contemporary: becker 2002

who was the study carried out by?

anthropologist Dr Anne Becker

what is anthropology?

the study of other cultures

what was the type of experiment used?

a naturalistic experiment

what was the aim of the study?

to investigate the effects of television on eating disorders

where was the study carried out?

Nadroga Fiji, a culture with no previous media influence

where are eating disorders more common?

in industrialised countries

what was the key question Becker wanted to address?

would exposure to television have an effect on the traditional values and eating habits associated with Fijian culture?

who were the participants used in 1995?

63 girls with an average age of 17, a few weeks after television had been introduced

who were the participants used in 1998?

65 girls from the same school, 3 years after television had been introduced

what type of data did the study gather?

qualitative data in the format of stories about feelings and behaviour related to the introduction of television

what questionnaire did Becker use?

EAT-26, featuring 26 items about eating attitudes with a score of 20 being high

what type of interviews were carried out?

semi-structured

what did the interviews report?

30/65 girls had shown disordered eating attitudes and television habits

what were the girls asked questions about?

body image and dieting, and television habits in the household

how was data gathered from the study analysed?

a chi-squared test and thematic analysis

how do results show the growth in television watching over 3 years?

in the 1995 sample 41.3% had a television, compared to 70.8% in the 1998 sample

what percentage of the 1995 sample scored over 20 on the EAT-26 questionnaire?

12.7%

what percentage of the 1998 sample scored over 20 on the EAT-26 questionnaire?

29.2%

what percentage of the 1995 sample reported self-induced vomiting to control weight?

0%

what percentage of the 1998 sample reported self-induced vomiting to control weight?

11.3%

what did the qualitative data gathered show?

a desire to be like television characters in terms of clothing, hairstyles, and body reshaping

what did 83% of the sample interviewed state?

they felt television had influenced the way they and their friends looked at their bodies

what did 77% of the sample interviewed state?

television had influenced their body image

what was concluded by Becker about the introduction of television?

it influenced changes to eating attitudes in women, though it was more of an association found between television ownership and changing dieting behaviour

what did Becker conclude about characters on western tv shows?

they acted as role models to Fijian girls causing them to feel pressure to imitate the slim appearances even if it meant going against Fijian culture that traditionally emphasises a fuller, muscular figure

what did qualitative data suggest?

many of the girls did not understand the unreal nature of media images

what did Becker believe the introduction of tv brought with it?

an interest in dieting that was not present before on Fiji, as well as the first symptoms of eating disorders into a society that previously had no incidence of anorexia or bulimia