Animation and psychology
Today's lecture was held by Tracey and the aim was to discuss the influence of animation on society. Firstly she spoke about the psychology of animation and how it effects its viewers. She mentioned theories of play which is the internalisation of desires, emotional association with objects and imaginary worlds. So in animation characters in imaginary worlds can stimulate children's brains and effect the way they play and learn. Tracey also taught us about some other social development theories such as:
- Bowlby's attachment theory - Attachment is described as a long lasting psychological connection with a meaningful person that causes pleasure while interacting and soothes in times of stress. The quality of attachment has a critical effect on development, and has been linked to various aspects of positive functioning, such as psychological well-being. The connection between this theory and animation would be that children can sometimes look up to characters in animation and feel a connection with them. For example a child may love Dora from Dora the explorer, causing the child to want to engage with the animation and character and help the child's social development.
- Bandura's social learning theory -This theory states that people learn from one another, via observation, imitation, and modeling. The theory has often been called a bridge between behaviorist and cognitive learning theories because it encompasses attention, memory, and motivation. Animation can be used for learning with some children's animations being educational. Children find learning easier when it is coming from a colouful animated character.
- Piaget's stages of cognition - This theory is a description of cognitive development as four distinct stages in children: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete, and formal. Animation can stimulate these senses in children
- Lev Vygoysky's sociocultural theory - Vygotsky's theories stress the fundamental role of social interaction in the development of cognition as he believed strongly that community plays a central role in the process of "making meaning." Animation that interacts with the viewer can help with children's social interaction skills.
As well as social development theories, we learnt about how other things influence animation such as cultures. Popular culture is a category which floats ambiguously between the anthropological and the aesthetic of animation. Playful politics is a part of popular culture. It is when animation series will joke about politics, past and present, which relates to the viewer. Sofa satire is also a name for this and it jokes about culture, media and politics. Family guy and The Simpsons are an example of this as the families often tell jokes about said things as it relates to everyday life within the animation and our own lives.
Girl culture is a subculture with animation. It is animations that appeal to girls for example the power puff girls and Dora the explorer. These types of animation sell stuff such as merchandise to do with the program. Powerful female characters also fall under this category. Girls watching strong female characters can cause a positive impact on girls, however sometimes these characters can be sexualised by men.
The animation Spongebob also includes playful politics, however it is diluted down because the show is primarily meant for children's viewing, but because it does include sofa satire jokes and story lines, teenagers and adults also enjoy watching it which is why it is so successful. For example there is an episode where Spongebob is obsessed with the super hero Barnacle Boy, this takes the mick out of modern media and advertising that the viewer can relate to.
Some cartoons can send out stronger political and cultural messages such as Ren and Stimpy. This cartoon became cult viewing and less popular because the messages in some of its episodes were too strong and often offended/shocked people, and TV channels would not always air it due to its controversy.
