Social Psychological Concepts in the Movie Mean Girls Essay

â€Å"Social Psychological Principals in Mean Girls† The movie Mean Girls shows examples of many social-psychological principals. Three of the major social-psychological principals depicted in Mean Girls are prejudice, discrimination, and conformity. According to Social Psychology and Human Nature textbook, written by Baumeister and Bushman, prejudice is a negative feeling toward an individual bases solely on his or her membership in a particular group. Discrimination is unequal treatment of different people based on the groups or categories to which they belong. Lastly, conformity is defined as getting along with the crowd. In the movie, the main character Cady, who has been homeschooled her whole life, has become forced to learn the†¦show more content†¦She feels popular and accepted by the plastics and completely conforms to their ways. As Cady gets to know the plastics they begin to introduce her to The Burn Book. This book is a perfect example of prejudice and discrimination. Prejudice is hostile or negative feelings about people based on their membership in a certain group. Discrimination is behavior directed against persons because of their membership in a particular group. The Burn Book was a book that singled out anyone in their school whether it was fellow students or even faculty members, and would basically list things that were wrong with that person. For example, they stated in the book that one of their newly divorced female teachers was selling drugs on the side and that certain girls were fat and ugly. Some examples would also stereotype because of a part of sports team or group those students were part of. For example, the students that were part of a more man like sports team such as lacrosse or field hockey was considered â€Å"lesbians† or â€Å"dykes†. Another scene from to movie that shows prejudice takes place while Regina is describing another girl Janis. Regina says, Janis, I cant invite you, because I think youre lesbian. I mean I couldnt have a lesbian at my party. There were going to be girls there in their *bathing suits*. I mean, right? She was a lesbian...all of her hair was cut off and she was totally weird, and now I guess shes on crack. Regina wouldShow MoreRelatedThe Psychology of Mean Girls 1339 Words   |  5 PagesThe Psychology of Mean Girls Mean Girls, ironically my favorite movie, in my opinion clearly and comically depicts the misconceptions and stereotypes that are perceived by society of early adolescents. Stanley Hall characterized adolescence as a time of â€Å"storm and stress† and this negative image has stuck with society. As we’ve learned and discussed in class, Sigmund Freud took the concept of storm and stress a step further and developed his stages of psychosocial development but saw adolescenceRead MoreFilm Application Paper1085 Words   |  5 PagesPatricia Warber October 11, 2011 Film Application Paper Mean Girls Speech and communication are a very large part of life. 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