Characteristics And Membership In The Plastics By Gretchen

In the film “Mean Girls” there were many types of peer relationships expressed. Friendships are described as a reciprocal liking, trust, and loyalty between all participating dyadic parties. An example in the film is the relationship that Damian and Janis hold because they are loyal to each other and the liking is mutual. Peer acceptance is to the degree one is liked by their peers. In the film Aaron Samuels is very much liked by his peers. Perceived popular is a child that is considered popular based on their peers’ perceptions. Regina George is a prime example of teenage girl perceived as popular. When students described Regina George in the film these type of comments were made, “Regina George is flawless”, “One time she punched me in the faced. It was awesome.”, and “she always looks fierce.” Cliques are polyadic social groups that are voluntary. A main clique in the movie is “The Plastics” which consists of Regina George, Gretchen Wieners, and Karen Smith. These forms of peer relationships are a lot more complex than just a group of friends, these relationships of dynamic in early adolescence.

Fey purposely has each social circle dress in their stereotypical outfits and styles to show the lack of intermingling between social groups. Their outfits also display a lack of individuality and their obsession with the status quo. The Plastics beautiful appearance is not only caricature, Fey also uses their unnatural beauty and people’s adoration for them as a means of hyperbole. She satirizes the expectation of girls to come to school or gym looking like a model, and she also comments on how people treat these “beautiful” people. By showing Regina being carried in on boys’ shoulders, Fey pokes fun at the boys who obsess over the popular and pretty girls in high school.

Although her shared race inherently secures her place in the group, she actively seeks further acceptance and affirmation from the other girls. Her longing for community results in her continued involvement with the group, as being outside the group implies an undesired sense of isolation. Laurel continuously strives to be a part of the community, even though she does not like its members and compares their caliber of friendship to being “bunched-up wads of tinfoil…or rusty iron nails you had to get tetanus for” instead of precious metals (190). The need to identify as part of the group causes her to passively dismiss not only the blatant rudeness towards her and other members but also their obvious character flaws. Yet it is in this respect that her less aggressive and kind temperament distinguishes her from the rest of the group, indirectly disrupting its cohesion. Although she realizes that “quiet people like [herself] were better off quiet alone,” the fear of being excluded will lead her to comply with group actions and thoughts that would likely not occur if she were acting as an individual (187).

Why do people make an initial judgement about a person they have only seen or heard about? Without any information at all, the brain formulates an answer to the question they were pondering: who is that person? One of our greatest sins is to place people into boxes, defining them into one shape, into one dimension. Stereotypes are a very predominant part of reality as well as fictional works. In the novels The Hangman’s Daughter and The Dark Monk , by Oliver Pötzsch, one of the most prevalent themes presented is the idea that people do not necessarily reflect what society expects from them, either because of their role or position within the community. Characters and people in reality may possess some characteristics that reflect the presumptions

How first impressions are formed has been a subject of interest by many researchers in the area of psychology.

The ridiculous rules that her “groupies” follow, to the fashion trends she sets accidently. It shows that in high school girls will do mostly anything to “fit in” or be apart of that popular group, in this film, the plastics. Unlike Hitler, Regina was very fortunate growing up so that only leads viewers to believe everyone wanted to be like her. Like Hitler, she used manipulative behavior to gain followers; for example, a scene shows Regina and a following classmate conversing in the hallway about her skirt, after the classmate walks away Regina states that she thought it was actually ugly. I believe Regina acts the way she does, because early on in the movie, Gretchen states that “...her parents totally don’t sleep in the same bed if that’s what you mean.” although her life looks picture perfect, there are still issues with her home life. Once in control whether it is a school or club, the person is most likely to stay in charge, unless something drastic happens to the one in control, or a rise in people against their beliefs pushing for a change. Although Hitler was in need to control the entire country, Regina only controlled a small group but with the same

Females at the high school admire the Plastics because they are the most picture perfect group of people and display a clique in which each female would desire to be part of. Their style and behavior represent a reference group because in the Plastics display the characteristics of popularity and perfection. If one wants to gain popularity or be seen as superior to others, she must behave like the

This offense, along with the new level of morally acceptable behavior Cady formed once fully ingrained within The Plastics, finds revenge against Regina as reasonable. According to social identity theory, an individuals' behaviors are organized in terms of the social categories with which they identify, so that they are motivated to establish and maintain a positive self-image by viewing these categories as positive and distinct from alternative categories (Seta, Seta, & Hundt, 2001, p.19). As a Plastic, positive self-image is the ultimate goal, so an act of revenge as the result of an offense is considered rational and even expected within that social setting. Once Cady identifies herself as a Plastic, the idea of revenge no longer holds the stigma it once did when Cady could not follow through with Janice’s plan for revenge. Cady then follows through with an act of revenge, something she had previously found to be morally reprehensible in her previous social

The notorious clique known as The Plastics, led by Regina George (McAdams), is the group everyone both loves and hates. Regina and her sidekicks, Gretchen (Chabert) and Karen (Seyfried), know what is cool and what is not. They have rules everyone in the group must follow, and if these rules are not followed, you cannot sit with them. On the other side, you have Janis Ian (Caplan). She is by no means basic.

Various factors determine how we perceive other as well as ourselves. One major factor that shapes our perceptions is the things we are exposed to in our daily lives. Moreover, social distance arising from factors such as age difference may determine how we perceive other. For example, Umphrey & Robinson (2007) argue that that the other-person perception is greatly determined by age.

The articles that I read discussed Social Perception. Social Perception was described as interpreting information about other people. If you feel that you are familiar with a person, you perceive to have a better understanding of that person intention. The pattern of thinking can affect a person’s perception of others. The social contexts, in which you meet someone, can play a

The image my parents may have thought me to be, at times, actually was not me. I wanted to be my parent’s princess and the golden child, so I acted in a way to seek their approval which in some ways was not the “real” me. These conditions occur because of the existence of self presentational rules according to Goffman. “When one individual enters the presence of others, he will want to discover the facts of the situation. Were he to possess this information.”Also when meeting an individual we try to get information about them so we can act accordingly to their approval. How we act with one friend may not be the way we act with another. We determine the person’s status and attitude and decide for ourselves if we want to be a part of that. When we gather the information when first meeting someone, it determines the way we think and act towards them.

First impressions are always used in setting the tone when you first meet someone. Without the luxury of knowing the persons background, you initially judge someone by the way that person introduces themselves and how they come across to you. By coming across, I mean the way a person carries themselves. For example, if the person comes across as shy and introverted, you tend to think of that person as timid and somewhat weak. However, if that same person comes across as outgoing, confident (but not to confident) and easy to talk to, you look at that person as someone you can count on and possibly a leader. This type of evaluation (even though we all do it) is for the most part not always the right way to evaluate a person.

It has been previously proven, that in the first few moments of meeting someone, we form an opinion of them. The problem with this idea is stereotypes. One of our society's biggest mistake is that we judge people based on what they look like, or how they act.

A polymer is a large molecule consisting of many smaller subunits known as monomers. There are different types of polymers and many uses for all of them. Even though people may not realize it polymers play an essential role in our everyday life. For polymers range from plastics, PVC, and Styrofoam to key structures in the human body like DNA and proteins which are key components to the human body that makes it possible for each of us to live and be unique. So with out polymers in our body we would be dead, and with out them in our society it would be a drastically changed for the worse to say the least