The cultivation of social identity in single women: The role of single female characterizations and marriage and romantic relationship portrayals on television.

摘要

As of the last census predictions, non-partnered women made up more than 50% of the U.S. population (U.S. Census, 2008). This powerful and complex demographic has been largely left out of psychological scholarly inquiries into their identity formation. Research on singles in general has pointed to their marginalization and stereotyping in American culture and its media, and the propagation of marriage and romantic partnership as the ideal condition on American television. This effect is enhanced by the recent popularity of reality dating programming, which depicts a very narrow view of the single woman. The inquiry into television's ability to shape and bolster cultural norms and change people's attitudes and behaviors is well-documented; however, its contribution to social identity is limited. This study examines the association between viewing idealized images on television and single females' social identity salience; specifically, how viewing portrayals of single women and romantic relationship on television contributes to the way they identify and define themselves within the group and their levels of desire to change their single status. The study analyzes survey responses of 448 single females of varying education, ethnic, and age levels living in the Los Angeles area. Based on cultivation theory, which posits heavy television viewing is associated with distorted views about reality, this study examines single females' perceptions of non-partnered female and romantic relationship portrayals, and measures their social identity using Cameron's 3-factor model (2004). Using hierarchical multiple regression and correlation analyses, the results show a weak positive association between viewing television and social identity salience, and marginally supports the hypothesis that heavy television viewing may cause single females to want to change their single status. Age, education, dating habits, and how long the participants had been single were better predictors of social identity salience than single females' views of television and its content.;Keywords. social identity, single women, cultivation theory, television.