Stacy Marie

FINAL PAPER!!!! :)

2008-04-30T19:17:00.000-07:00

Stacy Weber
Phil Block
ENGL 201
9 May 2008
Rules of Attraction
Most people spend many years of their lives looking for the right person to settle down with and spend the rest of his or her life with. Many people wish that there was a stork that could drop off the perfect person to him or her. If one really stops and thinks about it, people spend many years looking for Mr./Mrs. Right. Children start dating and looking for potential lovers as early as elementary school. As people grow older and mature they tend to develop more of a mature and serious way of finding someone to love. As a person matures the traits he or she looks for in a potential mate changes. What someone sees as important when he or she is young will probably not still be important after twenty years of marriage. There are many traits that people look for while looking for someone to spend the rest of his or her life with. These traits vary throughout our life, but each has its own importance.
One may not realize it, but children as young as elementary age start testing the waters in what he or she thinks is important in a relationship. Usually these relationships are only friendships, but these friendships help set standards for the child. If one watches children play, he or she will notice that children usually connect and form friendships based on their likes and dislikes. This will carry on for most of a child’s life. It is not hard to see that people form relationships with people that share similar interests with him or her. Young children may not have dating on their minds but sooner or later they will.
By the time a child is in middle school, he or she usually starts to experiment with dating. Middle school dating is usually not based on a deep connection. Laura Friedlander, et al. presents a research study on middle school children and their dating patterns. This study found that middle school students’ dating patterns have a great dependency on their peer groups. If a student’s friends are dating someone then he or she will be more prone to date someone (828). In middle school, a person’s friends are his or her backbone in life to the decisions he or she makes. Friends shape a person into what he or she is. In middle school, friends become the most influential people in a student’s life. It is easy to see how dating habits depend on that of friends’. If all of a student’s friends are dating and constantly talking about their relationships, it is natural for someone who is not dating to want to find someone to date so he or she can fit in with his or her friends once again.
In middle school, dating becomes a little more serious, but it is still common for relationships to not be based on a deep connection. A student will usually date someone who does the same activities as him or her. A boyfriend/girlfriend connection may also be based on attraction or completely influenced by ones friends (Friedlander, et al. 827-9). A lot of middle school students date, because it is the “cool” thing to do or maybe because “everyone else is.” These rudimentary dating practices seem pointless to older people, but realistically these dating patterns are actually going to benefit these students later in life. These relationships are helping the student to develop dating ideals and expectations which will become helpful when trying to form a deep connection with someone later in life.
Once a student enters high school, he or she may start to develop healthy meaningful relationships. High school is usually the time when students begin to experiment with dating and sexual activity. A student will usually continue to date friends from his or her peer group. Students who are dating in high school may begin to see the importance of dating someone whom his or her friends approve of and like. If someone is dating someone and his or her friends do not like the person, the relationship proabably will not last long. Friends are the most important people in this stage of life. A friend’s opinion really matters when it comes down to dating. It is also really hard to make a relationship last if one is constantly forced to choose to spend time with his or her friends or his or her boyfriend or girlfriend. After awhile of doing this choosing, one will more than likely come to the decision that it is not worth the time and effort. Especially in high school, it is important to have a strong reliable base of friends. If one is constantly ditching out on his or her friends, the friends will move on and leave him or her behind. Many times one will then choose between his or her friends or his or her girlfriend/boyfriend. What he or she chooses, is based on the person and how deep of a connection he or she feels. Many times at this stage of life, however; a person will choose his or her friends.
When a student graduates high school and begins the college stage of life, his or her dating patterns may change. During the first year or so of college, students often do not like to be tied down to one person. Students like to explore his or her options for dating and go out and have fun. Sometimes this exploration of dating includes random one-night stands. Norman Li and Douglas Kenrick studied short term relationships. They found that usually the only characteristic someone looks for in a one-night stand partner is attractiveness (470). Having a one-night stand with someone does not mean that the two people have to have a lot of things in common. In fact, most students surveyed preferred to not really know much about their one-night stand partner (472). This helps to ensure that one will not develop feelings for the other person. One-night stands are most of the time strictly based on having sex with someone who is hot. One-night stands are seen as just playful fun among college students.
Once a person is past the random dating stages of life, he or she begins to settle down and look for that one special person he or she has a deep connection with. There have been many studies done to try and pin-point what one looks for in a mate. There are so many traits and qualities that are important for each individual that it is hard to pinpoint an exact trait that men and women want. A study by Susan Sprecher, Quintin Sullivan, and Elaine Hatfield took a look at common traits and the willingness of men and women to marry someone based on these traits. They found through their studies that men look for youth and physical attractiveness when selecting potential mates. Women in this study were more likely to marry someone based on their earning potential (1078). These were neither the only traits nor the only thing important in mate selection. Looks and earning potential are just two important qualities that men and women seek in their future partners. Women like to know that their family will be supported and be able to live comfortable. Men like to have a physically attractive wife, because they feel their children will then be cute and have a better chance at a good life in this society which is obsessed with looks. A study by James McNulty, Lisa Neff, and Benjamin Karney found that couples rate their marriage as happier when the wife is more attractive than the husband. This is because of the way the American culture and society feel women need to be perfect (140). Today’s society stresses physical beauty. The media world places a great deal of stress on beauty for women. If a woman is not considered beautiful out in the social world, she will not feel pretty at home. Women are self-conscience, and when they do feel beautiful they are not very confident. A lack of confidence in a woman can lead to problems in the marriage. The woman will never feel disserving and this will lead to fights.
Another reason why it is hard to pinpoint exact qualities wanted in the opposite sex is because these qualities change throughout the decades. What was once important is no longer important because of the changes in society. The article by David Buss, et at., takes a look at how the qualities that men and women look for have changed throughout the years. Domestic skills is one quality that has had a significant change in the ranking of importance when looking for a woman. During the 1930s-1960s, men ranked finding a woman who was a good cook and good at cleaning in their top six things to look for in a woman. As the decades progressed and women entered the work force, this quality has become less and less important. Now house-work is becoming more and more equal among couples (491). With the increase of women in the work force, it is easy to see why men wouldn’t deem domestic capabilities as a very highly wanted trait. In the days when women didn’t work, domestic skills were important for women to possess. Men wanted to come home after a long day at work and be greeted with a clean house and exquisite hot meal. In today’s society, this reality is not always achievable. Most households now consist of two working parents. The woman is usually still encouraged to come home after work and tidy up the house and make a meal, but it is not expected to be as exquisite as it was back in the 1950s.
When finding someone to share a deep connection with there is often a problem that people run into. This problem is whether or not a friend could possibly become a lover. It is often confusing, because a lot of times dating an opposite sex friend does not work out. This is hard to figure out, because one would think that really good friends should be able to build a relationship on that. Susan Sprecher and Pamela Regan take a look at the difference between friends and lovers in their article. This article points out that the top traits that men and women look for in a relationship are basically the same for all relationships. These traits include openness, expressiveness, kindness, and humor. These qualities exist in every type of relationship: It doesn’t matter if it is a romantic relationship, a same sex friendship, or an opposite sex friendship. The difference comes from the expectation of quality of a certain characteristic. People expect their romantic partners to show the highest level of the qualities and for their opposite sex friends to show the least amount of these qualities (475-7). With this study, one can conclude that the one reason why friends usually don’t make good lovers is because they don’t possess a great enough amount of these important qualities. Sometimes another reason is because people do not want to ruin a friendship. Once you date a friend, it is hard to go back to being really good friends if it does not work out. The friendship often turns into being awkward. It is possible to go back to being good friends, but it takes time and work to get there.
When someone is looking for a romantic partner, there is something that he or she should keep in mind. This is the old age saying that “opposites attract.” Many times people go and try and find someone much like themselves. It makes sense to want to be with someone who shares values and has personality similarities, but there is one thing that should not be the same. This was looked at by D. Dryer and Leonard Hororitz in their personality studies. They found out that submissive people should look for a partner who is dominant and a dominant should look for a submissive person. The reasoning behind this is that a submissive person likes when there is someone there to help him or her and or guide him or her with decisions. A dominant person then finds satisfaction when he or she is able to help out a submissive partner (599). If two submissive people would date, not much would get accomplished in the relationship. Both people would be waiting on the other person to make a decision. Two dominant people in a relationship bump heads a lot. Both would want to lead and dominate which would lead to an argument. So, although it is important to find someone who shares personal values, it is also important to keep in mind that a submissive person and a dominant person are happiest when they are in a relationship with each other.
Once two people have been happily dating for awhile, the topic of marriage begins to come up. The length of dating before marriage varies greatly from couple to couple. Some people only date for as little as a few months while others will date for many years before getting married. Kelly Grover et al., takes a look at how the length of dating affects the happiness while married in her article. The study in this article concluded that couples who dated for over two years were generally happier than couples who dated less than two years. The longer the couple dated before getting married the better they ranked their own marriage (384). The longer dating periods gave couples more time to discover the little things that can go wrong and also learn how to work through these things. When a couple doesn’t take enough time to really get to know his or her partner, the marriage can become rockier at times. Simple disagreements, which can come about from not knowing everything about a partner, are often much worse once married compared to when two people are only dating. Dating is a very serious part of a relationship and should not be taken lightly or rushed. A couple needs to get to know his or her partner and know both the good and the bad things that come from him or her.
Marriage is not always as perfect as one may want it to be. It takes a lot of hard work to make a marriage work. The first stage of marriage is often referred to as the “honey moon” phase. This means that the couple is extremely happy and loving their new lives together. Everything is going perfect, but this usually begins to fade as reality of sharing a life with someone begins to settle in. An article by David Wright et at., talks about how a couple’s view on a relationship gradually changes with time. Young people, those who were just married, thought that a healthy relationship was one in which there were no disagreements and agreed on almost all issues. Couples who were married for a long time realized that that type of marriage is hard to find. These couples rated a healthy relationship as one with healthy communication. Longer married couples realized that a marriage takes work and maintenance to make it work (232). Newlyweds believed in an almost fairy tale type marriage. They are naïve and expect everything to be perfect. As marriage preogresses, the couple is soon able to see that being married is not as easy as it seems. It takes a lot of work and communication to make a marriage work.
As many people would expect, it is important to have a lot in common with a spouse. It is important to have similarities in personal values and personality traits. Ruth Grant discusses what qualities are important to have in a happy successful marriage in her article. She found that a couple who relates on personal values has a happy marriage. She also noted that religious and political sameness is not a predictor of a happy marriage (1416). The fact that having differing religious and political views does not necessarily constitute an unhappy marriage does not mean it isn’t something that should be discussed before marriage. For a lot of couples, the issue of religion can turn into a hot topic and sometimes lead to arguments. Once a couple discusses what they are going to do for religion, whether it be separate religions or someone converting, it is not a big deal. Many times, one person in the couple decides to convert to the other’s religion. This may or may not be the right answer to the religious debates. It all depends on what the couple agrees is the right thing for them. This is often how the issue of politics goes. Often, the couple will have varying views, but as long as each person knows where the other one stands on topics, it will work out. Religion and political discrepancies are not a make or break marriage deal. They are two easy values that can either be changed or just respected between couples.
As a marriage grows and develops, many aspects of the marriage also change. At first the marriage starts off as being “perfect” and the couple is happy and in much love. The marriage quickly changes once children become part of the picture. Having children often puts a lot of strain on a relationship. The whole dynamic of the marriage changes. Children add a lot of unexpected strain on a couple. Sometimes someone has to quit his or her job to stay home with a child or extra planning needs to go into who will drop off and or pick up the child from daycare. In general, a once spontaneous relationship turns into a non-spontaneous relationship with little one on one time for a couple. A couple usually loses a lot of the romantic intimacy that they once had. All extra time and energy now is focused on the child. This is why the period of marriage when children are young is often the most trying and difficult stage. Michelle Shiota and Robert Levenson did a study to find out what things vary and change among aging married couples. They first looked at couples who were married for about ten-twenty years and raising their children:
For as long as children are living at home, their parenting is likely to be the subject of considerable marital conflict. Midlife couples also tend to disagree more than older couples about finances and household responsibilities and about how to spend leisure. At this point, the focus for many couples seems to be less on the marriage itself and more on meeting individual and shared responsibilities. (667)
They found that couples, who were raising children, were facing the most difficult times of their marriage. Once a couple’s children are raised and out on their own, the marriage begins to look up again. Shiota and Lenenson found in their study that couples in their sixties were very happy. “… older couples show more affectionate behavior during interaction and disagree less with each other overall” (668). This could be because there is a lot less stress among older couples. Their children are raised, they have made it through the tough part of life, and now the only thing left for them to do is to relax and enjoy the rest of their lives with one another. The hardships are usually over until someone in the relationship starts dealing with death. This can be a very difficult time for anyone. It is especially hard on a couple who has been together for over fifty years. Often times, once someone dies, their partner feels alone and doesn’t know what to do with his or her life. A person spends his or her whole life looking for that special someone, and once that person is found, he or she shares a loving relationship with him or her until the end.
Dating is an important part of everyone’s life. Dating starts in middle school and progresses into adult hood. Everyone has different dating patterns and look for different qualities in a partner. Some people put a lot of emphasis on looks and or earning potential. In order for a relationship to last there has to be more of a connection than just looks and money. A couple must connect on a variety of qualities, personality traits, and values. Common traits that partners must agree on or accept about his or her partner are openness, expressiveness, kindness, and humor. The amount that a person is looking for of each of these qualities depends on that person. Studies do show that a person’s friends also have these characteristics, but the difference between a partner and a friend is that a partner is suppose to show the highest level of these characteristics. Friends have these traits but not in the same level as one’s partner. Another thing to keep in mind when searching for that special someone is that opposites attract. A submissive person is happiest when he or she is with a dominant person and vise versa. After dating for a while, a couple begins to think about marriage. Marriage happiness varies among couples and also during different times in the marriage. Couples are least happy while raising children. Children are a huge strain on a relationship, but once they are grown a couple begins to gain back their happiness. So as one can see, a lot of things go into finding that special someone to share the rest of his or her life with. Once that person is found there is a mixture of both good and bad times, but true love can prevail through anything.
Works Cited
Buss, David, et al. “A Half Century of Mate Preferences: The Cultural Evolution of Values.” Journal of Marriage and Family 63.2 (2001): 249. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. U of South Dakota, ID Weeks Lib., Vermillion, SD. 1 April 2008 .
Dryer, D., and Leonard Hororitz. “When Do Opposites Attract? Interpersonal Complementarily Versus Similarity.” Journal of Personality & Social Psychology 72.3 (1997): 592-603. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. U of South Dakota, ID Weeks Lib., Vermillion, SD. 1 April 2008 .
Friedlander, Laura J., et al. “Biological, Familial, and Peer Influences on Dating in Early Adolescence.” Archives of Sexual Behavior: 36.6 (2007): 821-30. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. U of South Dakota, ID Weeks Lib., Vermillion, SD. 1 April 2008.
Grant, Ruth. “Couple Similarity and Marital Satisfaction: Are Similar Spouses Happier?” Journal of Personality 74.5 (2006): 1401-20. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. U of South Dakota, ID Weeks Lib., Vermillion, SD. 1 April 2008 .
Grover, Kelly J., et al. "Mate Selection Processes and Marital Satisfaction." Family Relations 34.3 (1985): 383-6. PsycINFO. EBSCO. U of South Dakota, ID Weeks Lib., Vermillion, SD. 1 April 2008 .
Li, Norman, and Douglas Kenrick. “Sex Similarities and Differences in Preferences for Short-Term Mates: What, Whether, and Why.” Journal of Personality & Social Psychology 90.3 (2006): 468-89. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. U of South Dakota, ID Weeks Lib., Vermillion, SD. 1 April 2008 .
McNulty, James K., Lisa A. Neff, and Benjamin R. Karney. “Beyond Initial Attraction: Physical Attractiveness in Newlywed Marriage.” Journal of Family Psychology 22.1 (2008): 135-43. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. U of South Dakota, ID Weeks Lib., Vermillion, SD. 7 April 2008 .
Shiota, Michelle N., and Robert W. Levenson. "Birds of a feather don't always fly farthest: Similarity in Big Five personality predicts more negative marital satisfaction trajectories in long-term marriages." Psychology and Aging 22.4 (2007): 666-75. PsycINFO. EBSCO. U of South Dakota, ID Weeks Lib., Vermillion, SD. 7 April 2008 .
Sprecher, Susan, and Pamela Regan. “Liking Some Things (in some people) More Than Others: Partner Preferences in Romantic Relationships and Friendships.” Journal of Social & Personal Relationships 19.4 (2002): 463- . Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. U of South Dakota, ID Weeks Lib., Vermillion, SD. 1 April 2008 .
Sprecher, Susan, Quintin Sullivan, and Elaine Hatfield. “Mate Selection Preferences: Gender Differences Examined in a National Sample.” Journal of Personality & Social Psychology 66.6 (1994): 1074-80. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. U of South Dakota, ID Weeks Lib., Vermillion, SD. 1 April 2008 .
Wright, David W., et al. “Does a Marriage Ideal Exist? Using Q-sort Methodology to Compare Young Adults' and Professional Educators' Views on Healthy Marriages.” Contemporary Family Therapy: An International Journal 29.4 (2007): 223-36. EBSCO. U of South Dakota, ID Weeks Lib., Vermillion, SD. 7 April 2008 .

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2008-04-11T09:42:00.000-07:00

Annotated Bibliography

Research Question: Most people spend many years of their life looking for the right person to settle down with and spend the rest of their life with. It would be a whole lot easier if one could tell whether or not a person was right for him or her the moment he or she met another person. I am going to research what attracts people to other people in the American culture. What are the rules of attraction both physical and emotional attraction? What does it take to make a relationship last? What should a person look for in a potential life partner and what keeps a partner around for good?

Botwin, Michael D., David M. Buss, and Todd K. Shackelford. "Personality and Mate Preferences: Five factors in mate selection and marital satisfaction." Journal of Personality 65.1 (1997): 107-36. PsycINFO. EBSCO. U of South Dakota, ID Weeks Lib., Vermillion, SD. 7 April 2008 .

This journal takes a look at a few traits among dating and married couples and how they sometimes change. For instance, dating couples did not have a strong correlation in politics, but married couples did. This is probably because once married couples usually go through some changes such as change of views on politics and religion. According to this study males ranked reliable, warm, fair, intelligent, and knowledgeable as the top 5 traits for a mate. Women ranked warm, reliable, fair, intelligent, and knowledgeable as their top five traits. This shows that men and women basically look for the same traits in mates.

This is a scholarly source from a peer reviewed journal, so it is okay to use it in my paper. I like the way this journal looks at wanted traits between dating couples and married couples. It is going to be important for me to note the differences among dating and married couples’ traits in my paper. I have found a few sources that look into these differences, and I will put them all together to discuss the differences among couples.

Buss, David, et al. “A Half Century of Mate Preferences: The Cultural Evolution of Values.” Journal of Marriage and Family 63.2 (2001): 249. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. U of South Dakota, ID Weeks Lib., Vermillion, SD. 1 April 2008 .

The qualities that people deemed as important in 1939 are not the same as they are now. Research has concluded that the main quality that has changed the most is domestic skills. Men once deemed this as a pretty important quality for women to have, but now it is not as high up on the list. Both men and women increased the importance of good-looks for their partner as well as financial stability. Men, more than ever, see financial prospect as an important trait in women.

Dryer, D., and Leonard Hororitz. “When Do Opposites Attract? Interpersonal Complementarity Versus Similarity.” Journal of Personality & Social Psychology 72.3 (1997): 592-603. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. U of South Dakota, ID Weeks Lib., Vermillion, SD. 1 April 2008 .

This studies focuses on why opposites attract. It shows that people who are dating someone who compliments them are more happy in the relationship. A submissive person dating a dominant person is more satisfied than a submissive person dating a submissive person or a dominant with a dominant partner. This is because submissive people like to have someone there to help and or guide them in a certain direction. When two submissive people are together, there is no one to push or guide. A dominant person finds satisfaction in helping a submissive partner. A dominant person likes when he or she is allowed to dominate over things.

Friedlander, Laura J., et al. “Biological, Familial, and Peer Influences on Dating in Early Adolescence.” Archives of Sexual Behavior: 36.6 (2007): 821-30. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. U of South Dakota, ID Weeks Lib., Vermillion, SD. 1 April 2008 .

This study examines middle school children and their dating habits. The results showed that boys were less likely to date if their parents knew what they were doing. Early dating for both boys and girls have been linked to pubertal maturation, peer delinquency, and peer dating.

Glad, John. “Female Attractiveness Evolutionary Psychology's Unfinished Business.” Mankind Quarterly 47.3 (2007): 75-90. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. U of South Dakota, ID 1 April 2008 . Weeks Lib., Vermillion, SD.

This article takes a look at what attracts men to women. It points out that most of the attractable characteristics are universal throughout many cultures. This makes us believe that what attracts males to females may be a little genetic. On the other hand, some characteristics such as the preference of weight of females varies a lot among cultures pointing out that this attraction queue is not genetically based. Males are often attracted to a female whom they think will be a good mother. Someone strong with child bearing hips.

Grant, Ruth. “Couple Similarity and Marital Satisfaction: Are Similar Spouses Happier?” Journal of Personality 74.5 (2006): 1401-20. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. U of South Dakota, ID Weeks Lib., Vermillion, SD. 1 April 2008 .

This journal discusses some of the important factors that may or may not contribute to a successful partnership. It showed that couple similarity is highly related to marital satisfaction. The study shows that similarity on gender roles and personality is more important than religious similarities. “Presumably, discrepancies in values and traits between spouses may stimulate marital conflicts and negative emotions of anger and resentment.” This is why couples with many things in common are often happier in their relationships.

Grover, Kelly J., et al. "Mate Selection Processes and Marital Satisfaction." Family Relations 34.3 (1985): 383-6. PsycINFO. EBSCO. U of South Dakota, ID Weeks Lib., Vermillion, SD. 7 April 2008 .

This journal looks at the importance of the length and quality of dating when related to marital satisfaction. Research found that the age at marriage and the number of break-ups while dating had no significance in the quality of marriage. This study found that couples who dated for two or more years were on average happier in their marriage than people who dated for less than two years. A longer period of dating usually gives couples time to figure out what they like and do not like about a partner and whether or not he or she can live with them.

This is a scholarly, peer reviewed journal article. I think it will be helpful in my paper when I talk about the dating process and how important it is. I will summarize the information in this article about people dating for more than two years being happier. I can also talk about why this is probably true.

Leck, Kira. “Correlates of Minimal Dating.” Journal of Social Psychology 146.5 (2006): 549-67. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. U of South Dakota, ID Weeks Lib., Vermillion, SD. 1 April 2008 .

This article investigates college students who don’t date much. Shyness, introversion, attractiveness, social self-esteem, and loneliness correlate to women not dating. For men, physical attractiveness, observer-rated social skill, social self-esteem, and loneliness correlated minimal dating.

Li, Norman, and Douglas Kenrick. “Sex Similarities and Differences in Preferences for Short-Term Mates: What, Whether, and Why.” Journal of Personality & Social Psychology 90.3 (2006): 468-89. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. U of South Dakota, ID Weeks Lib., Vermillion, SD. 1 April 2008 .

This journal did a study to see what characteristics are present in short term sexual relations and with long term relationships. It found that in short one night stands both males and females usually only look for an attractive partner. Females like tall muscular guys while males go for short pretty girls with a nice butt and breasts. For a female looking for a man to marry, she most likely looks for someone who is kind, intelligent, and resourceful. Men looking for a possible lifetime partner probably will look for someone is kind, smart, and attractive.

McNulty, James K., Lisa A. Neff, and Benjamin R. Karney. “Beyond Initial Attraction: Physical Attractiveness in Newlywed Marriage.” Journal of Family Psychology 22.1 (2008): 135-43. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. U of South Dakota, ID Weeks Lib., Vermillion, SD. 7 April 2008 .

This article takes a look at how physical attractivness in a partner relates to marital satisfaction later in life. This article’s research found that although physical attractiveness is an important factor when first meating someone, it does not play a significant role in how happy a couple will be when married. Research did find that both partners were more satisfied and positive if the wife was more attractive than the husband. This has to do with people treating and judgeing the woman more positiviely in social situations. Women tend to take more pride in appearance then males.

This article is a credible source written by three professor of psychology and published in a credible, peer reviewed source. I think it will be useful in my paper when I discuss how attractiveness plays a role in dating and marriage. I will probably include a quote about how “the importance of matched attractiveness to new relationships, similarity in attractiveness was unrelated to spouses' satisfaction and behavior. Instead, the relative difference between partners' levels of attractiveness appeared to be most important in predicting marital behavior.” I will then go on to talk about how both spouses are more positive in the relationship when the wife is more attractive.

Najman, Fake M., et al. “Sexual Partner Preferences: Evolutionary Imperative, Emotional Attachment or Hedonism?” Marriage & Family Review 40.1 (2006): 5-23. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. U of South Dakota, ID Weeks Lib., Vermillion, SD. 1 April 2008 .

An Australian survey surveyed men and women to find out what is desired in a sexual partner. The most desired quality is being with someone who cares for them and someone he or she can love. Also ranked high is that the partner should enjoy sex even if they do not enjoy sex themselves. People expressed similar preferences in sexual partners no matter age, sex, or marital status. Heterosexuals place more of an emphasis on physical beauty than non heterosexuals.

Shiota, Michelle N., and Robert W. Levenson.. "Birds of a feather don't always fly farthest: Similarity in Big Five personality predicts more negative marital satisfaction trajectories in long-term marriages." Psychology and Aging 22.4 (2007): 666-75. PsycINFO. EBSCO. U of South Dakota, ID Weeks Lib., Vermillion, SD. 7 April 2008 .

This article looks at the big five personality traits of extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience and how they relate to marital satisfaction. This study found that extraversion “with lower initial levels of marital satisfaction in middle-aged couples but not in older couples.” Conscientiousness was linked to a negative slope in satisfaction for middle-aged couples but not in older couples. This article also explores why dating, middle aged, and older couples need different things in a relationship.

This article is credible because it was written by credible authors and published in a peer reviewed journal. This article will be useful in my paper to compare the different needs of different aged people. It will also help to define what and why people need certain things at different times in a relationship. I will summarize the information presented about how middle-aged adults need someone to share responsibilities with and older adults need someone that shares likes and dislikes and can be a true companion.

Sprecher, Susan, and Pamela Regan. “Liking Some Things (in some people) More Than Others: Partner Preferences in Romantic Relationships and Friendships.” Journal of Social & Personal Relationships 19.4 (2002): 463- . Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. U of South Dakota, ID Weeks Lib., Vermillion, SD. 1 April 2008 .

The research done is this study focuses on what traits differ among romantic relationships and friendships. The study found that, no matter what kind of relationship, it is important to find a partner with warmth, kindness, expressiveness, and a sense of humor. The amount of these characteristics varies among the type of relationship, but they are still the most highly valued traits.

Sprecher, Susan, Quintin Sullivan, and Elaine Hatfield. “Mate Selection Preferences: Gender Differences Examined in a National Sample.” Journal of Personality & Social Psychology Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. U of South Dakota, ID Weeks Lib., Vermillion, SD. 1 April 2008 . 66.6 (1994): 1074-80.

This article researches the willingness of men and women to marry someone based on age, looks, race, religion, income, and whether they have been married before or not. Most of the data they collected was consistent with other studies. Youth and physical attractiveness were found to be more important for men than for women; earning potential was found to be less important for men than for women.

Wright, David W., et al. “Does a Marriage Ideal Exist? Using Q-sort Methodology to Compare Young Adults' and Professional Educators' Views on Healthy Marriages.” Contemporary Family Therapy: An International Journal 29.4 (2007): 223-36. EBSCO. U of South Dakota, ID Weeks Lib., Vermillion, SD. 7 April 2008 .

This article addresses the issue of whether or not young adults and professional educators agree on characteristics of successful relationships. Young adults believed that couples agree on most things and barely have disagreements. Older professionals were more realistic and realized that a relationship takes effort and good communication. Young people often see relationships as perfect and happy. As people get older, they begin to realize that relationships aren’t always perfect.

This article is a credible source from a peer reviewed journal. I think this journal will be useful in my paper when I talk about how people’s relationships change throughout life. Relationships start out peachy, but later take more effort to keep them going. It takes more than having things in common to keep a relationship alive throughout the years. Relationships start with attraction and similarities but later turn to good communication and understanding.

2nd draft of Annotated Bib

2008-04-07T09:12:00.000-07:00

Annotated Bibliography

Leck, Kira. “Correlates of Minimal Dating.” Journal of Social Psychology 146.5 (2006): 549-67. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. U of South Dakota, ID Weeks Lib., Vermillion, SD. 1 April 2008 .

Sprecher, Susan, and Pamela Regan. “Liking some things (in some people) more than others: Partner preferences in romantic relationships and friendships.” Journal of Social & Personal Relationships 19.4 (2002): 463- . Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. U of South Dakota, ID Weeks Lib., Vermillion, SD. 1 April 2008 .

Annotated Bib

2008-04-01T16:27:00.000-07:00

Annotated Bibliography
Research Question: Most people spend many years of their life looking for the right person to settle down with and spend the rest of their life with. It would be a whole lot easier if one could tell whether or not a person was right for him or her the moment he or she met another person. I am going to research what attracts people to other people. What are the rules of attraction? What does it take to make a relationship last? What should a person look for in a potential life partner and what keeps a partner around for good?

Buss, David, et al. “A Half Century of Mate Preferences: The Cultural Evolution of Values.” Journal of Marriage and Family 63.2 (2001): 249. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. U of South Dakota, ID Weeks Lib., Vermillion, SD. 1 April 2008 .

The qualities that people deemed as important in 1939 are not the same as they are now. Research has concluded that the main quality that has changed the most is domestic skills. Men once deemed this as a pretty important quality for women to have, but now it is not as high up on the list. Both men and women increased the importance of good-looks for their partner as well as financial stability. Men, more than ever, see financial prospect as an important trait in women.

Friedlander, Laura J., et al. “Biological, Familial, and Peer Influences on Dating in Early Adolescence.” Archives of Sexual Behavior: 36.6 (2007): 821-30. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. U of South Dakota, ID Weeks Lib., Vermillion, SD. 1 April 2008 .

This study examines middle school children and their dating habits. The results showed that boys were less likely to date if their parents knew what they were doing. Early dating for both boys and girls have been linked to pubertal maturation, peer delinquency, and peer dating.

Leck, Kira. “Correlates of Minimal Dating.” Journal of Social Psychology 146.5 (2006): 549-67. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. U of South Dakota, ID Weeks Lib., Vermillion, SD. 1 April 2008 .

This article investigates college students who don’t date much. Shyness, introversion, attractiveness, social self-esteem, and loneliness correlate to women not dating. For men, physical attractiveness, observer-rated social skill, social self-esteem, and loneliness correlated minimal dating.

Najman, Fake M., etal. “Sexual Partner Preferences: Evolutionary Imperative, Emotional Attachment or Hedonism?” Marriage & Family Review 40.1 (2006): 5-23. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. U of South Dakota, ID Weeks Lib., Vermillion, SD. 1 April 2008 .

An Australian survey surveyed men and women to find out what is desired in a sexual partner. The most desired quality is being with someone who cares for them and someone he or she can love. Also ranked high is that the partner should enjoy sex even if they do not enjoy sex themselves. People expressed similar preferences in sexual partners no matter age, sex, or marital status. Heterosexuals place more of an emphasis on physical beauty than non heterosexuals.

Sprecher, Susan, Quintin Sullivan, and Elaine Hatfield. “Mate Selection Preferences: Gender Differences Examined in a National Sample.” Journal of Personality & Social Psychology 66.6 (1994): 1074-80. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. U of South Dakota, ID Weeks Lib., Vermillion, SD. 1 April 2008 .

This article researches the willingness of men and women to marry someone based on age, looks, race, religion, income, and whether they have been married before or not. Most of the data they collected was consistent with other studies. Youth and physical attractiveness were found to be more important for men than for women; earning potential was found to be less important for men than for women.

Draft 4

2008-03-27T14:42:00.001-07:00

What is an ad with a half-naked woman spread out on a bed trying to sell; a videogame of course. This advertisement was printed in the April 2006 issue of PC Gamer. It is advertising a videogame called Hitman. In today’s world, people are preoccupied with sex, and advertising companies are latching onto this by using beautiful women in very well planned out intricate settings to sell their products. There are problems that can come about from these scantily dressed women selling videogames includes men seeing women as sex objects and the notion of sex and violence towards women. The fact that the advertisement companies have to stoop so low to catch the eyes of buyers is quite appalling, but it is reality.
This advertisement is eye-catching. If a reader is flipping through a magazine filled with many articles and ads for different products, he or she would be more prone to stop and look at an ad of this sort. It is obvious to see that this advertisement is suppose to attract the attention of teenage and young adult males. Erica Scharrer states in her article about video games that only twelve percent of high school and college guys consider themselves non videogame players (Scharrer 401). This high number is the reason that ad executives target young men when selling videogame products. The advertising company could have used bloody gory pictures from the actual video game to try and catch the attention of the readers, but when it comes down to it the beautiful woman is more eye catching. If the reader takes an extra second to stop and look at an ad, then the advertisers did their job.
Once the eye has been caught, the person looking at the ad will more than likely take the time to examine the ad more carefully to figure out what product is being sold. After this, the reader might think about this product and if the product looks good then he or she may consider buying it. In other words, if an ad can capture the attention of a buyer than there is a more likely chance that he or she will buy the product than if the ad is boring and doesn’t stand out. People don’t always have time to sop and analyze every single advertisement in a magazine, so the ad needs to standout in some way to the reader.
The woman in this advertisement is obviously the main eye catching element, but if one stops and looks very closely at the ad he or she will notice more than just the woman. For instance, if one looks very closely at this ad, he or she would notice the pool of blood surrounding the woman’s head. It is hard to notice this blood, because it blends in with the woman’s hair and clothes. Along with the blood there is also a bullet hole in the woman’s head. The blood and bullet hole are not meant to be the very first things seen in the advertisement. The advertiser obviously did not want this to be a bloody, gruesome ad even though the video game he is advertising is one in which murder is the objective. This is why the words “Beautifully Executed” are written at the top of the advertisement. These words are the theme of the advertisement. The words are in reference to the beautiful woman lying on the bed murdered “beautifully” for an unknown reason. Her guts are not all over, because advertisement executives were going for a classy representation of murder. Video games are usually not beautiful or classy. The advertisers were going for the “sex sells” approach. They could have very easily had pictures that represented more of the game, such as guns, guts, and mass killings; instead they chose to use a beautiful woman to sell the product.
The beautiful scantily dressed woman sprawled provocatively out on gold sheets is what advertisement companies want the reader to notice. Scharrer notes that “females are largely shown in a way that is consistent with male fantasies—that is, as highly attractive and highly sexualized…females wore tight-fitting clothing, showed cleavage or otherwise had their breasts emphasized, and were very commonly voluptuous and thin (Scharrer 405). The beautiful woman in this ad proves Scharrrer’s findings by being dressed only in lingerie, high heels, and some gold jewelry. The fact that she is wearing lingerie gives this ad sex appeal. It is used to gain the attention of males. The double standard in society that women are sexier than men was obviously thought about when the advertisement companies made this ad. A hot young male with a wash board stomach does not give the same kind of sex appeal that a woman does. Although if it was a male lying there half naked on the sheets, one would not necessarily assume that there was some sort of sexual relations involved in the murder. Guys are not seen as sex objects, and that is why the advertisement companies use females to sell the products.
There have been many studies done on the objectifying of women in videogames. Melinda Burgess, Steven Stermer, and Stephen Burgess did research on the portrayals of men and women on 235 different videogame covers. One of the things they found by their research was that females were physically objectified more often than males. When looking for characters who were physically objectified, the researchers looked for a combination of vulgar, revealing, or tight clothing along with sexually suggestive poses. The research team discovered that women were physically objectified on 47.4% of the videogame covers. Men on the other hand were only physically objectified on 13.5% of the covers (Burgess 425). This research proves that women are often just looked at as objects. The sexy provocative female body is usually used only to make the videogame sexy and more appealing to young males.
The fact that the woman in this photograph is only in lingerie, and she is spread out on satin gold sheets makes it seems like she has been raped and then shot. The woman is positioned on the bed in such a way that makes one assume that she was raped. Why else would she be scantily dressed and lying in a provocative pose on some satin gold sheets? No one really knows what happed for sure, but logical reasoning tells the reader that there was probably some prostitution or rape involved in this murder. Videogames often use prostitutes in the game to allow for the fact that today’s society is obsessed with sex. If women are not sex objects in the game then they are just easy shooting targets, or both as in this case. Studies show that:
The ways in which female characters were depicted were consistent with the fantasies of the main target audience for video games, adolescent males. In fantasy-based games, female characters tended to be secondary or peripheral to the action. In ‘street-fighting’ games, females were portrayed as antagonists whom the protagonist must dispense with to continue play. In ‘urban violence’ games, females were dangerous and violent (as well as being subject to violence) but also conformed to adolescent sexual fantasy standards in terms of their clothing and appearance. (Scharrer 403)
Videogames in which killing and fighting are the main objectives are usually made to appeal to young guys. The fact that this advertisement which uses sex to sell is meant to catch the attention of young guys is rather appalling. The ad executives know that guys are obviously attracted to beautiful women and they use that to their advantage. By placing this advertisement with a beautiful woman in a magazine, it is more likely to be noticed. Magazines are full of articles and many different ads. Advertising companies know that they need to make an ad that will stand out and make someone stop and look at the ad. The advertisement agencies know that sex sells and purposefully use half-dressed women in the ads to sell products to guys. In today’s society, it is easy to see how sex sells. Scantily dressed women are selling all sorts of products everywhere a person looks. It is sad to know that it takes half-naked people to catch people’s attention. The fact that women are sex objects is rather appalling.

Works Cited
Burgess, Stermer, and Burgessz. “Sex, Lies, and Video Games: The Portrayal of Male
and Female Characters on Video Game Covers.” Sex Roles. 57.5 (2007): 419-33. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. U of South Dakota, ID Weeks Lib., Vermillion, SD. 26 March 2008. .
Scharrer, Erica. “Virtual Violence: Gender and Aggression in Video Game Advertisements.” Mass Communication & Society 7.4 (2004): 393-412. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. U of South Dakota, ID Weeks Lib., Vermillion, SD. 25 March 2008. .

Research Question

2008-03-26T17:19:00.000-07:00

What is the Barnum effect and how is it used in horescopes, palmreading, and other paranormal sciences to make people believe they are really working?

or

Something about paranormal science

Draft 3

2008-03-25T18:29:00.001-07:00

What is an ad with a half-naked woman spread out on a bed trying to sell; a videogame of course. This advertisement was printed in the April 2006 issue of PC Gamer. It is advertising a videogame called Hitman. In today’s world, people are preoccupied with sex, and advertising companies are latching onto this by using beautiful women in very well planned out intricate settings to sell their products. The fact that the advertisement companies have to stoop so low to catch the eyes of buyers is quite appalling, but it is reality.
This advertisement is very eye-catching. If a reader is flipping through a magazine filled with many articles and ads for different products, he or she would be more prone to stop and look at an ad of this sort. It is obvious to see that this advertisement is suppose to attract the attention of teenage and young adult males. Erica Scharrer states in her article about video games that only twelve percent of guys consider themselves non videogame players (Scharrer …). The advertising company could have used bloody gory pictures from the actual video game to try and catch the attention of the readers, but when it comes down to it the beautiful woman is more eye catching. With her being spread out on gold sheets, this will capture the attention of many guys. If the reader takes an extra second to stop and look at an ad, then the advertisers did their job.
Once the eye has been caught, the person looking at the ad will more than likely take the time to figure out what product is being sold. After this, the reader might think about this product and if the product looks good to them, he or she will consider buying it. In other words, if an ad can capture the attention of a buyer than there is a more likely chance that he or she will buy the product than if the ad is boring and doesn’t stand out.
The main eye catching object in this advertisement is obviously the scantily dressed woman used to lure males in. Scharrer notes that “females are largely shown in a way that is consistent with male fantasies—that is, as highly attractive and highly sexualized…females wore tight-fitting clothing, showed cleavage or otherwise had their breasts emphasized, and were very commonly voluptuous and thin (Scharrer…). The beautiful woman in this ad proves Scharrrer’s findings by being dressed only in lingerie, high heels, and some gold jewelry. The fact that she is wearing lingerie gives this ad sex appeal. It is used to make readers stop and look at the advertisement. The double standard in society about women being sexier than men was obviously thought about in this ad. A hot young male with a wash board stomach does not give the same kind of sex appeal the woman does. Although if it was a male lying there half naked on the sheets, one would not necessarily assume that there was some sort of sexual relations involved in the murder. Guys are not seen as sex objects, and that is why the advertisement companies use females to sell the products.
The satin gold bed sheets also throw a little attractive flair into the advertisement. The shiny gold sheets attract the human eye. It brings ones focus to the girl in the middle of the page. If one looks very closely at this ad, he or she would notice the pool of blood surrounding the woman’s head. It is hard to notice this blood, because it blends in with the woman’s hair and clothes. Along with the blood there is also a bullet hole in the woman’s head. The blood and bullet hole are not meant to be the very first things seen in the advertisement. The advertiser obviously did not what this to be a bloody, gruesome ad even though the video game he is advertising is one in which murder is the objective. The advertisers were going for the “sex sells” approach. They could have very easily had pictures that represented more of the game, such as guns, guts, and mass killings. Instead they choose to use a beautiful woman to sell the product.
The words “Beautifully Executed” are written at the top of the advertisement. These words are the theme of the advertisement. The word beautiful is in reference to the beautiful woman lying on the bed who was murdered for an unknown reason. I do not think that the phrase “Beautifully Executed” is how the game really is. Video games are usually not beautiful. They are bloody and gruesome. Here again, the advertisement company was not going for the true reality of the videogame. They were trying to rely on only the sex appeal of this ad to sell the game.
The fact that the woman in this photograph is only in lingerie and she is spread out on satin gold sheets makes it seems like she has been raped and then shot. The woman is positioned on the bed in such a way that makes one assume that she was raped. Why else would she be scantily dressed and lying in a provocative pose on some satin gold sheets? No one really knows what happed for sure, but logical reasoning tells the reader that there was probably some prostitution or rape involved in this murder. Videogames often use prostitutes in the game to allow for the fact that today’s society is obsessed with sex. If women are not sex objects in the game then they are just easy shooting targets, or both as in this case. Studies show that:
The ways in which female characters were depicted were consistent with the fantasies of the main target audience for video games, adolescent males. In fantasy-based games, female characters tended to be secondary or peripheral to the action. In ‘street-fighting’ games, females were portrayed as antagonists whom the protagonist must dispense with to continue play. In ‘urban violence’ games, females were dangerous and violent (as well as being subject to violence) but also conformed to adolescent sexual fantasy standards in terms of their clothing and appearance. (Scharrer..)
Videogames in which killing and fighting are the main objectives are usually made for young guys. The fact that this advertisement is meant to catch the attention of young guys is rather appalling. The ad executives know that guys are obviously attracted to beautiful woman and they use that to their advantage. By placing this advertisement with a beautiful woman in a magazine, it is more likely to be noticed. Magazines are full of articles and many different ads. Advertising companies know that they need to make an ad that will stand out and make someone stop and look at the ad. The advertisement agencies know that sex sells and purposefully use half-dressed women in the ads to sell products to guys. In today’s society, it is easy to see how sex sells. Scantily dressed men and women are selling all sorts of products everywhere a person looks. It is sad to know that it takes half-naked people to catch people’s attention. The fact that it is widely known that today’s society is preoccupied with sex is very disturbing.

Works Cited
Scharrer, Erica. “Virtual Violence: Gender and Aggression in Video Game Advertisements.” Mass Communication & Society 7.4 (2004): 393-412. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. U of South Dakota, ID Weeks Lib., Vermillion, SD. 11 March 2008. .

Scantily dressed woman

2008-03-11T11:20:00.000-07:00

Suggestive Ads

2008-03-08T17:03:00.000-08:00

Incase you didn't notice, this is an advertisement for a video game called Hitman. You can tell by the small print on the bottom of the page once you get past looking at the woman on the page. The woman is the main feature of this ad. She is "dead" in a suggestive sexy pose. She is scantily dressed in her short lowcut dress and red high heals. She is lying on a shiny eye catching fabric which one can assume as a bed. So, basically at first glance one imagines that this lady has been shot probably after sleeping with someone. I find this ad disturbing due to the fact that this is a videogame ad so it is directed towards teenagers and young boys. Young boys may find this ad sexually appealing to them. I guess the ad executives did a good job with this ad, because young boys will probably take extra time to look at the ad and think about the game. If a young boy is flipping through a magazine full of ads of all sorts, he would be more prone to stop and actually look at one with a good looking lady on it. I find it sad that the world today is preoccupied with sex. The only thing that can get people's attention these days is sexual ads with half naked people in them. Everywhere you look you will see this. It doesn't matter if it is an ad for shampoo, cologne, food, shoes, clothes, or as in this case video games. So, I must say that I really wasn't surprised on the sexuality of this ad, but I do find it disturbing that I am not surprised. It is rather sad that people have just become accustomed to this. Sometimes it is hard to figure out what an advertisement is actually trying to sell.

Essay 2-Draft 3

2008-02-20T14:29:00.000-08:00

Ashley Treatment

Why should parents have the right to make a completely life altering decision for their child? The topic of growth attenuation is being argued ethically between parents and doctors. Growth attenuation is a new procedure used to stop the growth of a child. It has only been used once and the parents of this child are being confronted with many ethical questions. The parents and doctors have many reasons to support the decision they made for their daughter, but the negative outcomes outweigh the positive reasons they provide. People argue that this procedure is best for the child, but they have no idea how it will affect the child later in life.

Growth attenuation is a new procedure used on disabled children. In this procedure, the growth of a child is stopped. The child would then be that size for the rest of his or her life. Also, a hysterectomy is performed on a girl along with the removal of her breast buds. This procedure has only been used once so far. It was used on a severely disabled and mentally impaired young girl named Ashley. Matthew Liao, Julian Savulescu, and Mark Sheehan note in their article that Ashley is a nine year old from Seattle, Washington. She was born with a condition called static encephalopathy. This condition is a sever brain impairment that leaves Ashley unable to walk, talk, eat, sit up, or roll over (Liao, Savulescu, & Sheehan 16). Ashley’s parents are faced with a whirl wind of ethical questions about the procedure they used on their girl.

A big controversy about this procedure was the performance of a hysterectomy and removal of breast buds. According to an article by Sarah Shannon and Terasa Savage, Shannon says there are reasons why these procedures were necessary. One reason for the hysterectomy is because the body is exposed to high estrogen levels which speed up the puberty process. Another reason for the hysterectomy is that it will stop menstruation which can cause skin breakdown and discomfort later in life. The last reason for the hysterectomy is it will abolish the need for pap smears as the girl grows. The breast buds were removed at the same time as the hysterectomy. This was done, because Ashley’s family has a history of large breasts, and large breasts could be potentially painful later in life. Savage argues against Shannon’s assumptions by saying that the risks of a hysterectomy outweigh the potential for cramps and other non threatening conditions. No one knows if she will have pain with her cramps, but if she did they could be treated with hormones like other women are. If all the pain and problems cannot be controlled then later in life a hysterectomy could be performed. Until one knows what the situation is like nothing should be done. Removing the breast because large breasts run in the family is not a good reason. The size of her breasts cannot be pre-determined. She could have had small to normal size breasts which would not be painful (Shannon & Savage 2). The performance of a hysterectomy and removing the breast buds on such a small girl is an ethical debate. Something could have gone wrong during these procedures that could have had a serious impact on Ashley, but along with these procedures the parents of Ashley also face many ethical issues on whether or not stopping the growth of Ashley was the right thing to do or not. The parents of Ashley have reasons why they choose to stop their daughter’s growth.

Ashley’s parents say the reason that they used growth attenuation on their precious daughter was, because it will make caring for her easier in the years to come. According to the article by Bersani, et al., the parents of Ashley used growth attenuation to “minimize the likelihood of a future out-of-home placement by maximizing the future comfort of this child and ensuring a manageable care-giving burden for parents who wanted very much to maintain their daughter in their loving environment (Bersani et al. 351).” Ashley’s parents argue that they will be able to provide Ashley with the best care if she remains small and fragile. They say that they will be able to reposition her more often to prevent bed sores and other infections that come from being bed ridden. It is true that infections do arise from being bed ridden, but as good parents there should be nothing stopping them from giving her the best care she needs. It may require a little more effort, but Ashley’s parents said they would do anything for their daughter (Shannon & Savage 2). Doing some things such as transporting her will be easier, because she will be light and easy to lift. Although with the right training, it is easy to move people of any size. There are many things that were not taken into consideration about Ashley’s life when she is older.

Ashley will have many struggles in life that could have possibly been easier if she was able to grow and develop properly. When Ashley becomes older, she is going to be hard to handle, because she will be frail. It will become hard to lift her without hurting her small frail body. Other things such as having her sit up, bathe, or even eat at a table will be harder with Ashley being so small. If could have been easier for Ashley to do some little things such as just sit up if she could have developed normally. Her developed bones and muscles could have helped her be able to sit up and do other things with little assistance. Ashley will also have to deal with the emotional hardships that come with being a child sized adult. She will never be treated her own age. This could be very hard to deal with emotionally.

Growth attenuation is suppose to make it possible for disabled children to live at home with their families instead of in a group home with adult strangers. Growth attenuation has been used on a girl named Ashley, whose parents claim that because of this procedure they will be able to keep their daughter at home with them. They say that she will be easier to care for since she is so small. Critics of this procedure say that it is unethical to make this kind of life-altering decision for a child. The risks of this procedure are still unknown, and it is not right to stop the growth of a child without even knowing if there could be negative health outcomes later in life. One can only hope that parents of disabled children seriously think about all of the negative possibilities that their child could face before they decide to go through with such a dramatic life altering procedure.

Works Cited
Shannon, Savage, and Teresa Savage. “The Ashley Treatment: Two Viewpoints.” Pediatric Nursing 33.2 (2007) 175-8. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. University of South Dakota, ID Weeks Lib., SD. 13 February 2008 .

Liao, S. Matthew, Julian Savulescu, and Mark Sheehan. “The Ashley Treatment: Best Interests, Convenience, and Parental Decision-Making.” Hastings Center Report 37.2 (2007): 16-20. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. University of South Dakota, ID Weeks Lib., SD. 13 February 2008 .

Bersani, Hank, et al. “Unjustifiable Non-Therapy: Response to the Issue of Growth Attenuation for Young People on the basis of Disability.” American Association on Intellectual and developmental Disabilities 45.5 (2007): 351-353. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. University of South Dakota, ID Weeks Lib., SD. 13 February 2008 .

Essay 2-Draft 2

2008-02-14T17:05:00.000-08:00

Why should parents have the right to make a completely life altering decision for their child? The topic of growth attenuation is being argued ethically between parents and doctors. Growth attenuation is a new procedure used to stop the growth of a child. It has only been used once and the parents of this child are being confronted with many ethical questions. The parents and doctors have many reasons to support the decision they made for their daughter, but the negative outcomes outweigh the positive reasons they provide. People argue that this procedure is best for the child, but they have no idea how it will affect the child later in life.

Growth attenuation is a new procedure used on disabled children. In this procedure, the growth of a child is stopped. The child would then be that size for the rest of his or her life. Also, a hysterectomy is performed on a girl along with the removal of her breast buds. This procedure has only been used once so far. It was used on a severely disabled and mentally impaired young girl named Ashley. Matthew Liao, Julian Savulescu, and Mark Sheehan note in their article that Ashley is a nine year old from Seattle, Washington. She was born with a condition called static encephalopathy. This condition is a sever brain impairment that leaves Ashley unable to walk, talk, eat, sit up, or roll over (Liao, Savulescu, & Sheehan 16). Ashley’s parents are faced with a whirl wind of ethical questions about the procedure they used on their girl.

A big controversy about this procedure was the performance of a hysterectomy and removal of breast buds. According to an article by Sarah Shannon and Terasa Savage, Shannon says there are reasons why these procedures were necessary. One reason for the hysterectomy is because the body is exposed to high estrogen levels which speed up the puberty process. Another reason for the hysterectomy is that it will stop menstruation which can cause skin breakdown and discomfort later in life. The last reason for the hysterectomy is it will abolish the need for pap smears as the girl grows. The breast buds were removed at the same time as the hysterectomy. This was done, because Ashley’s family has a history of large breasts, and large breasts could be potentially painful later in life. Savage argues against Shannon’s assumptions by saying that the risks of a hysterectomy outweigh the potential for cramps and other non threatening conditions. No one knows if she will have pain with her cramps, but if she did they could be treated with hormones like other women are. If all the pain and problems cannot be controlled then later in life a hysterectomy could be performed. Until one knows what the situation is like nothing should be done. Removing the breast because large breasts run in the family is not a good reason. The size of her breasts cannot be pre-determined. She could have had small to normal size breasts which would not be painful (Shannon & Savage 2). The parents of Ashley also have reasons why they choose to stop their daughter’s growth.

Ashley’s parents say the reason that they used growth attenuation on their precious daughter was, because it will make caring for her easier in the years to come. According to the article by Bersani, et al., the parents of Ashley used growth attenuation to “minimize the likelihood of a future out-of-home placement by maximizing the future comfort of this child and ensuring a manageable care-giving burden for parents who wanted very much to maintain their daughter in their loving environment (Bersani et al. 351).” They argue that they will be able to provide Ashley with the best care if she remains small and fragile. This is true to an extent. Doing some things such as transporting her will be easier, because she will be light and easy to lift. There are many things that were not taken into consideration about Ashley’s life when she is older.

Ashley will have many struggles in life that could have possibly been easier if she was able to grow and develop properly. When Ashley becomes older, she is going to be hard to handle, because she will be frail. It will become hard to lift her without hurting her frail body. Other things such as having her sit up, bathe, or even eat at a table will be harder with Ashley being so small. If could have been easier for Ashley to do some little things such as just sit up if she could have developed normally. Her developed bones and muscles could have helped her be able to sit up and do other things with little assistance. Ashley will also have to deal with the emotional hardships that come with being a child sized adult. She will never be treated her own age. This could be very hard to deal with emotionally.

Essay 2-Draft 1

2008-02-12T14:48:00.000-08:00

Why should parents have the right to make a completely life altering decision for their child? The topic of growth attenuation is being argued ethically between parents and doctors. Disabled people have been struggling to have the same rights as other people for a long time, and a new procedure is threatening to take away their rights. Growth attenuation is a procedure used to stop the growth of a child and there are more negative outcomes than benefits.

Disabled people often get treated unfairly for no reason. The rights of these people have come a long ways in the last few decades. In the early times, disabled people were not counted as real people. They were treated like they did not matter, because they were different from the normal. The use of the new procedure, Growth Attenuation, is taking away a simple right everyone should have. This right is the right to grow and develop how a person was meant to. Perfectly healthy people get to develop as they were meant to. Healthy disabled people should also have this right.

Growth attenuation is a new procedure used on disabled children. In this procedure, the growth of a child is stopped around the age of 9. The child would then be that age for the rest of his or her life. Also, hormones are injected into the child, so he or she doesn’t fully develop into a man or woman. This procedure has only been used once so far. It was used on a severely disabled young girl named Ashley. Now Ashley’s parents are facing a whirl wind of ethical questions. They are wondering if they made the right decision for their daughter.

Ashley’s parents say the reason that they used growth attenuation on their precious daughter was, because it will make caring for her easier in the years to come. They argue that they will be able to provide Ashley with the best care if she remains small and fragile. This is true to an extent. Doing some things such as transporting her will be easier, because she will be light and easy to lift. There are many things that were not taken into consideration about Ashley’s life when she is older.

Ashley will have many struggles in life that could have possibly been easier if she was able to grow and develop properly. When Ashley becomes older, she is going to be hard to handle, because she will be frail. It will become hard to lift her without hurting her frail body. Other things such as having her sit up, bathe, or even eat at a table will be harder with Ashley being so small. If could have been easier for Ashley to do some little things such as just sit up if she could have developed normally. Her developed bones and muscles could have helped her be able to sit up and do other things with little assistance. Ashley will also have to deal with the emotional hardships that come with being a child sized adult. She will never be treated her own age. This could be very hard to deal with emotionally.

How is class?

2008-02-10T16:21:00.000-08:00

CLASS….

I think class is going well. I enjoy writing about the topic I chose. This is good since I have to write about it for the whole semester. I also find using this blogger thing kind of interesting. I have never had a class that required a blogger. I think it is a good way to use technology and not waste as much paper. I never liked printing every little thing out. It felt like a huge waste.
I also find class pretty entertaining. It is hard to make an English class fun, but I think you are doing it. Kudos to PHIL!!!
As far as the peer review workshop went, I thought it was pretty good. I have never done peer review like that before. I usually just had to read 1 or 2 papers and comment on them and so on. I think having your paper read to you is good, because you pick up on a lot of grammar errors that you wouldn’t notice if you read it. I also liked getting comments on my paper from a group of people. I also think it helps to hear other people’s papers, because they may help you think of something that you forgot to include in your paper or how to word something. It is always good to learn from your mistakes as well as others. The only thing I didn’t like about the workshop was that we had to bring ten copies of my paper, but I now know that I can just single space it to try and use less paper. I also realize that my group was bigger because I was not suppose to be in it, but thank you for letting me switch.
That is really all I have for comments on the class. I think it is going good so far. It is way better than what my roommate told me about her English class last semester. I am glad I have a good teacher who can make English semi fun.

Thesis

2008-01-30T11:39:00.001-08:00

The rights of disabled people are constantly being challenged, and a new discovery in technology where a child's growth can be stopped is another right being taken away from some chidren. There are arguments for doing this procedure, but they are ristricting disabled people's rights because they are not able to make this life altering decision by themselves.

Essay 3: Argumentative

2008-01-29T11:34:00.000-08:00

Let Me Grow
Why should some people not have the right to grow and develop like they were meant to? A recent procedure done with disabled people is taking away the right of them to grow and develop how they are suppose to. This procedure is really new and has not been used very much. The procedure is to inject the body of a disabled child with hormones and drugs that make them stop growing and developing. When this is done to a female child they also use drugs to keep her from becoming a woman. The young girl will not be able to grow and develop into a mature woman.
This topic is being debated on whether it is right or wrong to do this to a child who has no idea what will happen to them. These poor children will be the size of a young child for their whole lives. People will constantly think that they are younger than what they really are. This could become annoying for them. Their stunted development will cause them to get treated and lookeddown upon as a child for their whole life. Not many middle aged adults can say that they would like people to treat them as if they were six years old. It would be degrading to do this to someone, so why should it be ok for this to happen to a children suffering from a disability. People with disabilities often get treated differently and talked to as a child even when it is clear to see that they are obviously an adult. Why should this have to happen to them even more, because their guardian choose to stunt their growth as a child to make it “easier” for them.
The point that is argued for this procedure is that by stunting the child’s growth it would be easier to care for them. It is true that it would be easier to care for a smaller person in certain ways. It would be easier to move them around and easier to help them with daily tasks. This is true, but it is not very hard to do these things with normal sized adults. There are certain ways for helping taller and larger people. The people caring for these disabled people need to have the training to do these things and once they know how it is actually quite easy. For some things, it would actually be easier to do them on a regular sized person. Things such as having them eat at a table, sit in a chair, and even bathing depending on the situation.
Disabled people should not have to deal with another thing that sets them apart from others especially when it is something that does not need to be done. They put up with a lot of out casting and being stared at because of their disabilities alone. They do not need to have another thing added to the list.

Draft two: Expository

2008-01-27T18:15:00.000-08:00

Fight for Everyone’s Rights
Disabled people have been fighting for their rights for a long time. They have always been treated differently and unfairly. The rights of disabled people have come a long ways, but there are still many things that need to be done. There have been a lot of laws put in place to help protect the rights of the disabled people. I do not know very many of these at the moment, but I am planning on researching them later. Many people who are physically or mentally disabled often cannot stand up for themselves and voice what they want. These people are often taken advantage of and the sad thing is many people do not even realize it.
A practice that is taking place in the United States is to stop the growth hormones of young disabled children. By doing this, these children never get the chance to grow to normal size. This is violating the right of these children to grow and develop like they were meant to. These children are not capable of stopping their parents and doctors from making this life changing decision.
Another common place where disabled people have their rights taken away from them is in a group home or a nursing home. It is probably necessary for these people to be in these types of places and they probably do not have a problem with it. Where the rights are being challenged are in everyday tasks. Simple things like having their day completely planned out for them everyday can violate their rights. It is good that these places plan activities and keep the people involved and active, but sometimes someone might not want to participate in one of the planned activities. Everyone should have the simple right to say no I do not want to do that, but many times the people in the homes have no choice. They have to do it whether they like it or not.

Smoking kills you, me, and the trees!!!!

2008-01-25T11:36:00.001-08:00

The purpose of this ad is to try and get people to quit smoking. The audience would be people who are smoke and probably younger adults. The message is to get people to stop smoking.

I think this ad is pretty funny, but I don't think that is ad is going to actually get people to stop smoking. Everyone knows that smoking is bad and can cause health problems, but it is going to take more than one ad to stop something when you are addicted to it. I really like the surgeon general warning. All in all this ad is humorous, but I don't think it is actually going to get people to stop smoking. It does, however; make people think about smoking and its dangers.

Draft one: The Expressive

2008-01-24T16:42:00.000-08:00

Rights of Disabled

I have worked with disabled people for about a year now, so I feel I have a good view on the lives of disabled people living in group homes. One thing that really bothers me is how some people don’t know how to treat and or act around disabled people. Disabled people have rights just like you and I. They have the right to express their thoughts and opinions just like everyone us. They may have different ways of doing so depending on what their disability is.
One right in particular I would like to focus on is their right to grow and develop as they should. A newer procedure that is being used on a few disabled children is the stopping of the growth hormone. Some families are choosing to keep their children small, so it is easier to care for them. Also, for girls, some families choose to stop their periods so they will never go through menstruation. From working in a situation where I cared for disabled people, I can see how families would think it would be easier to care for their children. It would defiantly be easier transferring them from wheelchair to other places. If you really think about what is happening to these children, however; one should see that it is unethical to do so. By stopping their growth, these children are having a right taken away from them that they do not even know they have.
I think that the rights of disabled people are constantly being challenged, because sometimes they cannot stand up for themselves. Disabled people are often taken advantage of and people do not even realize it. A lot of times their families put them into a group home because they are not able to take care of them. In these group homes, disabled people are often forced to do things they do not want to such as take part in group activities or work in a sheltered workshop. I think that all people should be able to have the choice in what they want to do unless they abuse the privilege.

A little about me!

2008-01-16T21:48:00.000-08:00

Hello,

My name is Stacy, and I am a sophomore pre-Occupational Therapy student. I am originally from a small town about 70 miles from here called Bridgewater. I enjoy hanging out with friends, spending time with my boyfriend, eating, dancing, playing volleyball, singing to the radio, and just having fun being random. I do not often have time to do much reading. I have a very busy schedule so unfortunately reading books often gets pushed aside.

When it comes to writing, I usually like to write the whole thing in one sitting and then come back to it a little while later to revise it. I am a little apprehensive about writing about a topic related to my major this semester. I am not quite sure what I want to write about, but hopefully I can come up with something that is really interesting to me.

Well, that is a little about me. I can't wait to meet everyone in class next week.