Media Influence on Anorexia

Question 1

What percentage of anorexic sufferers are teenage girls

Answer 1

90%

Question 2

What percentage of those hospitalised with anorexia die

Answer 2

10%
Due to suicide or starvation

Question 3

What effect does anorexia have on parents of daughters with anorexia (while they are anorexic)

Answer 3

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.

Question 4

How can anorexia affect parents marriage

Answer 4

Even if daughter gets better, marriage has been under too much stress and parents might separate.

Question 5

How does media advertise anorexia

Answer 5

Young adolescent girls exposed to impossible thin role models on a daily on social media

Question 6

How do teenage girls react to these role models

Answer 6

They see popularity, wealth and looks. Cannot achieve wealth so instead imitate their thinness. Resulting in dieting.

Question 7

Symptoms of anorexia

Answer 7

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

Question 8

Bandura, Social learning theory as explanation of anorexia

Answer 8

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)

Question 9

How does Bandura’s (1966) bobo doll experiment relate to anorexia in adolescent girls

Answer 9

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.

Question 10

Is social learning theory for or against media is to blame

Answer 10

For

Question 11

Is Ross and Ross 1961, Bandura’s methodological issues for or against media is to blame

Answer 11

Against

Question 12

What did ross and ross find in bandura’s study that applies to anorexia

Answer 12

-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

Question 13

Does becker say media is or not to blame for anorexia

Answer 13

Both

Question 14

Why does Becker et al 2002 say media is to blame statistics

Answer 14

> 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

Question 15

Why does Becker et al say media is not to blame

Answer 15

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

Question 16

Conclusion

Answer 16

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

Question 17

Describe the issue

Answer 17

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.

Question 18

example factor contributing to anorexia nervosa which is not the media?

Answer 18

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

Question 19

Describe BEcker et al 2002

Answer 19

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)

Question 20

Outline methodical issues of Bandura for media not being to blame for anorexia?

Answer 20

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.

Question 21

Outline social learning theory as an argument that the media is to blame for anorexia?

Answer 21

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

Question 22

outline the argument for which becker et al 2002 may not indicate media is to blame for anorexia?

Answer 22

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

Question 23

Prevalence of anorexia in the UK?

Answer 23

0.3% of the population (90% are teenage girls)

Question 24

What are the two arguments for media being to blame

Answer 24

Social learning theory
Becker et al

Question 25

Two arguments for media NOT being to blame

Answer 25

Methodological flaws of Becker et al 2002

Methodological issues in Bandura (1961)- the basis of SLT

Question 26

Why do we care about the key question on anorexia?

Answer 26

It can cause extreme harm and fatalities. We want to improve sufferers health and well-being and prevent other people obtaining the illness.

Question 27

Why does anorexia affect men less?

Answer 27

Social learning theory:

Ideal male physique is muscular and typically healthy so they don’t aspire to diet to ultimate skinniness