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I am needing the following questions answered in short paragraphs:

Reflect on the concepts presented in the video and overview and the example of a growing body of research as captured in the article A Review of Facebook Research in the Social Sciences. Also, consider the question you posed about your advertisements in your observation journal in the last theme. Then, in a short answer response, address the following questions:

1. How does social science inquiry advance and evolve over time?
2. Why is it important that our understanding of social science concepts continue to develop and expand?
3. Then, consider the question you posed in the observation journal, which you submitted in Theme 2. How could others build upon this question through additional research or follow-up questions?

***Please be sure to cite any references in APA format. Also, before starting the assignment, please review the observation journal and the rubric that have been provided.***

Observation Journal that is described in the assignment:

Observation Journal

Southern New Hampshire University

Article Choice

The articles that I selected were chosen because they bring out the relationship and expected behavior between men and women. Each ad exhibits at least one man and woman in stereotypical roles related to their gender. As a woman, I was intrigued by the way that females were represented. The way that the women were portrayed in the ads made me question the views of beauty as well as the role that women play in society.

Assumptions and observations

Audience. Advertisements are always audience specific. Based on the actors and actresses in the advertisements, one could assume that the target audience would most likely be white men and women from the middle to upper class. However, each ad has narrowed its focus on either males or females. For example, the article “Women Show Cognitive Advantage in Gender Equal Countries” depicts the differences in men’s and women’s scores on cognitive tests varied widely across countries according to Bonsang and colleagues Vegard Skirbekk and Ursula Staudinger. Gender inequality affects both men and women. The target audience for the Carlsberg beer ad is white males that drink beer. This commercial seemed to cater more to the men by providing a lounge-style dressing room for the men to await their female shopping partners. Furthermore, the dressing room was staffed with young women catering to the men which is evidence that the target audience for the commercial would be males and not females. Since this particular beer is made in Denmark, it would also target Europeans instead of American viewers. The anti-wrinkle cream ad seems to be focused on attracting a female audience based on the images in the advertisement. In the Diaderm ad, you can see that the woman’s face continues to appear ageless throughout the photos but the man grows older in each new image. The Schlage locks used a breakup situation that turns violent to sell the locks to younger men. This use of vowed vengeance displayed by the young white female actress pushes the man to want to change his locks to better protect himself. Lastly, the Garnier commercial could target both sexes but based on the placement of the characters it is more likely that they were trying to draw in a predominately male group of consumers. For example, the ad places the men in the forefront of the image and focuses on the younger male who uses the product to wash away his reckless behavior from the previous day.

Message. The message being delivered by the advertisements is centered on a normal day to day activities particularly the gender roles of men and women in society. They also show what both men and women love. According to the article “Women Show Cognitive Advantage in Gender Equal Countries”, Bonsang & colleagues realized that changes in gender-role attitudes within a country over time were associated with changes in women’s cognitive performance relative to men. Also, women who live in countries with less traditional attitudes were likely to have better cognitive performance later in life as compared to women in more traditional countries. In the Carlsberg beer ad, men love beer while women love going for shopping trips. After taking a glass of the beer, the man is suddenly full of life again while the woman looks so happy after shopping. In the anti-wrinkle cream ad, the ointment makes one look younger since it removes the wrinkles from the skin. The ads also seem to portray women as the ones to serve men. They are seen as being at the men’s service. This also comes out in the Garnier print ad, where women dancing and enjoying as the young man greets the old man. In the article “Inside Out”, Pete illustrates that emotions affect our perception, attention, memories and our judgment thereby shaping how we relate to people. Therefore, the ad Schlage Locks depicts that women are most affected by emotions as compared to men. That is why they are perceived to be violent particularly during breakups.

Relationship between people. I believe the most important relationship depicted between people is the relationship between men and women, with regard to what they like most. In the adverts, men are disinterested in what women do. They seem to enjoy only what they love most such as beer and fancy things. On the other hand, women are depicted as only being good at serving men.

Relationship with product. The relationship between men and beer vividly comes out in the Carlsberg beer ad. A once bored and drained gentleman is suddenly rejuvenated and full of energy after having a glass of Carlsberg beer. In the Garnier ad, the background is beautifully colored, bringing out the power of color in the image. The anti-wrinkle cream keeps the aging couple happy. The pictures show how affectionate they still are to each other.

Effectiveness. The Carlsberg ad comes out effectively both in the manner in which the beer is served and the effect it has on the consumer. Women are portrayed to be having obsessive shopping habits in this ad which actually depicts the reality in real life. It portrays the man as feeling satisfied after taking the beer. He is happy once again. The anti-wrinkle cream also works magic on the skin of old couple, making them look young. In the Schlaage Locks ad, women are effectively portrayed to be emotional than men which actually indicates the nature of women when they are annoyed or stressed up since emotions affect their relationship with people as illustrated by Pete the article “Inside Out”.

Social Science Evidence

I have used evidence from the course to back up my observation regarding the advertisements that I have selected. The interest that I have in the ads was based on the mainly on the portrayal of the females. My specific interest in the advertisements led me back to an article that I read in week 2. As a woman, I was intrigued by the way that females were represented in the article “Women Show Cognitive Advantage in Gender Equal Countries.” The article intrigued me most because gender equality is a major issue which is currently evident in many countries globally. This article informs us that women living in gender-equal countries have better cognitive test score in life than women living in gender-unequal societies (Association for Psychological Science). The way that the women were portrayed in the ads made me question the views of beauty as well as the role that women play in society since sociocultural factors such as attitudes about gender roles contribute to the variation in gender differences in cognitive performance around the globe according to Bonsang, Skirbekk, & Staudinger.

In the second theme of this term, I learned more about perception. Social perception is the study of how we make inferences and form impressions about others. When viewing the advertisements that I chose for the first project, my perception of the roles of the actors and actresses caused me to form bias opinions. To be more effective in my social research, I had to understand that I needed to be more subjective. This was something that was taught during our first lesson in this course but is still something that I must work at.

Question

Based on how the ad depicts female characters in, I would then ask the question, “Is sexism as big of an issue in today’s society as it was in the past?” From long ago, men have always been seen as being superior to women and in one his writings, Charles Darwin “reasoned that males are more evolutionarily advanced than females” (Bergman). Even, in today’s society, women mostly perform household chores which are seen as inferior to most men. It is still believed that women are the caregivers and while men act as the providers. So, I believe that by answering the question that I have posed, social scientists will be able to further evaluate the cause of the issue as well as look for solutions.

References

Bergman, Ph.D., D. (n.d.). Darwin’s Teaching of Women’s Inferiority. Retrieved August 02, 2017, fromhttp://www.icr.org/article/darwins-teaching-womens-inferiority/

Psychology. Sexism. Retrieved from https://psychology.iresearchnet.com/social-psychology/prejudice/sexism/

“Women Show Cognitive Advantage in Gender-Equal Countries.” Association for Psychological Science. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 July 2017.