• Educate kids
• Limit TV time
• Bandura - alter role models in ads