Research Blog #10

Abstract

This analytic research paper discusses the influence of the glorification of alcohol consumption on adolescents. Digital media such as movies, social media, and the internet provides a platform for viewers to utilize a behavioral mechanism called “observational learning”. By reviewing trends of the alcohol consumers during the Prohibition era and examining movies that glamorize binge drinking on college campuses such as Animal House, this paper exposes the detriments of digital media on behavior development and how crimes on college campuses are a result of it. In addition, an overview of the death of Scott Krueger, a pledge of Phi Gamma Delta at MIT, and other research arguments are explored and used to further illustrate and make sense of the argument.

Okrent, Daniel. Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition. , 2010. Print.

ENGS, R C., & HANSON, D. J. Age-specific alcohol prohibition and college students' drinking problems. Psychological Reports, 1986, 59, 979-984

"Alcohol Facts and Statistics | National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)." U.S National Library of Medicine. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 3 Jan. 2016. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.

Waylen, Andrea, Sam Leary, Andrew Ness, and James Sargent. "Alcohol Use in Films and Adolescent Alcohol Use." Pediatrics 135.5 (2015): 851-58. Www.Pediatrics.org. 13 Apr. 2015. Web. 14 Nov. 2016.

Wasylkiw, Louise, and Michael Currie. "The Animal House Effect: How University-themed Comedy Films Affect Students' Attitude." Social Psychology Education 15 (2011): 25-40. Springer Science and Business Media. Web. 7 Nov. 2016.

Wombacher, Kevin, Jenna E. Reno, and Shari R. Veil. "NekNominate: Social Norms, Social Media, and Binge Drinking." Health Communication (2016): 1-7. Routledge Taylor and Francis Group. Web. 14 Nov. 2016.

Wright, Susan H. "DA Details 'reckless Conduct' by Fraternity in 1997 Krueger Death." Www.news.mit.edu. MIT News, 23 Sept. 1998. Web. 5 Dec. 2016.

Caba, Justin, and Justin Caba Justin Caba Is a Reporter for Medical Daily Focusing on Nutrition, Fitness, and All Things Athletic. Read More. "How Movies Make You Think Drinking Is OK." Medical Daily. Healthy Living, 20 May 2014. Web. 1 Dec. 2016.

Moreno, Megan A, and Jennifer M Whitehill. "Influence Of Social Media On Alcohol Use In Adolescents And Young Adults." Alcohol Research: Current Reviews 36.1 (2014): 91-100. MEDLINE. Web. 13 Dec. 2016.

Fryling, Mitch J, Cristin Johnston, and Linda J Hayes. “Understanding Observational Learning: An Interbehavioral Approach.” The Analysis of Verbal Behavior 27.1 (2011): 191–203. Print.

Crandall, K. Jason, Kathryn Steward, and Tara M. Warf. "A Mobile App For Reducing Perceived Stress In College Students." American Journal Of Health Studies 31.2 (2016): 68-73. Academic Search Premier. Web. 14 Dec. 2016.

Chen, Yixin, and Thomas Hugh Feeley. "Predicting Binge Drinking In College Students: Rational Beliefs, Stress, Or Loneliness?." Journal Of Drug Education 45.3-4 (2015): 133-155. ERIC. Web. 14 Dec. 2016.

Research Blog #9

My argument discusses the influence of the glorification of alcohol consumption on adolescents. Digital media such as movies, social media, and the internet provides a platform for viewers to utilize a behavioral mechanism called “observational learning”. By reviewing trends of the alcohol consumers during the Prohibition era and examining movies that glamorize binge drinking on college campuses such as Animal House, this paper examines the detriments of digital media on behavior development and how crimes on college campuses are a result of it. A source that I disagree with discusses the idea that binge drinking is a way to cope with stress, however, knowing to drink to cope with stress is a behavior learned through observing. However, the debate surrounding the complexity of motives of binge drinking emerges from reviewing counter arguments. Each side takes a different approach, one side takes into account how the external environment shapes behaviors surrounding drinking. On the other hand, the other side takes into account the mind and how it copes with stress, which is used to make sense of binge drinking in college.

Research Blog #8

Case:

A chief example i am using in order to illustrate my argument is the death of an MIT freshman named Scott Krueger. In 1997 MIT freshman and pledge of Phi Gamma Delta reportedly was hazed by means of alcohol consumption to death. The event that he drank at was called animal house night and featured a showing of the movie. The events that occurred prompted pledges to drink a bottle with their big and sing a drinking song.  Scott was found to have a BAC of .4 which 5x the legal limit in Massachusetts and died due to alcohol poisoning. The president of Phi Gamma Delta was charged with manslaughter and hazing. This speaks to the debate because the fraternity was mimicking behaviors from Animal House and if they did not mimic the behaviors by means of observational learning than Scott would not have died. On the MIT news website there is an article written about this individual and the full story http://news.mit.edu/1998/da_0923.

Research Blog #7

Frame:

The framework of observational learning concepts help make sense of my project. I am using this

 frame to explain how the millennial generation uses this type of learning when it comes to watching

movies because the characters in the movies serve as role models for individuals who are still

developing their perception of the world. Some terms key to understanding observational learning is

model because each character in a movie represent a model of how individuals could fall into that

personality archetype. Another word would be secondary knowledge, this is knowledge that humans

have not evolved to acquire. An example of this would be anything learned in a didactic way such as

morals and behaviors learned from books or movies. I will use this framework and these key words

to help my research by using my sources and make sense of them through observational learning.

Lit Review 5

Lit Review 5

Visual:

This author is a New York City based writer with a BA in Journalism from Susquehanna University. Along with Medical Daily, he has contributed to Newsweek and the Journal News.

Citation:

Caba, Justin, and Justin Caba Justin Caba Is a Reporter for Medical Daily Focusing on Nutrition, Fitness, and All Things Athletic. Read More. "How Movies Make You Think Drinking Is OK." Medical Daily. Healthy Living, 20 May 2014. Web. 1 Dec. 2016.

Summary:

This article by Justin Caba describes the influence of movies on the attitudes of the audience watching it. He discusses a study in which participants were exposed to movie clips that portrayed alcohol in a positive light and compared the results of their attitudes towards drinking with a control group that viewed movie clips that portrayed alcohol in a negative light. The findings show that a positive portrayal of alcohol influenced the attitude toward alcohol in a favorable way.

Concepts/Value:

A huge key concept I read about was the idea of how people will favor alcohol depending on how it is portrayed in a movie. This concept is very important to my research because it supports the claim that the media has a huge influence on the attitudes towards drinking. This will be resourceful because i will quote this article's findings in my paper.

Quotes:

“ revealed that the glamorization and positive portrayal of drinking in movies contributes to the viewer’s attitude towards alcohol, causing them to view it in a more positive light..”

“It is my understanding that alcohol portrayals are depicted in the majority of movies, 80 to 95 percent, and that they are mostly framed or portrayed in a positive manner.”

“Since movie characters can be regarded as role models by young people, the manner in which these characters portray alcohol use in a movie might have an impact on the beliefs and attitudes toward alcohol use by youngsters themselves.”

Lit review 4

Lit Review 4

Visual:

This author has been working at the department of psychology at Mount Allison University

Citation:

Wasylkiw, Louise, and Michael Currie. "The Animal House Effect: How University-themed Comedy Films Affect Students' Attitude." Social Psychology Education 15 (2011): 25-40. Springer Science and Business Media. Web. 7 Nov. 2016.

Summary:

This article investigates the effect of media on students’ attitudes. The article takes a look at 2 different studies. The first study was content analysis of 34 films classified as university- themed comedies and showed that such films highlighted risk taking and minimized the importance of academics. Study 2 demonstrated the impact of these films on the attitudes university students hold.

Concepts/Value:

A key concept is the idea of risk taking, this idea is important for my paper because it relates to the idea of binge drinking and how it is a form of risk taking to the standard of what the TopDown wants from the Bottom. This also relates to the idea that there is a rebellion to the TopDown from the BottmUp.

Quotes:

“ In 1978 the movie Animal House was released depicting a group of fraternity brothers drinking alcohol, getting drunk, having parties and not attending classes. Not only did the release of this movie lead to a new genre of film but it also showcased the very behaviors that are known to be common among North American University students.”

“Despite the evidence that media depictions conform to stereotypes and over represent some elements and that the media affect individuals attitudes and behaviors, there are three outstanding issues with respect to university-themed comedy films.”

“To discern whether the viewing of a university themed comedy film impacted participants’ attitudes, we undertook a series of hierarchical multiple regression analyses.”

Research Blog #6

 Here is a visual that will help illustrate my project. It is a timeline that emphasizes important events that contribute to modern binge drinking culture on college campuses. The events emphasized on this timeline are important to understanding how modern binge drinking was shaped by the past, this helps the reader visually represent the timeline of alcohol use and its significance.