Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Analysis Of Peer Influence On Adolescents And Adults, Melody Xiong, Hillary C. Vang

Concordia Journal of Communication Research

Peers are a huge part of life and affect people in many different ways. In adolescence and adulthood, peers have different kinds of impacts. The researchers chose to research how peer influence can affect the decisions, performance and attitudes of adolescents and adults. Specifically, researchers analyzed how lifestyle decisions influenced by peers affect mental health and how the effects differ from gender and age. Participants of the study were selected to fit the three age groups needed for this study and responses were collected via electronic survey. Throughout this study, the relationship that peer influence has with mental health, positive …

Disney's Portrayal Of Women: An Analysis Of Female Villains And Princesses, Natalie S. Wellman

Concordia Journal of Communication Research

Abstract

This study was conducted to understand how our views of women are shaped by Disney films. Specifically, this paper looks at how female villains and princesses are portrayed in nine Disney movies. These films were studied and coded for similarities and differences within specific themes. Ultimately, this study concluded there were a number of similar themes in regard to appearance, nonverbals, interactions, and common female stereotypes. The study also noted a shift between older (four movies before 1990) and newer (five movies after 1990) Disney movies; however, many of the changes do not occur until the most recent Disney …

An Analysis Of Sports Talk Radio’S Effect On Social Issues, Rehana Power, Elham Mohamud, Brandon Mcroy, Cleandre Robinson

Concordia Journal of Communication Research

Professional athletes are becoming more vocal about their stances on different social issues like Black Lives Matter, MeToo and more. The researchers chose to investigate the effects that sports talk radio has on listeners perceptions of different social issues. Participants of the study hailed from a Lutheran, faith-based institution of higher education in an urban area of the Midwestern United States. The study thoroughly addressed the relationship between consumers of sports talk radio and their opinions on professional athletes addressing social issues.

Gender And Parenting: A Content Analysis Of The American Sitcom, Mollie Borer, Nicholas Alexander

Concordia Journal of Communication Research

The purpose of this study was not only to get a better understanding of what types of gender and parenting norms exist in television sitcoms, but to see if the same gender and parenting norms that were displayed in the 20th century would be displayed in a sitcom created 30 years later. This was done through a content analysis of the television sitcoms All In The Family and Modern Family. The researchers found that traditional gender norms still existed in both sitcoms, but that the gender roles and parenting norms were reversed in Modern Family.

Is Beauty Only Skin Deep? Exploring The Connections Between Makeup And Perception, Shawn Kuehl, Scarlett Dewild, Jessica Mai, Mai Yeng Yang

Concordia Journal of Communication Research

This study explored college students' perceptions of the use of makeup. In order to determine what effect makeup had on first impressions, an online survey was conducted. The study suggests that makeup does impact the perception of others, specifically women, based on how society views physical beauty. Interestingly, after conducting the survey, researchers found a higher percentage of individuals perceiving makeup toward a more positive view of how it enhanced one's perception of attractiveness and how much usage of makeup enhanced that attractiveness based on the perception of participation.

Locking Eyes With Strangers, Jackie Kuehl, Kenitra Foote, Justin Ortt, Allison Larson

Concordia Journal of Communication Research

The topic of reactive body language and eye contact between strangers is necessary research because it differs from typical face to face relational interactions. Stranger interactions among genders and one’s eye contact are often avoided by most people, whether it’s due to the setting, awkward feelings, or one’s vulnerability. It seems like there is a common communicative trend found in Late Generation Y and Early Generation Z, is avoiding eye contact with strangers when outside of one’s comfort zone (Nemko, 2016). The lack of stranger interaction involving eye contact and its effect on society is considered in this study. The …

Self-Disclosure, Culture And Situational Influence: An Analysis Of Interracial Interaction, Derae Berry-Cyprian, Rachel Nelson, Belinda Yang

Concordia Journal of Communication Research

Diversity is continuously growing throughout college campuses which influence interactions between students from all different backgrounds. Researchers of this study chose to investigate how individuals communicate with those of different racial backgrounds. Specifically, this study explored the communication strategies used during interracial interactions. Participants of the study attend a private faith-based institution, in the Midwestern area of the United States. This study focuses on an individual’s willingness to learn and teach, preferred level of self-disclosure, and communication accommodation as it relates to how one communicates during interracial interaction. Overall, findings revealed individuals are generally comfortable interacting with those of a …

"Hands Up, Don't Shoot": College Students, Social Media And The #Blacklivesmatter Movement, Spencer Hall, Sam Baucham, Tim Harris

Concordia Journal of Communication Research

This study focused on how college students are using social media in the #Blacklivesmatter movement. There have been several socially galvanizing events surrounding the #Blacklivesmatter movement that have led to many people to turn to social media to voice their opinions, share information and debate different ideas. This study specifically focused on college student’s involvement on social media surrounding these events. The data suggests that Facebook was overwhelmingly the main choice for participants to gather information about this movement. While college students are gathering information about the #Blacklivesmatter movement on social media, the data suggests that participants rarely posted or …

Singles Looking To Mingle: An Analysis Of Self-Presentation In Online Dating, Leigha Jacobson, Abbey Atkinson, Ladan Mohamed, Jason Dorr

Concordia Journal of Communication Research

Online dating has become a commonplace in today’s society as more people are turning to it more than ever before. Because this type of dating has become so widely accepted, the researchers felt it was necessary to take a deeper look into self-presentation in online dating and how people choose to represent themselves. Participants of this study include single men and women, between the ages of 18-35, from a large Midwestern metro area in the United States. The purpose of this study was to gain information as to how men and women choose to represent themselves on online dating platforms. …

Hegemony, Gender Stereotypes And Disney: A Content Analysis Of Frozen And Snow White, Larisa Arnold, Mckenna Seidl, Ariel Deloney

Concordia Journal of Communication Research

A content analysis was conducted and focused on the gender roles, gender expectations, and social norms in Disney films. The researchers studied one past Disney film, Snow White and compared it with the most recent Disney film, Frozen to draw distinctions and similarities between them. Through a chi square test of association comparing specific Disney roles of both men and women, minimum differences have been shown between past and recent films. Disney has made changes in their films by removing some overt gender stereotypes from the films; however, they continue to use many of these stereotypical gender expectations. The data …

Communication Quality Differences Between Legos And Minecraft, Michael Cullen, Joel Klein, Keith Crockett

Concordia Journal of Communication Research

Communication between pre-adolescent boys can be viewed as strange and unlike teen girls and “grown ups”. According to Debra Tannen (1990), “All genders strive to be understood, however young men try to communicate to remain independent.” This often leads to competition amongst the male gender. In order to test this theory, this study looks to observe if there are any differences between hands on activity communication and technology gameplay communication. The study observed 3 pre-adolescent boys trying to work together to make a house in Legos and then the boys were instructed to make a house on Minecraft. The levels …

A Feminist Analysis Of The Film "The Hunger Games", Kristi Loobeek

Concordia Journal of Communication Research

The purpose of this paper was to analyze the appearance of feminism throughout The Hunger Games, especially when pertaining to the lead female character of Katniss Everdeen. The thesis of this paper is that, while characteristics of all three “waves” of feminism were present within the motion picture, third-wave feminism prevailed as most apparent.