TV's "Buffy Effect" Impacts Views On Women
NEW YORK (CBS NEWS) - Watching strong female characters on TV may make men and women less likely to have negative opinions of women. The theory, nicknamed the "Buffy Effect," was developed by Christopher Ferguson, an assistant professor at Texas A&M International University, and his team.
"Although sexual and violent content tends to get a lot of attention, I was surprised by how little impact such content had on attitudes toward women. Instead, it seems to be portrayals of women themselves, positive or negative, that have the most impact, irrespective of objectionable content. In focusing so much on violence and sex, we may have been focusing on the wrong things," Ferguson said in the press release.
One hundred fifty university-aged students were asked to watch different sexually violent TV shows with women characters. The subjects then completed a survey about their attitudes toward women and their levels of depression and anxiety were measured. A control group of shows consisting of "Gilmore Girls" and "7th Heaven" was also played for the subjects.
When the shows featured a submissive woman -- including examples from "The Tudors" and "Masters of Horror" -- women experienced more anxiety. The men were more likely to report more negative attitudes toward women. But, both sexes had the most neutral reaction toward women when they were shown episodes of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" or "Law & Order: SVU."
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