The Impact of Advertizing on the Development of Women’s Self-Image and the Importance of Media Literacy Training Among Consumers

Date of Completion

8-31-2003

Document Type

Open Access Capstone

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

First Advisor

Nina Greenwald

Abstract

Studying current advertisements portraying women has proven that many severe problems are directly connected to the media and the human psyche. These problems include eating disorders, depression, plastic surgery, alcohol and drug addictions, discrimination, limited goals, and increasing stereotypes, to name a few. To remedy these severe problems one of two things must happen. Advertisers must change their ads or consumers must be educated through media literacy courses, which will enable consumers to decipher and understand the messages they see in advertisements. Media literacy allows individuals to independently evaluate those media (film, television, magazines, etc) that they see every day. This type of literacy empowers consumers to strategically and skillfully begin to broaden their range of skills. This paper will take the reader through a series of steps exploring the problems and their proposed solutions, beginning with advertising research dealing with the history and current styles and strategies of advertising. There is then a careful examination of the Critical and Creative Thinking strategies that will be used in a media literacy workshop I have designed, as well as an explanation of media literacy; explaining the growth and importance of media literacy as well as discussion on the media's impact upon a human psyche. These CCT Strategies are: Scamper, Six Hats, Methodological Belief and Doubt, Value Engineering, Metacognition, Attribute Listing, Dialogue, and Creative Problem Solving. The next chapter is an in depth discussion of the workshop and various phases from subsequent workshop methods, most predominantly Laura Spencer's ToP method. The final chapter stresses that only by changing our perceptions through enlightenment can we become more intelligent members of society.

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