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Images young people see of those who smoke, drink or take drugs, have greater impact on their behaviour than anything others may say to them, according to new research sponsored by the ESRC.
These impressions can affect people without their being aware, says the study, led by Professor Paschal Sheeran of the University of Sheffield.
His report dismisses the idea that images found in advertising and the mass media, such as pictures of slim young women, have no influence on those who view them.
Some 450 secondary school-age pupils and 118 undergraduates took part in the research, which included surveys and carefully controlled experiments to examine whether, and how much, young people's own health choices are influenced by portrayals of smokers as 'cool' or drinkers as 'one of the lads'.
The findings provide valuable evidence for the Government and others anxious to reduce potentially unhealthy activities, particularly among the young.
According to the study, young people are generally not affected by what other people think, particularly when it comes to risk-taking pursuits such as smoking and drinking. If they decide to smoke, use drugs or, indeed, take healthy exercise, then probably they will go ahead and do so.
But in coming to that decision, they are more impressed by what others actually do, rather than what they say. For instance, they are more likely to drink if people they know are drinkers.
Professor Sheeran said: "Young people have ideas about what the typical person who smokes, drinks, or exercises is like, and these images have an important effect on their own behaviour because they influence their decisions and willingness to do the same.
"Our experiments showed that in the same way that many people think that advertising affects others but not themselves, images can influence people, even though they don't believe this to be the case."
Professor Sheeran added: "The next time you're watching a TV programme, look to see how often someone is smoking or drinking, and how often you see someone taking physical exercise.
"Ask yourself what images are being presented. Is the drinker just an outgoing fun-loving girl? Is the exerciser a bit self-absorbed or out-of-the ordinary? Do you think it matters how often these images are presented and whether they are likeable or dislikeable."
In surveys of young people aged between 14 and 19, questions were asked about healthy activities including exercise, sleep, and eating breakfast, as well as risky ones such as smoking, drinking and use of drugs. Researchers found that, regardless of their willingness or conscious intentions, young people were more likely to do a particular thing when they thought the image was positive and something they could identify with. This was true whether the activity was healthy or risky.
Computer-based tests for undergraduates included careful inclusion of words and images designed to suggest positive or neutral images of drinking alcohol, in what volunteers thought were actually language experiments.
Subsequent tests of how ready they were to drink revealed that whilst none believed they had been influenced in any way, they had.
The study points out that when it comes to smoking, young people may not intend indulging, but might be willing to do so under certain circumstances. However, it argues that just being willing to smoke affects whether they end up doing so, regardless of their intentions.
For further information contact:
Professor Paschal Sheeran, Telephone: 0114 222 6578, Email: p.sheeran@sheffield.ac.uk
or Iain Stewart, Lesley Lilley or Becky Gammon at ESRC, Telephone: 01793 413032/413119/413122
NOTES FOR EDITORS
- The research project "Unconscious effects of prototypes on young people's health and social behaviour" was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). Professor Sheeran is at the Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, SHEFFIELD S10 2TP.
- Methodology: An in-depth study involving two questionnaires took place among 442 school pupils aged between 14 and 19, of whom 272 replied. Another involved 247 pupils, all of whom responded. Carefully controlled laboratory experiments involved a total of 118 undergraduates at Sheffield University, with between one and three volunteers tested at a time.
- The ESRC is the UK's largest funding agency for research and postgraduate training relating to social and economic issues. It provides independent, high-quality, relevant research to business, the public sector and Government. The ESRC invests more than £93 million every year in social science and at any time is supporting some 2,000 researchers in academic institutions and research policy institutes. It also funds postgraduate training within the social sciences to nurture the researchers of tomorrow. More at www.esrc.ac.uk
- While the ESRC makes every effort to fund only the best research, the report on which this release on which this report is based has not yet undergone the full assessment process and therefore has not received a final grade.