journal

1. Name: Lim Pui San
Student ID: 0318144
Course Code: PSY30203
Course Title: Foundation in Natural, Built
and Environment

2. Journal 2- Stereotype, Prejudice & Discrimination
Advertisement and multimedia sources are the most powerful and effective
tool to send messages to the public in this modern age. Hence, the businessmen,
traders and entrepreneurs usually use this tool to convince their buyers to purchase
their products. Most of the advertisements consist of the social psychology concepts
such as stereotype, prejudice and discrimination as shown through the visual graphics
and texts. Thus, it brings a great impact for the viewers in mind. For example, good-
looking bodies are commonly being used to advertise or promote a product or service
and it has been a popular trend in the market to grab people’s attention.
Flipping the newspaper every day, we will definitely see a lot of different
advertisements printed on page that convey different messages. The advertisement
that I chose to elaborate on is “Mayfair”, which is a slimming company with its big
title “Shaping for a Branded Figure” from “The Star” newspaper. The purpose of this
advertisement is to inform the public that the company is having a carnival roadshow
in this December. It also helps to promote their body slimming package with
exclusive discount and offer.
In this advertisement, it shows a strong sense of gender stereotyping by using
female body as a medium to persuade the viewers to purchase their body slimming
package. The used of the images of female body is stereotyped because most of the
people neither men nor women assume that women like beautiful objects especially
women wish they could possess a good-looking features and attractive body shape.
This advertisement already conveyed a message to the readers that women must have

3. a slim perfect body and beautiful appearance instead of having strong and muscular
arms and tons of fat underneath the thighs. It could affect the readers especially
women on expanding their desire to have a perfect body shape like the two ladies on
the advertisement because they believe that it is easier to attract or get male’s
attention as if they own a pretty appearance. Furthermore, the company also provides
an offer price for the customers. It is a business skill and also a persuasion tool to
attract people to sign up the slimming package. In shorts, if I am a woman who has
low confidence for my body, I will probably go and sign up for this cheap body
shaping packaging.
Thus, from my point of view, the advertisement that I chose from the
newspaper is reflected the social psychology concept of stereotype, which is gender
stereotype in a more specific term. Lastly, the advertisers should not advertise in a
stereotyping way because this will probably plant a bad impact in people’s mind.