Amy is a seventeen years of age and is constantly complimented on her slimming figure. However, this was not always the case. During her adolescence she was chubby and was often told by her parents that she needed to lose a small amount of weight. Amy did not think she was chubby, but when she asked her friends for reassurance, they also agreed with her parents. After a few years she became exposed to different types of media. She kept hearing how skinny and slim her mother was when she was Amy’s age. Amy became self conscious and began skipping lunch here and there. Her emotional state was so compromised that she got over the littlest things and would go on “hunger strikes”. Eventually Amy drew out of the habit.
During her second …show more content…
It scientifically examines specific actions, responses, and the factors that dictate how an individual reacts under a specific set of conditions. Psychology is the science of exploring the mental processes of a group or an individual. The psychology perspective will analyze the factors of society that dictate how the individual reacts under the pressure of society. It will only analyze the factors from society that influenced the individual to behave in a specific manner. Much of the analysis will be done through social psychology. It will also provide insight to how an individual can affect society. The behaviour of an individual has an impact on the greater society that surrounds an …show more content…
Role expectations are developed as a result of many factors. As children progress through the developmental stages, they first learn role expectations at home, and these roles are reinforced by their peers, school experiences, and media messages. In Amy’s case, she was reinforced to the role expectations by the media and her peers. According to Erik Erikson’s theory, this period of adolescence solidifies role expectations as a way of establishing a sense of self-identity. Popular media typically portrays gender stereotypes and traditional roles that are no longer appropriate in the 21st century. However, these stereotyped messages are still influencing individual role expectations, largely due to the sheer amount of media people are exposed to at all stages of development. In all media, women are portrayed to be slim and men are portrayed to be muscular. This links back to the gender roles where women are supposed to be submissive and helpless while men are supposed to be the strong ones. Since Amy was considered to be chubby at first she conformed these roles that the media was portraying. Additionally some biological theories believe that individuals are born with gender oriented identities. This helps them naturally suit the gender roles in society. In Amy’s case she had the natural gene of being skinny because of her parents. However, because of the media’s