Science University Research Symposium (SURS)

Implications of Media on College Students Self-Esteem and Life Satisfaction

Publication Date

Fall 11-2024

College

Sciences and Mathematics, College of

Department

Psychological Science, Department of

SURS Faculty Advisor

Patrick Morse

Presentation Type

Oral Presentation

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between shame-inducing media, state self-esteem, and life satisfaction. It has been shown that shame, being a salient and strong emotion, lowers self-esteem and reduces overall life satisfaction in general populations (Szczesniak et al., 2021; Orth et al., 2022). Previous research also suggests that consuming media may amplify these feelings, particularly if the content is self-deprecating in nature (Zhan et al., 2016). To study this phenomenon, Belmont students enrolled in Introduction to Psychology classes were recruited via the website SONA. Participants were primarily caucasian and female. The students were split into control and experimental groups. Students in the control group watched a neutral video and students in the experimental group watched a shame-inducing video. There was a manipulation via video clips, before and after which participants took measures on state self-esteem and life satisfaction. We hypothesize that people will have lowered self-esteem and life satisfaction scores after watching media that contains shame-inducing content. These findings may provide evidence that media containing shame-inducing content has important implications for state self-esteem, life satisfaction, and therefore overall emotional well-being. To reduce the impact of shame-inducing media, media providers should give cautionary notice of potential adverse effects and provide options for individuals to choose more uplifting and positive media.

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