Literature Review : Skin Care Product Use Essay

White companies and white faces with white products…white. With the population of America containing thirty-seven million African and African-Americans, racism is not only discriminatory but also is socially submerged within the terms of “beauty” (Bureau of labor statistics). Women in history have been seen as inferior to men; now, in the twenty-first century, women have been subcategorized in racial boundaries including color being the most prominent divider. As the famous Shakespeare said, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” In most 21st century companies the owners of major cosmetic brands such as Too Faced and Benefit are owned and founded by white individuals, which makes sense because the promotional models are mostly white.

Information/Content: 30/30 The article is relevant and unbiased. It is relevant because skin care is a growing industry and can impact societies’ perception of complexion. In contrast, it is unbiased because Gerdman does due diligence to present both sides of the

“Social norms are rules and standards that are understood by members of a group, and that guide and/or constrain human behavior without the force of laws” (Steg, 2013, p. 154). Social norms have two areas or types they fall into. Injunctive norms are considered behavior that is approved or disapproved and descriptive norms are described as behavior shown by the members of a group. Individuals follow social norms for the rewards involved and the individual wants to avoid rejection and ridicule from societal members. “Social norms can exert a powerful influence on pro-environmental behavior through normative and informational influence” (Steg, 2013, p. 162). Behavior is influenced through normative and informational influences, also moderator variables that may decrease or increase the strength of the influence. Moderator variables contain the size of the group in question, the salience of the norm, if the group is considered an in-group, and the individual personal norms. “A wide variety of research shows that the behavior of others in the social environment shape individuals’ interpretations of, and responses to, the situation, especially in novel, ambiguous, or uncertain

Influence is powerful in determining one’s future. Actions behaviors and opinions are all connected to impact of others and the way they shape our views on the world as well as ourselves. Self-Image is dependent on the acceptance of others, thus always changing since one’s morals and ethics do not stay the same as time goes on. Influence of others play a role on how one tends to view themselves and people around them, by either being forced to conform to a country’s lifestyle, completing constant tasks to keep up with society’s demands, or being able to be content with oneself rather than being blinded of the onslaught of constant expectations.

Chapter 12 social psychology cover how we affect one another’s behaviors. Culture, stereotypes, prejudice, discrimination attitude, and interpersonal attraction are all factors that contribute to behavior in a social setting. Understanding how we influence one another on a social level forces us to look at not only ourselves, but also look at how others affect the world we live in and why it is important to be able to identify these influences and the impact they have on our behaviors good or bad

chemicals and start flushing them out of our system”. (Source B). One of these, are a chemical

“12 Angry Men” is a movie about a group of jurors whose job is to decide the guilt or innocence of an accused murder. A teenage boy is accused of killing his father, there are two eyewitnesses who claims that they have both seen and heard the murder. In the beginning of the movie, eleven of the twelve jurors vote guilty. Throughout the movie we witness a discussion where juror number 8 is able to sway the other jurors to change their mind and decide to vote not-guilty. This movie exemplifies many social psychology theories such as groupthink and conformity.

Normative Social Influence – deciding to comply through conformity without adopting that viewpoint. This may be as a result of feeling pressure from a majority and not wanting to be rejected from a group by dissenting as humans strive to develop and maintain social companionship. Therefore dissenting behaviour would risk social rejection and may damage relationships so we avoid it by conforming.

As the consumer attitude gradually changes, people are more in favor of the natural and safe products in cosmetic market. Australia consumers are not exception. They respected green-added cosmetics, namely, they are increasingly in pursuit of natural, pollution-free cosmetics with no chemicals added. Consequently, the products of chemical-free will gain competitive advantages in Australian cosmetic market to meet the consumer’s psychological needs for green, organic skin care products.

“Social influence is the process by which the actions of an individual or group affect the behavior of others” (Feldman 495). These influences are strongly experienced by members in the group. Every group is unique and is mostly guided by a particular norm and behavior. An individual in a group passively or actively allows himself to be influenced by the group just to have a sense of belongingness. In the bid to prevent being excluded or rejected from a group, some individuals overtly adhere to the norms of the group. “Thus, people conform to meet the expectations of the group” (Feldman 495).

Young girls are more concerned about acnes and blackheads while mature women are looking for anti-aging and anti-wrinkle products. Genders do affect the choice of skin care products. In the past, skin care products only belong to the girls’ world. Nevertheless, in recent years, men are increasingly becoming more and more concerned about skin care. With a view to this latest trend, various brands have started developing men’s line. Income level directly affects the purchasing power of customers. Skin care products take up a wide range of price levels from far less than a hundred dollars to more than a thousand. Young girls who do not have any income cannot afford the expensive skin care products while mature women with higher purchasing power focus more on quality and effectiveness. Occupations also determine the need for skin care products. Models and artists generally have a higher consciousness on skin care than people with less exposure to the public.

Our skin is the largest part of our body and needs constant care and miniaturization to achieve a healthy glow. First thing to healthy-looking skin is maintaining an internal regimen; drinking lots of water and eating fruits and veggies will keep skin nourished, moisturized and blemish free.

Cosmetics are substances that are applied onto the body and/or face to enhance a person’s looks or scent. Cosmetics can be make-up which is mostly used by women and it is to enhance a female’s appearance. It is normally applied to face, hair, and body. Cosmetics has been used throughout society since Ancient times. In Ancient Egypt, cosmetic chemistry was being used before anyone knew it related to chemistry. Cosmetics was being used for many reasons in Ancient times. It is said that Cleopatra bathed in donkey milk to keep skin smooth, this is an example to show that chemistry is being used for the benefit of skin care. Skin care is another example of cosmetic chemistry being used. Skin care has been an important factor in society. Skin care has been around since 3000 BC in Ancient Egypt. This was prepared by natural materials.

All humans’ behavior is affected by social influences to some extent. The level of influence will vary from person to person, depending on the several factors, such as self-esteem, their level of self-awareness, morals, and values (Velden, 2007). People do many things to ensure they are accepted by the people in their group and to keep from being ostracized by individuals around them (Kowalski & Westen, 2011). Individuals are usually guided by their own sense of what is right or wrong and will make logical decisions based on this. However, they will sometimes completely push their own individual identity

Human behaviour is the response to given stimuli, which are socially and environmentally affected. This response is something that can easily be influenced and shaped through many personal, situational, social, biological, mental factors. In this essay the case of social norms influencing human behaviour will be analyzed using previous studies. Social norms are part of a larger influential scale generally named as social influence. Social influence is the exercise of power that an individual or a group can use on other individuals or society in order to alter their attitudes, behaviours and lead them to a desired