First Steps in Thesis Experiment
Prolonged media exposure can lead to negative stereotyping of minority groups and negative self-perceptions within these groups, an effect which is particularly strong in young viewers. Therefore, it is absolutely vital to understand what media messages portray to young audiences. In Marion’s honors-eligible thesis, she will conduct two studies that aim to examine the produced (1) and perceived (2) stereotype content created by a world-leading provider of digital youth media, the Walt Disney Company. This research will have meaningful implications for youth media providers.
While her thesis does not officially begin until the Spring semester, Marion has taken advantage of any free time during her winter break to begin data collection for her first study: stereotype production in Disney films. This process has so far included: 1) developing scripts for each film, 2) isolating the target language, 3) creating LIWC categories to analyze stereotype content, and 4) running the scripts through LIWC to determine stereotype content. Looking toward the upcoming semester, Marion will be completing her IRB application for human subjects research in order to begin data collection for her second study: stereotype perception!
Produced and Perceived Stereotype Content.
Society for Personality and Social Psychology Presentation
Nike, Inc. has employed advertising featuring athletes to oppose police brutality and sexism. Because brand and athlete related attitudes are interrelated, Marion and her colleagues examined how these factors influence public reaction to social justice based marketing. The findings from this study provide valuable insight into norm violation within advertising, and were awarded a poster presentation at the 2021 Society for Personality and Social Psychology conference. Marion will be responsible for presenting the study at this conference, and as such, has spent the past few weeks preparing her poster and presentation. The poster will be uploaded to this page when completed!
TechChange Marketing Campaign
Through her work with TechChange, Marion was able to work with Facebook to develop a course for using and learning about gender data. Due to the success of this course, it has been extended into a 2-day conference of interactive workshops, networking events, and expert panels. Marion was responsible for various marketing efforts for the series, which will launch in February 2021 — including the development of a website and the creation of campaign materials that will be used to market the series across platforms. Her most recent work is to develop a marketing rollout plan, which details how the event will be marketing leading up to launch, and to create run-of-show agendas for various events in the series. These agendas ensure that every event runs smoothly and on schedule — click on the buttons to view the pdf files!
Just for Fun!
Book currently reading: Game of Thrones Series.
While I was an avid viewer of the tv series (and a somewhat disappointed viewer of the last season), I never got around to reading the books. As a fan of reading and of the series, I just had to change that! I’m only midway through the first novel, but my efforts have already been rewarded with the amount of plot detail that could never fit within a tv episode. With 4.5 more books and thousands of pages to go, I can’t wait to see what else is in store!
Newest COVID-19 Hobby: Sketching.
If you’ve explored some of my website already, you’ll know that a good part of my work involves visual/asset ideation and creating design mockups on my laptop. However, it’s been a while since I’ve sat down in front of a piece of paper and tried to draw (probably hasn’t happened since high school art electives). It’s always been a skill that I wanted to improve upon, and has been studied as a tool to improve creative skills and critical thinking. The trick, I’ve been told, is simply to set aside time every day to practice — so that’s what I’ve done! It’s great to be able to see the (very noticeable) improvement from my first sketches.
New Years Resolution: Running once a day.
What with the amount of work that I’ve committed to over my winter break and a stunning lack of reasons to leave the house, it has been all too easy to never leave my computer. Good thing my Apple Watch is around to “motivate” me (pester me with notifications) to complete my goal! By taking a quick run on the treadmill or outside, I’m able to return to my work feeling refreshed and energized.
All illustrated images were conceptualized by Marion Comi-Morog for TechChange clients. Illustrated by Yohan Perera.
Marion Comi-Morog 