Topic 6 - The Influence Of Television Advertising On Children

Outline Pine and Nash’s background research

• Study uses a novel and ecologically valid of exploring how toy advertising affects children by studying their letters to father Christmas

• 83 children ages 4.8-6.5 years who had written letters to father Christmas were interviewed regarding their television viewing

• Letters and similar data were also analysed for 16 nursery school children aged 3.8-4.8

• Children who watched more commercial television were found to request a greater number of items from father Christmas

• These children also requested more branded items than the children who watched less

• A comparison group of children from Sweden (where advertising to children is not permitted), asked for significantly fewer items

• Argued that English children who watch more TV, especially those who watch alone, may be socialised to become consumers from an early age

Evaluate Pine and Nash’s research

• Validity - gai insight but we don’t know if the children were being truthful in their interviews

• Reductionist - Only looks at the role of TV adverts on consumers - ignore other forms of media like social media

• Deterministic - adverts increase the number of toys children want

• Useful - TV companies not to show adverts/reduce amount

• Scientific - comparison group from Sweden allows us to establish cause and effect

• High ecological validity - making use of letters that already exist

• Situational - ads viewed in immediate social environment

Outline Bandura’s background research

• Bandura replicated his earlier study on the transmission of aggression, this time using video-recorded models as well​

• 48 boys and 48 girls, who were from about 3 to 5 ½ years old, with an average age of about 4 ​

• (1) Real aggressive model.​

• (2) Filmed aggressive model.​

• (3) Cartoon aggressive model.​

• (4) Control group (Saw no model)​

• 96 children from Stanford University nursery​

• Stage 2 and 3 same procedure as original​

• Children who observed video-recorded behaviour displayed similar levels of aggression to those who observed a real life model, and in both conditions children displayed considerably more instances of aggressive behaviour than the control group. ​

• This suggests that televised role models may have similar levels of influence on children’s subsequent behaviour.

Evaluate Bandura’s background research

• Large sample but ethnocentric and age bias

• Determinism - children’s behaviour is determined by the presence of a role model

• Reductionism - role model influences child’s behaviour

• Holism - Looks at different types of aggressive role model (real, filmed cartoon)

• Psycho as a science- manipulated IV allowed for C+E to be established

• Situational/Nurture - RM influencing behaviour

• Useful - RMs to ensure they model prosocial behaviour at all time

What is the aim of Johnson and Young’s study?

Aim – to investigate whether adverts portray gender stereotypes via the discourse (language/speech) and themes used

What is the research method used in J+Y’s study?

Research method – content analysis (researcher takes qualitative data and transforms it into quantitative/numerical data. The technique can be used for data in many different formats, for example interview transcripts, film, and audio recordings)

What is the sample for J+Y’s study?

• The sample for J+Y is slightly different – pps not used, the sample focuses on TV adverts that are shown on TV and the content of them is analysed​

• Samples of children’s television programmes in the cartoon genre were video recorded from commercial networks, regional independent New England stations, and Nickelodeon in the fall (autumn) of 1996 and 1997 and again in the fall of 1999.​

• The commercials for toys were selected as the focus for analysis, there were 147 different adverts.

How were adverts divided in J+Y’s study?

(i) Adverts targeted to boys in which boys were depicted​

(ii) Adverts targeted to girls in which girls were depicted​

(iii) Adverts targeted to both boys and girls either because both genders were featured or because there was no gender content.

What aspects of language were analysed in adverts to see what children may be learning about gender from adverts?

• Voice-overs​

• Verb elements​

• Speaking lines given to girls and boys​

• The use of the word power in a number of adverts oriented to boys.

How were voice-over’s analysed in J+Y’s study?

Voice overs - Two attributes were considered to determine the particular patterns in gendered aspects of voice-overs in adverts:​

(i) The gender of the voice-over​

(ii) Whether the voice-over was gender-exaggerated. (Male voice exaggeration was typified by masculine, aggressive voice qualities and for girls by feminine, high-pitched and/or sing-song voice qualities.)​

How were verb elements analysed in J+Y’s study?

Five categories were established to distinguish particular types of verb elements that might be relevant for gender imaging:​

(i) Action verbs e.g. crawl, fly, jump, race, ram, throw​

(ii)Competition/destruction verb elements e.g. crush, fire on, knocked out, pounce, slam​

(iii) Agency/control verb elements e.g. control, defeat, rule, take​

(iv) Limited activity verb elements e.g. beware, get, go, know, look, talk, wait, watch​

(v) Feeling and nurturing verb elements e.g. cuddle, loves, taking care of, tuck you in​

What results were found from J+Y’s study?

• 103 boy-oriented adverts, 62 girl-oriented and 23 in both

• he names of many of the advertised toys vividly positioned verbal images of boys and girls in their cultural context e.g. ‘Big Time Action Heroes’ and ‘Tonka Mega Crew’ stressed size as critical in male-oriented toys whilst ‘Juice ‘n Cookies Baby Alive’ and ‘Bedtime Bottle baby’ signified parenting as a female-linked quality​

• Verb elements of competition/destruction featured 113 times in boy oriented adverts compared to only 9 in girl oriented

• Verb elements of feeling/nurturing appeared 66 times in girls adverts and never in boys adverts

• In commercials where boys and girls appeared together there were many instances of scripted elements of gender relations – boys dominant, girls subservient; boys strong and powerful, girls weak, gossipy, powerless​

What conclusions can be drawn from Johnson and Young’s study?

• The gender models shown in television adverts reinforces gender stereotyping​

• The type of toys advertised for boys and girls reinforces traditionally opposite ideas about the play activities of boys and girls​

• The use of voice-overs in television commercials generally matches the toy’s targeted gender​

• Advertisers, when constructing voice-overs for TV toy commercials, strive to accentuate gender​

What two applications do we have for this topic?

• Limiting TV advertising (main strategy)

• Media literacy

Application: Limiting TV advertising

• Reduce amount of TV advertising children are exposed to ​

• Austria – before 8:15pm all adverts are banned during children’s programmes ​

• Germany – commercial-free programmes​

• Greece – no toy commercials between 7-10pm ​

• Sweden and Norway – strictest restrictions – ban on all advertising before, during and after children’s programmes​

• Limiting the extent to which children observe TV commercials, limits their chances of being exposed to gender stereotypes and risky behaviour

What studies can we use to support the application of limiting TV advertising?

• Pine and Nash

• Johnson and Young

Application: Media literacy

• Strategy to develop children’s critical awareness of media sources ​

• Educational programmes aimed at teaching children when they are being manipulated or presented with misleading information ​

• One example is Media Smart ​

• Programme targeted at children aged 6-11 – teaches children how advertising works and the persuasive methods that are used (e.g. use of current music to engage, use of celebrities)​

• Resources provided to primary schools to help inform/educate children to therefore reduce the negative impact of advertising on children’s behaviour ​

What can we use to support the application of media literacy?

Media Smart ​

• Programme targeted at children aged 6-11 – teaches children how advertising works and the persuasive methods that are used (e.g. use of current music to engage, use of celebrities)​

• Resources provided to primary schools to help inform/educate children to therefore reduce the negative impact of advertising on children’s behaviour ​