The Allure of Aphrodite: How Gender‐Congruent Media Portrayals Impact Adult Women's Possible Future Selves |
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| Authors: | Ashley R. Kennard Laura E. Willis Melissa J. Robinson Silvia Knobloch‐Westerwick |
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| Affiliation: | 1. School of Communication, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA;2. School of Communication, Quinnipiac University, Hamden, CT, USA |
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| Abstract: | This study investigated how media exposure affects how noncollege women envision their futures. Over 5 days, a prolonged exposure experiment presented childless women (aged 21–35) with magazine portrayals of females in gender‐congruent (mother/homemaker or beauty ideals) or gender‐incongruent (professional) social roles. Responses to an open‐ended question revealed that 3 days after media exposure, only gender‐congruent roles remained salient. Exposure to homemaker portrayals induced more thoughts about possible future selves (PFSs) and fostered concerns about motherhood and career roles; it also produced more positive affective valence compared with exposure to portrayals of professional women, particularly among women with gender‐congruent life circumstances. Exposure impacts were mediated by the extent to which women linked the magazine portrayals to their own PFSs. |
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| Keywords: | Gender Roles Prolonged Exposure Experiment Adult Women Possible Future Selves Role Congruity Theory |
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