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.

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.