Media Influence on Anorexia Flashcards
What percentage of anorexic sufferers are teenage girls
90%
What percentage of those hospitalised with anorexia die
10%
Due to suicide or starvation
What effect does anorexia have on parents of daughters with anorexia (while they are anorexic)
Fathers adopt “fight or flight”
Mealtimes turn into a battle-ground
If they cannot get daughter to eat in mealtime and “fight it”, they might resort to “flight.” Leave family home and distance themselves (maybe worsening situation).
Mothers adopt obliging and permissive big, nurturing child back to health. Sneak calories into food.
How can anorexia affect parents marriage
Even if daughter gets better, marriage has been under too much stress and parents might separate.
How does media advertise anorexia
Young adolescent girls exposed to impossible thin role models on a daily on social media
How do teenage girls react to these role models
They see popularity, wealth and looks. Cannot achieve wealth so instead imitate their thinness. Resulting in dieting.
Symptoms of anorexia
Refusal to eat and maintain an average body weight
Fear of gaining weight or becoming fat
Distorted perception of body weight and shape
Amenorrhea (missing 3 periods in a row)
Weight less than 85% expected
Bandura, Social learning theory as explanation of anorexia
Attention to role model
Retention of observed behaviour and remember it
Reproduction (if behaviour is beyond capability we cannot reproduce it)
Motivation to imitate behaviour (reward of being thin)
How does Bandura’s (1966) bobo doll experiment relate to anorexia in adolescent girls
Boys see aggressive model and imitate it
Women see think models which are same gender and imitate it
Men see muscular men and copy it
Men’s alternative is healthier than women’s (as long as they don’t use steroids or work out so much they damage their body). For women their way of losing weight is starving themselves which is unhealthy.
Is social learning theory for or against media is to blame
For
Is Ross and Ross 1961, Bandura’s methodological issues for or against media is to blame
Against
What did ross and ross find in bandura’s study that applies to anorexia
-Demand characteristics = children guessed they were supposed to imitate the model, “look mummy that’s the doll we have to hit”
-Social learning theory shows imitation over short period of time, anorexia is a long lasting condition
-ecological validity, bandura is a lab experiment not in a natural environment. Does not mean we would copy aggression in real world
-Ages 3-4 children, anorexia doesn’t develop until teenage years
Does becker say media is or not to blame for anorexia
Both
Why does Becker et al 2002 say media is to blame statistics
> 20 on EAT-26 = 12.7% before -> 29.2%
self induced vomiting = 0->11%
Felt too fat = 74%
Dieted = 69%
TV influenced body image = 77%
increase career prospect = 40%
TV brought interest into dieting when beforehand it was discouraged
Why does Becker et al say media is not to blame
Does not necessarily mean they have anorexia
Nunes (2005) found EAT-26 scores were not a good way of measuring eating disorders
Study did not find real symptoms of anorexia
Their BMI average was 25, even if girls were losing weight, they are still not underweight which is the main symptom of anorexia
Conclusion
Media does have an effect but is not to blame
-Not every woman exposed to anorexia gets it = must be individual differences making some more prone to getting anorexia, those who have perfectionism and need perfect body
-Bandura uses young children and is a short term study
-Becker had 12.7% scoring over 20 on EAT-26 survey before tv was introduced, so there must be another factor affecting thats not media
Describe the issue
Anorexia nervosa is a mental health disorder characterized by a phobia or weight gain and appearing fat.
Sufferers skip meals, take appetite suppressants, exercise profusely and are often bulimic.
They suffer a dangerously low BMI, amenorrhea (no periods) and fatigue.
Super skinny role models in media likely cause anorexia (not only cause) leading to 1 in 10 fatalities for those hospitalized by the condition and disruptions to the families.
example factor contributing to anorexia nervosa which is not the media?
growing academic pressure
where as young girls feel many aspects of their life are out of control, they strictly control one aspect of their life as compensation- body type/weight, and diet.
this is supported by 1994 research by the UK eating disorder association
Describe BEcker et al 2002
12.7% to 29.2% with disordered eating attitudes (over 20 on EAT-26)
74% Felt too fat
Increase sharply in bulimia
All of which contrasts to Fijian culture of robust body types where people wouldn’t diet (intro of TV therefore tackled healthier food attitudes of the culture and promoted anorexia)
Outline methodical issues of Bandura for media not being to blame for anorexia?
Generalisability - can’t generalise from young children to teenagers and adults that are less influenced by role models - teenage girls are very impressionable tho (Holmqvist and Frisen 2010)
Low eco val- artificial violence isn’t typical of violence a child might be exposed to.
Outline social learning theory as an argument that the media is to blame for anorexia?
Bandura’s SLT suggests people learn through observation and imitation of role models- more likely when same gender and behaviour is reinforced (vicariously)
Beauty standard of industrial West has emphasis on skinny women- these skinny female role models are beautiful, charismatic and successful
Young girls copy this through extreme dieting which will develop the disorder
outline the argument for which becker et al 2002 may not indicate media is to blame for anorexia?
methodological flaws:
8/63 already has disordered eating attitudes before media so other factors were likely on the rise (heritage, hormonal change, anxiety)
CV = EAT 26 only measured feelings, attitudes and eating behaviours- not a clinical diagnosis of eating disorders
CV = self induced vomiting is considered a sign of eating disorders in the west but doesn’t necessarily correlate to body dissatisfaction in Fijian culture (although as it was 0% before it is likely as it rose alongside disordered eating attitudes)
PV = sample population was small against the entire population so individual differences in eating attituedes could have an impact + no insight on males
Prevalence of anorexia in the UK?
0.3% of the population (90% are teenage girls)
What are the two arguments for media being to blame
Social learning theory
Becker et al
Two arguments for media NOT being to blame
Methodological flaws of Becker et al 2002
Methodological issues in Bandura (1961)- the basis of SLT
Why do we care about the key question on anorexia?
It can cause extreme harm and fatalities. We want to improve sufferers health and well-being and prevent other people obtaining the illness.
Why does anorexia affect men less?
Social learning theory:
Ideal male physique is muscular and typically healthy so they don’t aspire to diet to ultimate skinniness
