Number of course

COM-360Name of course

Communication & Media Research & Analysis

Name of the assessment item

FINAL RESEARCH PROPOSAL

Investigating influences behind Emirati girls’ perceptions of physical beauty

Name of student/s

Alia Adel Almidfa 200819267

Hessa Salah 200705817

Mariam Hussain Alrand 200819414

Maryam Mahmood 200705269

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OUTLINE

- Statement of research problem

- Literature review

- Research goals and methods

- Sample

- Data analysis

- Research schedule and deliverables

- Budget outline

- Principle investigator expertise

- List of selected feasibility and background literature

- Conclusion

- References

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STATEMENT OF RESEARCH PROBLEM:

It has been noted lately by journalists that our society is obsessed with beauty. Young

Emirati women are undergoing superficial and extreme measures to achieve the perfect face,

nose, lips, or body. This is a serious issue, negatively affecting young women’s perception

and how they feel about themselves. In our study, we will be exploring what influences

Emirati girls’ views on physical beauty in the 21st century since the topic has sparked much

debate in society. The research will aim to find out what female students in the UAE think the

ideal image is. The research will also explore the effect of media on beauty ideals. Moreover,

the study will try to explore why is the media affecting Emirati student’s perception of

beauty. It is common knowledge that the images are almost not real, and many factors

including digital airbrushing are involved.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Body image and beauty is a big issue when it comes to young women.

Women try to be beautiful, because physical beauty is associated with positive outcomes.

Some people think that Individuals who are attractive do better in our society; they are more

successful, happier, and more self-sufficient (Hendriks & Burgoon, 2003). Researchers tried

to answer the question of what affects a young women’s perceptions of beauty and body?

Some researchers focused on media and its effect on young women, while others focused on

family and peers’ influence. Some studies demonstrated that the media portrayal of the ideal

body affects family and peers who then influence the ideal body image of young women

(Giles & Helm, 2008).

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People have this stereotypical image of woman and beauty and how some women

take drastic measures to enhance their beauty through cosmetic surgery and applying makeup

(Lachover & Brandes, 2009). Studies on the effect of media on body image are contradicting.

One area of research believes that a connection exists between media and eating disorders.

Another area of research implies that media affects young women’s body image positively. A

third area of research argue that there is no connection between media and body image

(Holmstorm, 2003).

The media’s potential influence on young women’s body image can be particularly

witnessed in fashion, celebrity, or fitness magazines. These magazines promote thin bodies as

the ideal, and they also contain countless advertisements that relate to diet and weight loss

(Giles & Helm, 2008). Research showed that heavy consumption of fashion magazines is

associated with lower body satisfaction in females who are of average weight or overweight

than in those who are underweight. This effect is less pronounced in females who are light

consumers of fashion magazines (Hendriks & Burgoon, 2003).

Another study focuses on fashion magazines, television programs and commercials,

especially the ones that deal with image. This study surveyed of Canadian women to study

their satisfaction with their own bodies. It tried to connect the roles of television and fashion

magazines in Canadian women life. The conclusion was that women compare themselves

with what they see which leads to a body image dissatisfaction. The research also mentions

social comparisons, and the role of the media in projecting subjects that young women end up

comparing themselves with (Want, Vickers, & Amos 2009).

The media’s promotion of highly idealized thin bodies can have three different

outcomes. The first outcome is exhibiting high body esteem and disregarding the ideal. The

second outcome would be engaging in hazardous activities in attempt to reach that ideal

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image. The last outcome is illustrated by continuing to be quite healthy while being unhappy

with it (Giles & Helm, 2008).

All people have the ability to develop themselves and they can differentiate

themselves from others, and it happens through the process of social experience and

movement. It is the process through which people develop ideas on how they are actually

themselves, how they would like to be, and how they would like to believe how others would

like them to be (Hendriks & Burgoon, 2003).

Media can be used to educate people, particularly young women about the body

image issues they face. By encouraging young women to become more internally motivated,

and to become less competitive, people may also be encouraging women to increase their

body satisfaction and indirectly decreasing the likelihood that these women will develop

eating disorders (Hendriks & Burgoon, 2003).The Dove campaign for real beauty aimed to

change the perceptions of people about how they think of women and the meaning of real

beauty to women. People associated with the campaign believe that there is real beauty in

every woman and it comes in different shapes, sizes, and ages (Lachover & Brandes, 2009).

In addition to the media, elements that affect females’ attitudes towards their body can

also be interpersonal. Children who have been subjected to unconstructive criticism and

remarks about their body by their parents are more likely to be unhappy with their bodies as

they get older. Peers also affect a young woman’s body esteem by directly commenting on

her weight or body, or even by pointing out their own unhappiness with their bodies. The idea

that media and peer ideas of beauty affect young women is said to be agreed upon in

American culture. Young women’s unhappiness with their bodies has been proven in clinical

trials to result in eating disorders and psychological depression (Giles & Helm, 2008).

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The norms communicated interpersonally by family and peers have an important

effect on a young woman’s regard for her body. The young women whose family and peers

communicated to them messages about the value of a skinny body had a lower self esteem.

However, the effect of the media on young women’s body esteem underwent two direction.

First, the interpersonal messages received from family and peers had the power to enforce or

deny the media’s project body ideals. The second process is when a young woman own

“social comparison” has the ability to enforce or deny projected media influence (Giles &

Helm, 2008).

The social norms regarding the ideal body bodies is a result of the perceptions of

young women’s family and peers. Parents are very influential when it comes to their

children’s body image. Research showed that girls with eating disorders are more probable to

have mothers with eating disorders, as well as being more probable to be negatively

commenting on their daughter’s body (Giles & Helm, 2008).

RESEARCH GOALS AND METHODS

Our research will be quantitative and qualitative. First, we will conduct a survey that

will aim to measure and quantify what Emirati girls’ think is beautiful. Our survey questions

will start with a scale of 1-5 measuring the importance of beauty, what is beautiful, and the

respondent’s openness to extreme measures of physical modification. Second, we will gather

the qualitative data through university-wide focus groups. The focus groups will include

individuals with possibly the same preferences to make them feel more comfortable

expressing their views on beauty.

The research will be design will be cross-sectional; it will involve observations of the

young Emirati women as a whole . The research design will be observed through a defined

short period of time, approximately less than a year. The setting is not really important 6

because people’s attitudes and beliefs are always with them, hence setting is not important to

our data collection.

The survey will be implemented using email. The emails will be sent using systematic

random sampling (see below). While focus groups will be held at the university in a

comfortable setting. A well practiced moderator will be running the discussion to achieve

maximum accuracy of results. The focus groups’ discussions will be recorded and then

analyzed.

Our ultimate goal is to evaluate the Emirati girls’ perceptions of physical beauty. We

will focus especially on the influence of media, since mediated messages are increasing in

our society. We are interested in beauty and know that many girls are, thus we plan to

research how important physical beauty is in the daily life of the Emirati girls between the

ages of18 to 24. Another key goal for the research is to study the reactions of the girls

towards beauty ideals based via specifically designed surveys. Qualitative data and sharing

knowledge and experiences is a major goal in this research.

SAMPLE

1. Sample characteristics

The sample will consist of female Emirati nationals between the ages 18 and 21. All

participants will be students at higher education institutions in the UAE.

2. Sample size

The study aims at including a sample of five hundred young Emirati women. A

hundred participants from each of the higher education institutions we chose for this survey.

3. Sampling procedure

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The study will be employing two sampling procedures. Our target population is young

Emirati women. We used cluster sampling to divide our population into groups based on

higher education institution. In each of these institutions, we will be using systematic random

sampling. In which, participants of the survey would be chosen at random based on a random

chosen interval, in our case it is going to be every 50th student on the student names list.

DATA ANALYSIS

In our research paper we will include “Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis ”. In

order to measure qualitative data we have to quantify the subjective data which means

converting subjective observation into an objective data set. As we are using an online

survey, we will be recording information and measurements in a count unit. The result

section of the research paper will contain descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. In

the descriptive statistics section measurements of central tendency and the variability of the

average will be given to the reader. In addition, we will include images and graphs of

collected data which represents beauty items such or similar tools that are used in the

research. The second part is inferential statistics where samples or students will be

experimenting beauty statistical tests to find the outcomes of the whole process. This will

help to make some deductions from the collected data. However, for our qualitative data the

results relative to the research hypothesized independent variables. Layout of graphs and

charts may be effected but an immediate correlation will be obvious and will ease the

formatting and organizing.

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RESEARCH SCHEDULE AND DELIVERABLES

No. Deliverables Target Date

1 Course overview, choose a topic and inform the professor.

27 September

2010

2 Hand in research idea. Research problem. Research proposal.

6 October 2010

3 Writing the literature review. Researching more about your topic. Research purpose

18 October 2010

4 Formulating questions. Choosing the right method for surveys and

interviews.

29 October 2010

5 Handing out surveys. Interviewing people, using face to face

communication.

18 November 2010

6 Study sample. Sample characteristics, who will included in

the sample. Sample size. Sampling procedure, the techniques we will

use.

30 November 2010

7 Research design Study setting

6 December 2010

8 Study instrument Study type

19 December 2010

9 Hand in research 10 January 2011

10 Research presentation 18 January 2011

BUDGET OUTLINE

Overall, we did not spend that much on the project since we have done it mostly inside the

campus and it also aimed the students in there. Due to the process of doing our research, all

the tools were used in our research paper available and provided for free. We have used, 9

laptops to type the information gathered from reliable resources. The resources were taken

from Zayed University Databases that we searched all the information from articles, books,

and other research papers which the University provide them free of charge. A Note book and

pencils were also available since we started the semester. Therefore, no money was spent to

buy new notebooks or pencils. Finally for the process of printing the research paper, A4

papers and printers are there and available inside the campus, but we choose to print the final

paper colored to make it look neat, colorful and professional. It cost us five AED only to print

the colorful papers in business centre inside the Zayed University campus.

PRINCIPLE INVESTIGATOR EXPERTISE

Deana L. Jefferson: co-personal investigator

Dr. Deana Jefferson practices clinical psychology and have PHD in psychology in

University of Missouri St. Louis, Missouri, Unites States of America. She is also one of the

authors of "Appearance Self-Attitudes of African American and European American

Women: Media Comparisons and Internalization of Beauty Ideals" research papers who

discussed the role of media in framing beauty ideals.

Thomas F. Cash PH.D: co-personal investigator

Thomas F. Cash PH.D, professor Emeritus of psychology of Old Dominion

University, Norfolk, VA. He is also a clinical and research psychologist for over 35

years. His work primarily focuses on the Psychology of Physical Appearance.

Daniel Clay: co-personal investigator

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Daniel Clay, author of "Body Image and Self-Esteem Among Adolescent Girls:

Testing the Influence of Sociocultural Factors" a passionate writer. his first short story

wasn't published until 1998, and it would be another ten years before Harper Press

bought the rights to his debut novel, Broken, in the UK. As well as being nominated

one of Amazon's best eight debut novels for 2008, Broken was shortlisted for The

Commonwealth Writers' Best First Novel Award and The Authors' Club Best First

Novel Award. The film rights have been optioned by BBC Films.

Sarah Grogan: co-personal investigator

Sarah Grogan, a Professor of Health Psychology at Staffordshire University, director

of the Centre for Health Psychology, director of the MSc Health Psychology program.

She an author of book "Body Image: Understanding Body Dissatisfaction in Men,

Women, and Children", who is interested in body image and its impact on health-

related behaviors.

Helga Dittmar: co-personal investigator

Helga Dittmar, University of Sussex Brighton, United Kingdom, author of

"Understanding the Impact of Thin Media Models on Women’s Body-Focused

Affect: The Roles of Thin-Ideal Internalization and Weight-Related Self-Discrepancy

Activation in Experimental Exposure Effects" research paper. Also know for her best

rated book " Consumer Culture, Identity". She is interested in eating behaviors and its

impact on perfect body image.

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LIST OF SELECTED FEASIBILITY AND BACKGROUND LITERATURE

Appearance Self-Attitudes of African American and European American Women: Media

Comparisons and Internalization of Beauty Ideals. Authors: Deana L. Jefferson & Jayne E.

Stake. [research paper]

Beauty in the "I" of the Beholder: Effects of Idealized Media Portrayals on Implicit Self-

Image. Authors: Inbal Guarari, John J. Hetts, & Michael J. Strube. [research paper]

Body Image: http://brown.edu/Student_Services/Health_Services/Health_Education/

nutrition_&_eating_concerns/body_image.php [website]

Body Image: A Handbook of Theory, Research, and Clinical Practice. Editors: Thomas F.

Cash PhD &Thomas Pruzinky PhD. [book]

Body Image and Self-Esteem Among Adolescent Girls: Testing the Influence of

Sociocultural Factors. Authors: Daniel Clay, Vivian L. Vignoles, &Helga Dittmar. [research

paper]

Body Image: Understanding Body Dissatisfaction in Men, Women, and Children. Author:

Sarah Grogan. [book]

Influence of Mass Media on Body Image and Eating Disordered Attitudes and Behaviors in

Females: A Review of Effects and Processes. Authors: Gemma Lopez-Guimera, Michael

Levine, David Sanchez-Carracedo, & Jordi Fauquet. [research paper]

The Body Myth: Adult Women and the Pressure to be Perfect. Authors: Margo Maine PhD &

Joe Kelly. [book]

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The Effect of Experimental Presentation of Thin Media Images on Body Satisfaction: A

Meta-Analytic Review. Authors: Lisa M. Groesz, Michael P. Levine, & Sarah K. Murnen.

[research paper]

Understanding the Impact of Thin Media Models on Women’s Body-Focused Affect: The

Roles of Thin-Ideal Internalization and Weight-Related Self-Discrepancy Activation in

Experimental Exposure Effects. Authors: Helga Dittmar, Emma Halliwell, & Emma Stirling.

[research paper]

CONCLUSION

Physical beauty and body image are important issues in our society. There are

countless debates in Emirati media discussing the effects of beauty and the causes of this

obsession in young women. This research proposal explored the means of implementing a

research paper that aims to answer questions often raised within the Emirati society: What is

causing young women’s obsession with beauty? What effects is it having on them? What is

beauty to the Emirati women? And what is the role of mediated messages of beauty ideals?

REFERENCES

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Hendriks, A., & Burgoon, M. (2003). The Relationship between Fashion Magazine

Consumption and Body Satisfaction in Women: Who is most at risk of influence?.

Conference Papers -- International Communication Association, 1-33.

doi:ica_proceeding_11856.PDF.

Holmstrom, A. (2003). The Effects of the Media on Body Image: A Meta-Analysis.

Conference Papers -- International Communication Association, 1-30.

doi:ica_proceeding_11715.PDF.

Lachover, E., & Brandes, S. (2009). A Beautiful Campaign?. Feminist Media Studies, 9(3),

301-316. doi:10.1080/14680770903068266.

Krcmar, M., Giles, S., & Helme, D. (2008). Understanding the Process: How Mediated and

Peer Norms Affect Young Women's Body Esteem. Communication Quarterly, 56(2), 111-

130. doi:10.1080/01463370802031844.

Want, S., Vickers, K., & Amos, J.. (2009). The Influence of Television Programs on

Appearance Satisfaction: Making and Mitigating Social Comparisons to "Friends". Sex

Roles, 60(9-10), 642-655.  Retrieved November 2, 2010, from Academic Research Library.

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