8 1 Project 3 Final Reflection Submission.docx devin PDF

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final project for a sports management class...

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Devin Osborne 2-25-2021 SCS 100 8-1 Project 3: Final Reflection Submission

The question I decided on is, why do companies stereotype genders to sell their products? This is an important question because as a woman in this society I see many ads that are stereotyped or aimed towards women. This in turn makes me a part of the group that is being stereotyped in these ads. I also work with children and trying to teach them that people are equal is hard when they are also seeing these ads. I think that understanding their reasons for stereotyping would help us understand more why we are being shown in a negative light when it comes to the opposite gender. In week 6, we looked at a timeline of the history of psychology, in 1956 we cognitive psychology was developed. Cognitive psychology has helped us understand the reasons behind certain stereotypes by looking at implicit and explicit biases. In real life social scientists likely would ask why women in ads are portrayed as “crazy” and “unstable”, while men are portrayed as being innocent and the victim of every situation. They would also be interested in why society constantly makes woman feel inferior and why they think it is necessary to sell a product made for them personally. The impact of these ads could be harmful to either gender, knowing why they use these tactics would be useful information. In my opinion both genders would be impacted when answering the question since the ads are directed towards both genders in some form. Knowing and understanding the reason companies use stereotypes to sell products could also help them understand where the preconceived ideas originated. In society today we have been battling gender equality for years

and helping to understand the ideas behind keeping us “in our lane” would make leaps and bounds in achieving equality across the board. In Module 5, the video on cognitive psychology talks about the processes of thought, and automatic and controlled processes. These ideas can pretty much be described as our implicit and explicit bias, we either have a preconceived idea about someone or our beliefs determine how we perceive a person. This process is something we use every day even if we don’t realize we are doing it, when meeting someone new, we either subconsciously or consciously form a judgement of this person, whether positive or negative. In relation to the question, we determine that our genders are being generalized into categories women are one way and men are another. Understanding human behavior and knowing why some stereotypes exist could possibly help break those stigmas and stereotypes. Women would not have to feel inferior to men anymore and men would not always feel like they were better than women. Advancements in understanding behaviors and perception of ads could really cause companies to reevaluate the way they portray the genders. Companies could use men for more feminine rolls to break gender stereotypes. Our gender differences are present in everyday life, whether it be at work or home, we play into these roles heavily. I am of the opinion that finding these answers would help us break the stereotypes and gender roles put in place and in turn help change the way our advertisements are portrayed and directed at us....