Peer vs. Media Influence on Female Adolescent Clothing Preference

Date of Award

2006

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Barton, Michelle

Keywords

Female Adolescent, Clothing/Peer, Media

Area of Concentration

Psychology

Abstract

This study compared peer and media influences on female adolescent clothing preference (conservative vs. non-conservative styles). There were 37 female adolescent participants who rated 36 black and white clothing items on how likely they would be to wear each item. Participants were randomly assigned into 1 of 3 groups (peer, media, or control). Those in the peer group were given a verbal experimental manipulation about fellow peers rating clothing items as the trendiest styles. Those in the media group were given a similar instruction, but were instead told that a popular girls� magazine had rated these clothing items as the trendiest styles. Finally, those in the control group were only instructed to rate their preferences of the clothing items. In addition, participants responded to a brief survey regarding their everyday clothing motivations. It was hypothesized that those in the peer group would rank all clothing items more highly, followed by the media group, and lastly the control group. Secondly, it was hypothesized that participants overall would rate non-conservative styles higher than conservative items. Finally, it was anticipated that there would be an interaction effect, such that those in the peer group would rate the nonconservative items the highest, followed by the media group, and then the control. The results demonstrated no significant differences between groups, nor an interaction between group and clothing style. There was, however, a significant effect for clothing style, such that there was an overall preference for non-conservative vs. conservative styles of clothing. Findings support future research to investigate why certain clothing styles are preferred amongst female adolescents. Additionally, future research on programs and forums for clothing/appearance issues and self-expression is discussed.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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