Archive for December 3rd, 2008
Social comparisons, reflected appraisals, and mass media: The impact of pervasive beauty images on black and white girls’ self-concepts Pt. 2
Pg 199-200 – “The respondents particularly liked to assess themselves in relation to their reference group by taking quizzes that evaluated them on topics such as relationships…”
~ Checking where one is in terms of a culture leads to identity understanding or identity dissonance. Either one is a stage (or should be) of identity development.
Pg 200 – “Yet, just as the white girls sought to learn about and evaluate themselves in reference to their “media peers” emotions, problems, behavior, and experiences, they did so with their media peers’ physical appearance, though with less enthusiasm.”
~ Checking where one is in terms of a culture leads to identity understanding or identity dissonance. Either one is a stage (or should be) of identity development.
Pg 201 – “Even though they knew that the images were unrealistic, the white girls saw themselves as part of the reference groups being portrayed, and compared their “problems” with adolescent females’ problems. They reported that they often (reluctantly) made social comparisons with the perfect physical appearance of media images because they knew that these images were what “everybody” wants. The minority respondents and a very few of the white respondents did not emulate these feminine images in media, did not bring them meaningfully into peer groups, and seemingly did not make social comparisons unfavorable to themselves.”
~ Not understanding others is a key to developmental processed. It creates dissonance when one does not understand what others want, and dissonance is what leads to development.
Pg 201 – “A key influence of the magazines, then, is that the great majority of white respondents said they wanted to look like the girls pictured therein, even though most saw the images as unrealistic and unattainable.”
~ Identity is not based on what one knows is true, but on what one wants to be. The difference between the two can create dissonance that leads to developmental stage changing.
Pg 203 – “Social psychological work on reference groups and social comparison processes can help to elucidate how the consequences of pervasive media images vary for girls of different ethnicities. Social comparison research suggests that we compare ourselves with similar others, and although media images generally have not been examined as part of reference groups, it is likely that people shown in the media may serve this function for self-assessment (Snow 1983).”
~ Social comparison research might be interesting to study.
Pg 204 – “As a whole, individuals perceive that these cultural products are more important to their best friends than to themselves, more important still to girls in their school, and even more important to female peers in the United States.”
~ The way people perceive identities in others is different than they perceive their own identity. This leads into people not knowing or understanding other persons’ personal histories or cultures. People don’t understand what they are not a part of, nor can they without being a part of it.
Pg 205 – “In addition to “other girls,” the white girls believed overwhelmingly that males are influenced by the unrealistic images and are uncritical of those images.”
~ Identity can be formed by what one thinks, and by what one thinks others think.
Milkie, M. A. (1999). Social comparisons, reflected appraisals, and mass media: The impact of pervasive beauty images on black and white girls’ self-concepts. Social Psychology Quarterly, 62(2). Retrieved November 9, 2008, from JSTOR database.
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Social comparisons, reflected appraisals, and mass media: The impact of pervasive beauty images on black and white girls’ self-concepts pt. 1
Pg 190 – “First, researchers have shown how the social context of media use is crucial, particularly in that significant others are relevant to the way people interpret and are affected by media. Second, they have focused on people’s power to select and be critical of media content, and thus to discount media messages.”
~ Media and identity and how the affect one another.
Pg 191 – “The central position of media in everyday life ensures that symbols distributed through the media become points of focus and interaction in the population. Imagery is contested and criticized, however, by groups and individuals, Ethnic, religious, age, and gender groups struggle to influence society’s values, myths, symbols and information through the media (Gans 1972); individuals ignore, devalue, and criticize media images (Lang and Lang 1981).”
~ Talks about media and culture and the breakdowns of identity.
Pg 191-2 – “Qualitative researchers analyzing media processes have emphasized at least two issues. One is the notion that cultural meanings are not fixed in products, but vary according to cultural, historical, and social group context (Blumer 1969). Fish (1980) argues that readers create meanings, but do so on the basis of the “interpretive community” to which they belong. Because the members of such communities have the same purposes and goals, the meanings constructed from the texts will be shared. Those outside such an interpretive community will construct different meanings from the same cultural product. For example, Shively (1992) found that Anglos and Native Americans interpreted Western films differently: Anglos saw them as authentic and as an important art of the history of the Old West, while Native Americans interpreted them as a message about freedom and did not regard them as authentic. Similarly, Hur and Robinson (1978) showed that African Americans found the account of black history documented in Roots to be more accurate than did whites.”
~ I like this case study/narrative of different points of view. I think it explains different cultures and dissonance very well, as well as identity redistribution.
Pg 192 – “First, people are sensitive and critical toward the media reflection of reality, especially the portrayal of their own reference groups.”
~ People want the representations of themselves to be realistic. If it’s not it causes dissonance.
Pg 193 – “A complex, indirect effect may also occur as people account for the effects of the pervasive imagery in media on others in their social networks, and are themselves influenced by perceptions of the way others see the media-distorted world.”
~ Indirect dissonance vs. direct dissonance might be an interesting concept. Direct dissonance leads to change while indirect dissonance leads to more stereotyping of other’s cultures. (Don’t ask me how I got to that thought from this quote, but I did!)
Pg 193 – “Social comparison theories suggest that we tend to compare ourselves with similar others, though we have selectivity in making such comparisons; that is, relative freedom to select the referents by whom we evaluate ourselves (Rosenberg 1986; Singer 1981).”
~ We compare ourselves with that which we understand (those similar to us) because it’s easier. It leads to less dissonance, which means less change in identity and culture. People don’t want to change, change must be forced upon them.
Pg 198 – “An important feature of the girls’ enjoyment and interest was learning about themselves and assessing their lives and their problems in relation to their peers.”
~ People want to know and understand themselves better. They want to know and understand their culture and identities better. This helps them to get to another stage of development.
Pg 199 – “Social comparison theories argue that we compare ourselves with similar and nearby bothers, and that social structural factors influence which referents will be chosen. Although researchers generally suggest that we are motivated and free to make comparisons that are favorable to us (Rosenberg 1986; Singer 1981) there are limits; comparisons that disfavor us may be unavoidable if we cannot leave a group (see Festinger 1954). This point may help to explain how cultural images of one’s reference groups, although rarely considered in social comparison research, may constitute an inescapable “group” that can have negative consequences as it is incorporated into local culture. Insofar as one views media “others” as attractive and identifies with them as they are brought into one’s peer group, they may become comparative referents, although such comparison to images is likely to have negative consequences for the self.”
~ Research social comparison theories, social structural factors. The ways in which others see one’s culture may effect one’s culture. I think I wrote this somewhere else, this just semi-backs up that idea.
Milkie, M. A. (1999). Social comparisons, reflected appraisals, and mass media: The impact of pervasive beauty images on black and white girls’ self-concepts. Social Psychology Quarterly, 62(2). Retrieved November 9, 2008, from JSTOR database.
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Television as a gathering place
Pg 118 – “The idea of “television as a place” adopted here refers to (1) a bounded system in which symbolic interaction among persons occurs (a social context), and (2) a nucleus around which ideas, values, and shared experiences are constructed (a center of meaning). It is obvious that these two conceptions of place are closely related: social life is founded on shared meanings and meanings are created through social life; each constructs the other (Giddens 1984, 170, 264). Examples of television’s role as a social context include its involvement in elections, celebrations, and competitions.”
~ I think that the argument can be made that culture is also a place that is (1) a bounded system in which symbolic interaction among persons occurs, and (2) is a nucleus around which ideas, values, and shared experiences are constructed. Basically this article talks about television in a geographical manner. But I think culture fits in just as well. In fact, possibly even better.
Adams, P. C. (1992). Television as a gathering place. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 82(1). Retrieved November 9, 2008, from JSTOR database.
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Postcolonial media theory
Pg 62 – “Anyone who wears contact lenses, has an implant, or has a change is a cyborg.”
~ Whoa, that’s a big jump! But I guess the point is that anything that alters your natural self alters your identity, which, in a sense, is true. It goes back to the point that from birth one is exposed to numerous identities and cultures that one can either take part in or just be exposed to. If they take part in it then it alters their identity in a cyborg-like way.
Pg 64 – “Postcolonial studies and electronic media theory concur in challenging traditional understandings of identity as stable and singular. In both areas identity is conceptualized as multiple, contradictory, and even conflictive. Discussions of identity in postcolonial studies frequently involve collective identities: ethnic, national, gender. As in much post modern literary theory, discussions of identity in electronic media theory concentrate on the individual as author of his or her own identity. Thus, where electronic media theory stresses the present (moment of authorship), many postcolonial theorists view identity as rooted in specific historic pasts.”
~ Good explanation of postcolonial studies
Pg 64 – “…The psychologist Sherry Turkle views individual identity as “several versions of a document open in a computer screen where the user is able to move between them at will.” She emphasizes the ludic possibilities of virtual spaces for the construction of identity, as one can play with one’s identity and try out new ones. Participants in MUDs (multiple user domains) are authors not only of text but of themselves: “you are who you pretend to be.” Turkle’s writings remain largely uncritiqued in electronic media circles.”
~ I like this idea of several documents open on a computer screen. In fact, the whole computer is a person makes identity much easier to understand. The computer’s frame and parts are the body. The applications already installed are the global self. The history of applications installed and things done on those applications is the personal history. Each separate application is a separate identity. And they all work in coordination to accomplish a task. A computer getting a virus is like a person running into dissonance. This can be expanded more, too.
Pg 65 – “Thus, both postcolonial media studies and electronic media theory view identity as multiple and open-ended, but they differ drastically in focus. In postcolonial studies theories of identity emphasize the social – identities are historically rooted, open-ended, collective political projects. Electronic media theory gives primacy to the individual as the construction of identity is viewed as an opportunity for self-development and (re)creation.”
~ Might possibly want to research this more, too.
Fernandez, M. (1999). Postcolonial media theory. Art Journal, 58(3). Retrieved November 9, 2008, from JSTOR database.
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Identity construction: New issues, new directions
Pg 386 – “Sociologists focused primarily on the formation of the “me.,” exploring the ways in which interpersonal interactions mold an individual’s sense of self. But identity research of the past two decades proves antithetical to traditional concerns, a shift largely fueled by three important trends.
1. Social and nationalist movements of the past three decades have shifted scholarly attention to issues of group agency and political action. As a result, identity studies have been relocated to the site of the collective, with gender/sexuality, race/ethnicity, and class forming the “holy trinity” of the discursive field (Appiah & gates, 1995:1). Writings attend, in particular, to that which constitutes a collective and the political implications that result from collective definitions.
2. Intellectual concerns with agency and self-direction have re-energized the study of identification processes. At the level of the collective, scholars are examining the mechanics by which distinctions are created, maintained, and changed.
3. New communication technologies have freed interactions from the requirements of physical copresence; these technologies have expanded the array of generalized others contributing to the construction of the self. Several research foci emerge from this development: the substance of “I,” “me,” and the generalized other in a milieu void of place, the establishment of “communities of the mind,” and the negotiations of copresent and cyberspace identities.”
~ Just interesting to see what other things are being studied. I think I’m not really on any of these three things.
Pg 390 – “…Benedict Anderson’s (1991) work on imagined community. Anderson approaches national identity as a sociocognitive construct – one both spatially and temporally inclusive, both enabled and shaped by broader social forces. He documents key moments of identity construction, times during which cultural (language) and social factors (capitalism, print technology) convene in a particular historical moment, effectively remaking collective images of the national self (also see Bloom 1990).
~ I don’t really know why, but somehow this makes me think of silo-ed identities, and horizontal or vertically integrated identities. For instance, if someone’s identities all deal with the same sort of global person then they are horizontally integrated. This leads to a greater level of identity coordination, less dissonance, and fewer chances for one to develop. If one’s identity is vertically integrated, that is, the identities one inhabits do not all coordinate together that well, then it leads to lower levels of identity coordination, more dissonance, and more chances to develop different identities.
Pg 397 – “In the present environment, one cannot consider identity without reference to new communication technologies (NCTs). NCTs have changed the backdrop against which identity is constructed; they have reframed the generalized others and the “generalized elsewhere’s” (Meyrowitz 1989) from which the self takes its cues.”
~ Interesting, but understandable. Things like the internet have opened up whole new ways to communicate, and since communication is the backdrop through which all identities and cultures are formed it makes sense to study it.
Pg 397 – “According to Meyrowitz, NCTs weaken or sever the connections between physical and social “place.””
~ True, which in turn leads to more cultures taking place over varied space. But without good auditory and verbal communication these identities are not very congruous and lead to much different identities being formed through the same culture.
Pg 398 – “In this way, NCTs create new environments for self-development and identification; they present new opportunities for collective affiliation and mobilization.”
~ Meaning, in my mind at least, more opportunities for cultures to be formed.
Pg 398 – “But while keyboards may transport us to places not easily accessed in the past, Altheie argues that the technology limits and directs the form and substance of the social interaction it enables.”
~ This leads back into the idea that communication is not as strong in these areas, so the cultures differ more and thus identities differ more due to more variance in personal history.
Pg 399 – “Sherry Turkle (1995), for example, explores online communities and their impact on personal identity construction.”
~ Good to look into doing further research on.
Pg 399 – “Further, Turkle documents the ways in which individuals negotiate online identities relative to other facets of the self.”
~ Also good to do further research on multiple identities.
Pg 399 – “…Turkle’s work forces us to question any perspective that places virtual experience second to the concrete.”
~ Interesting. I think that concrete experience is more important, but I suppose the argument could be made that it is not.
Pg 399 – “In another arena, Byron Reeves & Clifford Nass (1996) approach communication media as objects relevant to identity-building interactions. In essence, the authors find that media objects become a viable “other” in the building of self, and they outline the ways in which human-to-machine relationships mirror purely human relationship.”
~ Interesting, might also want to do further research on.
Cerulo, K. A. (1997). Identity Construction: New issues, new directions. Annual review of sociology, 23. Retrieved November 9, 2008, from JSTOR database.
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Racial identity and media orientation: Exploring the nature of constraint pt. 2
Pg 370 – “Duveen and Lloyd (1986) assert that social identities are learned, in part, on the basis of distinctions made by others. They discuss “the central rule system” of social gender identity as an example of the place of identity within an ideological system. Gender identity, as an ideological construct, becomes an important shared frame of reference. It is organized by adults to provide children with a framework within which they can readily situate themselves and others. In this model, an individual defines herself as a member of a codified group whose characteristics are defined by others. Yet, there is a distinction made between the conceptions of individuality and sociality. Hecht, Collier, and Ribeau (1993) describe identity as “both an individual and a social construct, emerging in a dialectic between the two” (p. 50). In this sense, the multidimensional nature of social identity may be discussed in terms of individuality and/or sociality or in terms of still other salient features.”
~ Ideological constructs form the basis of what we create identities around. These ideological constructs are really how we subdivide categories of identities. How then can we create an ideological construct that does not subdivide or takes into consideration not subdividing other ideological constructs? Or is this even possible?
Pg 370 – “Gurin and Townsend (1986) delineate between social group identity and social group consciousness. Group consciousness is evaluated along three dimensions: (a) collective discontent, (b) appraisal of legitimacy, and (c) belief in collective action. On the other hand, group identity is defined as (a) perceived similarities in the personal characteristics of members, (b) how central groups membership is to the way a member thinks of the self, and (c) an awareness of common fate. They define common fate as “perception of commonalities in the way group members are treated in society” (p. 140). It is similar to the construct of “linked fate” used by Dawson (1994) to measure the degree to which African Americans believe that their own well-being is linked to the well-being of other members of their race. In this sense, consciousness does not automatically arise out of identity.”
~ I like the differentiation between consciousness and identity. Maybe that is another stage in development? From consciousness to full identity. Possibly one needs to have a sense of consciousness before one can have an identity and then identity comes before culture.
Pg 371 – “A theoretical framework exploring the construct of African American social identity may define it is more general terms of belief system or attitude structure. Structure in this case refers to an individual-level phenomenon (Fleishman, 1986). From this perspective, identity both shapes and reflects cognitive structure in attitudes, beliefs, and behavioral responses (Allen, Dawson & Brown, 1989).”
~ I think I semi-disagree with this. I think that identity does not shape and reflect cognitive structure in attitudes, beliefs, and behavioral responses, personal history shapes and reflects cognitive structure in attitudes, beliefs, and behavioral responses. The actual cognitive structure is the identity.
Pg 373 – “Data from the 1980 National Survey of Black Americans was used to test 24 hypotheses regarding the relationships between socioeconomic status, religiousity, and exposure to Black-oriented media and the three major components of racial consciousness. They conclude that the combined influences of these factors are important determinants of racial and ethnic consciousness.”
~ Another study showing that a combination/coordination of certain identities lead to better understanding of an individual.
Pg 378-9 – “The finding of this research indicate that African American audiences prefer programs featuring Black actors and actresses, as well as programs that focus on African American lifestyles and cultures.”
~ This causes dissonance, people want to be in a certain culture, but want the culture to be like them simultaneously. This then causes a redistribution of identity in order to find a solution to the dissonance.
Pg 379-80 – “Allen and Bielby used Black racial identity to predict the following behaviors and opinions: exposure to public affairs programming, total television exposure, preference for Black-oriented television programs, perceived bias in television, and perceived shortcomings of situation comedies. In this study, Black people who felt positively about their culture were considered to have a high level of racial group identity. This heightened identity works to constrain media behaviors by successfully predicting that these people would watch less television and be more critical of television content.”
~ The more positively you feel about the group you are in the higher the level of group identity. Or maybe for my theory, the more positively you feel about a culture you inhabit the higher the level of influence on the overall identity the culture has.
Davis, J. L., Gandy, O. H. Jr. (1999). Racial identity and media orientation: Exploring the nature of constraint. Journal of Black Studies, 29(3). Retrieved November 9, 2008, from JSTOR database.
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Racial identity and media orientation: Exploring the nature of constraint pt. 1
Pg 367 – “We develop mechanisms through which we understand our environment and the forces at play therein. These are often enacted through cognitive shortcuts, or heuristics. These cognitive schema are influenced by who we are (our background), what we do (our direct, personal experiences), and what we see, hear, and learn through our exposure to mass media. Media representations play an important role in informing the ways in which we understand social, cultural, ethnic, and racial differences. Racial identity may play an especially powerful role in shaping our responses to mass media.”
~ So, basically our identities create a framework around which we understand the world. Our personal histories, identities, and exposure to other things help us to create these frameworks.
Pg 368 – “Racial identity becomes salient when African American audiences oppose what they see and hear from an ideological position as harmful, unpleasant, or distasteful media representations. The mass media images of Black males as violent and threatening are examples of reified stereotypes that many African Americans resist.”
~ A certain identity takes precedence over others when that identity is threatened. Interesting idea of expression/oppression. Too much threatening of an expressed identity will either cause it to be oppressed or to be redistributed into another identity in order to protect it.
Pg 369 – “The process of identity formation is complex. It is shaped by the routine interactions and challenges that an individual faces on a daily basis. This process is also context specific. A person may identify as a member of a particular group, or a person may identify with individuals or representative members of that group. At the same time, others may assign, or identify, this person with yet another group.”
~ I like this explanation of how one is in a certain identity.
Pg 369 – “Social categories that have been used to groups and sometimes to oppress people may also become important sources of self-identity. A “social self-identity” has been described by Babad, Birnbaum, and Benne (1983) as “a complex integration of personality attributes, unique experiences, personal choices, and the individual sense of ‘self’ on one hand, and ‘socio-identities,’ which are the products of various groups memberships, on the other hand” (p. 37). Similarly, Garza and Herringer (1986) argue that self-identity is the product of personal attitudes, values, past history, and the groups to which we belong, except that membership can be determined by will or by fate.”
~ Hmm, I think I might want to future research this over winter break. The idea of “social self-identity” etc. are kind of the things that I am looking into.
Pg 369-70 – “Tajfel (1982) contends that social identity provides a psychological link between the sense of self and identification with an in-group. In his definition of social identity, Tajfel highlights the salience of group membership and the value and emotional significance that an individual attaches to membership in that group. However, there are certain groups in which we willingly choose membership and other groups in which we, by virtue of our birth, are said to belong. In this sense, racial group membership can be seen as a resource if it reflects a voluntary self-designation where an individual identifies with other members of this group. Alternatively, racial group membership may be seen as a burden or constraint if a person only identifies as an African American because there is no other choice.”
~ This is an interesting though that one’s overall identity is a combination of self and identification instead of something else. So, I would say that one’s self is what I call one’s personal identity and the identification piece is a combination of what I’m referring to as identity and culture.
Davis, J. L., Gandy, O. H. Jr. (1999). Racial identity and media orientation: Exploring the nature of constraint. Journal of Black Studies, 29(3). Retrieved November 9, 2008, from JSTOR database.
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Teenage sexuality and media practice: Factoring in the influences of family, friends, and school
Pg 331 – “The study was guided by the premise that if we can figure out how adolescents with different personal and social identities and sociocultural backgrounds select, interact, and apply media matter in their everyday lives, we will be able to do a better job of reaching them with media messages that they will listen to and act on.”
~ Basis of study/article.
Pg 331 – “…Many teens draw heavily from media images and storylines as they wrestle with who they are and where they fit in the world.”
~ So media plays a role in identity development and socialization. But only comes into context in terms of being something that throws dissonance into a teen’s life.
Pg 334 – “The media components of the model were defined as follows: (a) Selection: the act of choosing among media-related alternatives; (b) Interaction: the cognitive, affective, and/or behavioral engagement with media that produces cultural meanings; and (c) Application: the ways in which teens make media active in their everyday lives.”
~ I really think these three things are the basis for which all pieces of our identity are formed. We select which cultures we enter, we interact in different ways in them (physical or behavioral), and then we apply what we know in different ways. The selection focuses on culture, the interaction focuses on our personal history, and the application focuses on formation of our identity. Love this!
Pg 335 – “Teens’ selectivity in making media choices (selection), their creative interpretations of media content (Interaction), and the varied ways they actively use media in their everyday lives (Application) are the essential elements of media practice.”
~ How the author really uses the information.
Pg 335 – “Whereas 50 years ago a teen’s family, friends, school, and church were the primary influences on his or her attitudes, values, and beliefs about sexuality, today’s teens have access to a fifth powerful influence – the ubiquitous mass media.”
~ Some of the main forces that cause cognitive dissonance in teens.
Pg 336 – “Historically, American researchers have seen exposure, a term used to indicate time [spent] with media, as the key to media effects. This is problematic, however, because measures of exposure tell us nothing about the context of viewing/listening or the amount of attention paid to the sexual components of media content. Close examination in this study of teens’ engagement with media produced an understanding that posits a syncretic and holistic definition of Interaction, one that includes emotional, psychological, and physical dimensions.”
~ This is true of cultures, too. It is not the cultures we are exposed to that are the key to our identity, but he amount of viewing/listening time to cultures and our engagement with them that affects our personal histories and identities.
Pg 337 – “The other type of application takes the form of resistance, teens’ practice of using media to open up a space for combating the status quo. Teens who feel marginalized, a category that can include ethnic minorities, lesbians, gays, nerds, drug users, and school leavers, frequently seeks out media and story lines that glamorize the very things mainstream society frowns upon. Black teens’ enthusiastic embrace of rap music is a familiar example of teens using media to fight what they perceive to be the wrongs of the dominant culture.”
~ So people in certain cultures look for things that reinforce their views. People want to have coordinating identities, not ones at odds with one another.
Pg 338 – “The gratifications teens seek when they select different media (Motivation) have a major impact on Application. If a teenager is looking for sexual information to apply in everyday situations, chances are good that the sexual information he or she finds will be “incorporated” in exactly this way.”
~ Coordinating identities kind of deals with gratification, too.
Pg 338-339 – “Recent work on teen vulnerability and resiliency (Cairns & Cairns, 1994; Resnick et al., 1997) suggests that strong or close family ties are one predictor of a teen’s ability to get through adolescence without siring a child, landing in jail, developing a drug habit, or dropping out of school.”
~ So personal history (the planet idea) can have a huge affect on the cultures and identities one grows into through development.
Steele, J. R. (1999). Teenage sexuality and media practice: Factoring in the influences of family, friends, and school. The Journal of Sex Research, 36(4). Retrieved November 9, 2008, from JSTOR database.
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