Disney princesses recognized harmful to the child’s mind – Lenta.ru

The group of psychologists led by Professor Sarah M. Coyne (Sarah M. Coyne) from Brigham Young University found that Disney Princess – Cartoon Characters Walt Disney Studios – make children susceptible to gender stereotypes. The article was published in the journal Child Development.

198 pre-school children of both genders participated in the study. Scientists have offered to each child choose their favorite toys. The girls were offered the Disney princesses and dolls tea sets and boys – figures of princesses and supplies. There were also gender-neutral items: puzzle and paint. In addition, the authors conducted a survey among parents and teachers, some children prefer to watch cartoons. Based on the researchers obtained data determined is how closely the children interacted with the culture of the Disney princesses, and tracked whether they conduct gender stereotypes.

00:04 May 31, 2016

The results showed that 96 percent of girls and 87 percent of the boys like to watch cartoons with princesses, and play with toys depicting such heroines. This frequent interaction with the culture of the Disney princesses was associated with a large display of stereotypical attitudes to women. According to scientists, this can be a problem, as the girls start to avoid behavior that does not conform to the traditional image of femininity. For example, they are less interested in the exact sciences, design and experimentation.

For boys, however, Disney Princess were counterweight hypermasculinity superheroes, which contributes to a softer and more responsive behavior of male children.

Scientists emphasize that children can not be completely isolated from the Walt Disney characters, but parents should talk to their sons and daughters about the influence of media culture. In addition, the need to promote the expansion of range of the child’s interests.

In 2011, Coyne has published papers in which showed that the profanity in the media increases the aggressiveness of adolescents, as well as the fact that video games can be useful for girls.