Theories In Mean Girls

983 Words2 Pages

For the past three months, we have covered several chapters about different theories developed by psychologists. Most of these theories can be applied in movies, commercials and even our own life. In this small essay, we will see how some movies’ producers and marketing departments in a business make use of these theories to create an impact on the minds of their target market.
First, Mean Girls is a movie of three high school girls who believe that they are the Barbie’s at their high school, they like to intimidate others and as a result their peers called them the ‘Plastics’. One day Cadey Heron, a home schooled teenager who lived in Africa returns with her parents to the U.S and is registered at this same High School. During Cadey …show more content…

Reaction Formation occurs when a person feels an urge to do or say something and then actually does or says something that is effectively the opposite of what they really want (ChangingMinds.org, n.d). In this movie, there are several scenes that clearly depict Reaction Formation but we’ll focus on one. For instance, when Regina George and Cadey are talking, there comes a girl walking and Regina says to this girl that she likes her skirts but when the girl turns around and goes, Regina says to Cadey: “That is the ugliest ever skirt I’ve ever seen”. Here, Regina says something pleasant about the other girl’s skirt when in reality her feeling is the opposite.
Second, Doritos Commercials are always funny and vivid especially where there is a little girl (approximately 7 year old) walking with her dog but as she reaches the park, she sees three men eating Doritos. She wants the Doritos and plans to deceive the men by pretending that her dog is lost. Hence, she lets her dog ran away and then she begins crying that her dog is missing; she uses facial expression so that the men can have pity on her and eventually she ends convincing them to search for her dog. While they are doing the search, she thieves the …show more content…

Before, the baby is born, the mothers talks to her and says that the world outside is different where she will laugh and cry but to not worry because she will be comfortable. Then when the baby is born, a voice comes out and says: “the first hug they feel is from you make sure the second hugs feels just as good”, and then it continues by stating the components in the Huggies Pampers. The commercial ends with the mother saying to her new-born: “I’ll take care of you, I promise”.
The theory covered in this commercial is that of Cognitive Perspective. Cognitive perspective emphasizes what goes inside the minds of the people- how people reason, remember, understand language, solve problems, explain experiences, acquire moral standards and form believes. Therefore, this commercial emphasizes on the mother’s love towards her baby and how she want that experience to be unique and special. It focuses on the internal thinking of mother who want to provide the best for their new-born. Therefore, Cognitive Perspective is used by many Marketing departments to influence their targeted

Open Document