CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

In this chapter, the important variables related to the study are discussed.  To achieve a comprehensive analysis on the relationship between the type of school of the respondents and their perception towards advertising specifically on television commercials, there is a need to evaluate and distinguish the differences of catholic, public and specialized high schools- how these types of school affect their behavior and perception about the things around them. Aside from that, there is a need to determine and understand the concept of advertising and its role in the society.

The researchers will first explain some important aspects of the catholic, public and laboratory/special science high schools that may determine the behavior of the students and affect their perception towards appropriate moral values in the society. Next is the discussion about the role of advertising, its moral obligation, and influence on the society. The final topic is the different perceptions of people towards television commercials, particularly the young adults and students.

Importance of school

School is an important tool where students learn the skills of analyzing, and understanding certain ideas and ideologies in a society. It is the place where students form and develop their political, social and spiritual aspects in life. Moreover, W.T.S. Gould (1993) states that schools are important in the socialization of children. Children are prepared in this place how to fit in as members in the “local community and the national society” (Gould, 1993). They are subjected to ideas that will make them aware of the circumstances in the society as well as the people and events in their immediate environment (Gould, 1993). The author further points out that school are the ones responsible in promoting the national culture to the children.

Types of Secondary Schools

According to the UNESCO, there exist three types of secondary schools in the Philippines. These are public, private and special/laboratory secondary schools. Public high schools are under the administration and supervision of the Department of Education and are being financially supported by the Philippine government. On the other hand, private high schools are usually owned by religious groups, others are by organizations or individuals. Private schools still need to follow the rules and legal guidelines and requirements as set by the Department of Education as a secondary school. Private school admission usually costs higher amount compared to public schools which is intended to be generally free for everybody. Meanwhile, special/laboratory schools are under or attached to the State University and Colleges. Its purpose is to serve as the laboratory classes for the students taking education program. Laboratory schools usually share the resources of their respective State University and Colleges in terms of budget.

Secondary schools in the Philippines do not only differ in terms of educational structure and function; there are also certain aspects in which they are relatively distinct. These include the religious affiliation, the implementation of student disciplinary policies and the influence of the teachers towards the student’s behavior, attitude and beliefs.

Grace Chen (2007) points out that among the three types of secondary school, the private schools are the ones that are religiously affiliated, though there are some exceptions. Public and laboratory schools are usually not religiously affiliated since these are intended for everybody. Moreover, Chen also adds that teachers from private secondary schools have more likely to have an influence on the students’ perception, performance, and behavior since they have better control on the implementation of student discipline policies and others.

A study by UNO-R Institute of Research (1976) entitled “Student religious activities as learning experiences in catholic schools in Negros Occidental Philippines: objectives, structures and processes” discusses on the importance and influence of the school on the students’ behavior and attitude. The study says that catholic schools are owned and managed by the Catholic church or religious orders. It also emphasizes that the students in the catholic school should not just reflect on the religious doctrines, traditions and practices in their formal education but must apply in their “everyday living” their religious principles (UNO-R Institute of Research, 1976).

            Catholic schools have been established for the purpose of providing not just education for the youth but to pursue religious objectives over and above other goals. This type of school proposes programs into its curriculum that conform to the religious study and devotional exercises. Through this, the school’s objective which is to form and develop the “true and perfect Christian“ is attained (UNO-R Institute of Research, 1976).

Effects of school to the attitude and behavior of students

A research study by Astill, Feather and Keeves (2002) examines the influence of schools on the attitude and values of students. The study suggests that if the school influences the attitude of the students, it is because of the teachers, administrators, curriculum and policies (Astill, Feather and Keeves, 2002). However, the school may not directly affect the values of the students as they may have learned these values from their family and peer groups outside the school (Astill, Feather and Keeves, 2002). Moreover, the school will only serve as an avenue for their expression of the values learned (Astill, Feather and Keeves, 2002). The findings of the study showed that the teachers’ values and school type had no significant effects on the values of the students (Astill, Feather and Keeves, 2002). Furthermore, the study implies that if the school has little effect on the attitudes of the students, then the parents’ basis for choosing a particular type of school which they think can improve the values of their children is not reliable (Astill, Feather and Keeves, 2002). The study contradicts the notion that the school is the teaching agent of social values except for situations in which the school reflects the same values taught by the family and the values of the students themselves (Astill, Feather and Keeves, 2002).

Role and influence of advertising to children and teenagers

Advertising is an art of communication which is used to convey information about a product, service or idea by an identified sponsor directed to groups of people for the purpose of persuading them to take some action (Arens, 2006).

Television advertising has functioned not only in endorsing products but also in influencing the society particularly on people’s lives through the message and values it conveys.

Wells, Burnett and Moriarty (1995) state that advertising is noticeable, manipulative and controversial. Because of that, it can easily attract the attention of the citizens, the media, government and competitors (Wells, Burnett and Moriarty, 1995) and can affect how the audience socialize or interact with the people (Peirce, 2007).

As Arens (2006) quoted in his book entitled Contemporary Advertising: “Advertising is both applauded and criticized not only for its role in selling products but also for its influence on the economy and on society. For years, have denigrated advertising for a wide range of sins – some real, some imagined.”

In advertising, perception of people towards advertisement is significant in determining the effectiveness of the commercial. Advertisers give importance to these perceptions because it will give them an idea on how people think and react to a certain commercial.

Every commercial brings along in it a message that is addressed to the public generally the consumers for the purpose of informing, persuading, entertaining, or influencing the buying behavior of the viewers (Yeshin, 2006). Moreover, the presentation of the message in a commercial affects the apprehension of the viewers towards the commercial message. Yeshin (2006) author of the book entitled Advertising, explains that a well presented and executed message in a commercial is one measurement in determining the effectiveness of a commercial. A commercial is effective when its viewers are able to grasp the intended message, meaning and purpose of the commercial. (Yeshin, 2006). Needless to say, a commercial that is misinterpreted and misunderstood by the audience failed to present the message in an appropriate and effective manner.

Wells, Burnett and Moriarty (2004) points out that advertising creates great impact on the most susceptible groups especially on the young teenagers. Children and adolescents are considered susceptible because they are not yet matured and they are still on the process of knowing and understanding who and what they really are (Peirce, 2007). Thus, it is likely to affect how adolescents view “self-image” and can influence their perception on the “appropriate” roles of men and women in the society (Peirce, 2007).

Sut Jhally “Image-Based Culture-Advertising and Popular Culture” explains that  advertising is a “communication system” “through” and “about objects”. By this, people specially the children who have little experiences are prone to misunderstanding the message in a specific commercial (Jhally, 2003). They tend to find a connection with what they have perceive in a commercial to the little knowledge or background they have regarding on the behavior shown in a commercial (Jhally, 2003).

Moreover, children and adolescents are unable to distinguish whether the behavior or a scene depicted in a tv commercial represents appropriate values in a society and culture. There is a greater chance that a “field” of behavior will be presumed irrationally as “realistic” by people specially the young ones who have little knowledge about it.

 “Children are influenced by media- they learn by observing, imitating and making behaviors of their own”, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics(2001) (as cited by Clark, 2011) TV commercials have increased its scope of influence to different age groups due to the new innovations and developments made in the world of media. Clark further explains that tv commercials have negative and positive influence to people, especially on children. These commercials are good because of the educational values it provides but these also serve as medium to which children are exposed to violence and other misleading, inappropriate values (Clark, 2011).

In contrast to the previous statements concerning the evident effects of commercials towards the viewers, a study by Mai & Schoeller (2009)  found that these television commercials “do not elicit much emotional response, understanding or memorability” to the viewers. The study conducted a survey to 120 selected adults whose memorability and emotional response to the four tv advertisements were measured (Mai & Schoeller, 2009). Mai & Schoeller (2009) also found that different television advertisements suggest and portray different emotions to the audience. This seen difference among tv advertisement is the reason for the researchers’ clarification that the findings of their study, which may not be applicable to some tv advertisements.

In addition, an undergraduate thesis by May Florence Corvera entitled “Exposure to dove evolution; its influence on the perception of beauty and satisfaction with one’s beauty among third year female UP High School students” proves that advertising has limited effects on the audience by using the Individual Differences Theory. This theory states that the people don’t believe all the information that is given to them by the media due to the fact that every individual has different experiences and personalities (Corvera, 2008). In relation to this theory is the implication that people perceive the things around them differently (Corvera, 2008). In the study of Corvera, she presumes that the advertisement’s influence on the perception of the students varies because the students have diverse personalities and experiences in their lives.

Moral obligation of advertising

Television commercials are said to have failed in relaying the positive values through the portrayal of roles associated with teenagers(Peterson, 1998). Some roles shown in commercials about teens are activities like eating, drinking which is unsatisfactory in creating a good image of young adults (Peterson, 1998).

The moral obligation of advertisers consists the social responsibility and ethics. Social responsibility means doing what the society considers as the best for the benefit of the people in general (Arens, 2006). Furthermore, the latter refers to doing what the advertiser and the advertiser’s colleagues consider as morally appropriate in a specific situation or culture. (Arens, 2006).

II. Perception towards advertising

According to a study by Banwari(1994), most people are not pleased with television commercials because of disagreeable  moral values tv commercials show to the audience. Television commercials are said to have harmful effects to the viewers because it promotes consumerism and values which corrupt the being of an individual. (Banwari ,1994) Despite these unpleasant perceptions towards advertisements, people recognize the useful information that tv commercials provide to the viewers (Banwari ,1994).

These harmful effects that are said to have been brought about by these television commercials do not necessarily affect the viewers’ perception and their attitude. This is dependent on the person’s knowledge and ability to critically evaluate and analyze the intended message of a commercial. This capability of a person to assess a certain commercial refers to as ‘media literacy’ as proposed by Renee Hobb which was cited in Laura Blackwell Clark’s article entitled “Influence on Children Media - History of Media for Children, General Considerations, Studies of Media Influence, Domains of Influence, Recommendations”.

The knowledge of students about the usage of media and technology doesn’t mean that they can critically analyze and evaluate the messages that they receive (Clark, 2011). The students have to acquire some skills that enable them to question the things they observe in the environment (Clark, 2011).  These skills are the “ability to critically analyze the media messages” and the “ability to use different kinds of communication technologies for self-expression and communication” (Clark, 2011). Therefore,   child or a student that is media literate is less to be affected by the messages from the media (Clark, 2011).The more capable the person is in understanding the commercial message, less are the chances that the message will be misunderstood and misinterpreted.

Meanwhile, in the Philippines where people are more conservative due to the religious influence, the Filipino audience tends to be more critical with television advertisements. Anything that goes beyond the norm is considered as unethical and inappropriate.

Another unpublished thesis by Enoc “Exposure to Jollibee and McDonalds’ advertisements and the perception of the fourth year students of Cebu City National Science High School towards Filipino values” states that to improve the outcome of the advertising campaigns in the Philippines; the advertisers need to put into consideration how Filipino values are introduced in a commercial. Enoc(1999) found that “Some of the commercials in the media are not directly selling consumer products or services; they are “selling” ideas and values"(Enoc, 1999).

The objective of the study is to determine the relationship between the exposure to Jollibee and McDonalds’ commercials on tv and the perception of the students. The findings of the study prove that there is no significant relationship between the mentioned variables. The commercials do not directly influence the respondents’ perception towards Filipino values. The respondents’ exposure to these commercials is not the primary reason why they perceive Filipino values. This study supports the previous studies mentioned which provide proofs to the notion that the people perceive advertisements differently (Individual Differences Theory).

           

The discussion above presented various studies which showed contradictory results regarding the influence of the environment which is the school on the values of the students.  The studies and sources gathered will help the researchers in having a better analysis on the study. The sources, especially the related research studies will give the researchers a general idea on whether the school has an influence on the perception of the 4^th year High school students towards the McDo ‘BG-GF’ tv commercial. Moreover, it will also aid in identifying other possible factors which affected the way the students apprehend the message of the commercial. These factors include the type of school which is comprised of the educational structure, curriculum, function, and moral teachings. Lastly, these various ideas of some authors and findings of the related research studies presented in this chapter will help in directing the researchers the way to possible answers to the main problem of the study.

Norren M. Mangmang

Naressa Belle A. Saripada

REFERENCES

Research Papers

Astill, B.R.,Feather, N.T. and Keeves J.P.  (2002). A multilevel analysis of the effects of parents, teachers and schools on student values. Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Corvera, M. A. (2008). Exposure to the dove evolution; its influence on the perception of beauty and satisfaction with one’s beauty among third year female U.P. High School Students. (Unpublished Undergraduate Thesis). University of the Philippines Cebu College, Cebu City.

Enoc, D. (1999). Exposure to Jollibee and Mcdonald’s advertisements and the perception of the fourth year students of Cebu City National Science High School towards Filipino values. (Unpublished Undergraduate Thesis). University of the Philippines Cebu College, Cebu City.

UNO-R Institute of Research (1976). Student religious activities as learning experiences in catholic schools in Negros Occidental Philippines: objectives, structures and processes. (Unpublished research). Negros Occidental, Philippines.

Books

Print

Arens, W. F. (2006). Contemporary advertising (10^th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., pp. 71-73.

Hepner, H. W. (1893). Advertising- creative communication with consumers. United States of America: McGraw-Hill, Inc., pp.13-15.

Wells, W., Burnett, J., & Moriarty, S. (1995). Advertising principles and practice (3rd ed.). United States of America: Prentice-Hall, Inc., pp.57-58.

Would, W.T.S. (1993). People and education in the third world. Malaysia: Longman Scientific and technical, pp. 65-66.

 Electronic

Yeshin, T. (2006). Advertising. London: Thomson Learning, p. 229. Retrieved from
             http://books.google.com/books?id=sV_fJN4RtJcC&pg=RA2-PA229&lpg=RA2PA

229&dq=commercial+effectiveness+message+strategy&source=bl&ots=isWeihJLr_&sig=Sg7sA6g1n43EOu2MeJTRCOhhqjA&hl=fil&ei=WSouTq3iB8zPmAW47r1T&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CC4Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=commercial%20effectiveness%20message%20strategy&f=false

journals

Electronic

Banwari, M. (1994). Public assessment of TV advertising: faint praise and harsh criticism. Journal of Advertising Research. Retrieved from http://find.galegroup.com/gps/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T002&prodId=IPS&docId=A15352413&source=gale&srcprod=AONE&userGroupName=phdiliman&version=1.0

 Buijzen, M. and Valkenburg P. (2007). Parental mediation of undesired advertising
            effects.  Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media. Retrieved from
            http://www.entrepreneur.com/tradejournals/article/135180468.html

Mai, L. & Schoeller, G. (2009). Emotions, attitudes and memorability associated with TV commercials. Journal of Direct, Data and Digital Marketing Practice Retrieved from http://find.galegroup.com/gps/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T002&prodId=IPS&docId=A205907929&source=gale&srcprod=AONE&userGroupName=phdiliman&version=1.0

Peterson, R. (1998). The potrayal of children's activities in television commercials: a content analysis. Journal of Business Ethics. Retrieved from http://find.galegroup.com/gps/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T002&prodId=IPS&docId=A53335941&source=gale&srcprod=AONE&userGroupName=phdiliman&version=1.0

II. Articles

Chen, G. (2007). Public School vs. Private School. Retrieved from 
            http://www.publicschoolreview.com/articles/5

Clark, L. B. (2011). Influence on Children Media - History of Media for Children, General
            Considerations, Studies of Media Influence, Domains of Influence,
            Recommendations. Retrieved from:
            http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2212/Media-Influence-on-
            Children.html#ixzz1UPqdPMou

Jhally, S. (2003). “ImageBased Culture: Advertising and Popular Culture”. Retrieved from  http://www.units.muohio.edu/technologyandhumanities/SutJhally.pdf

Pierce, K. (2007). The Effect of Magazine Advertising on Body Image Disorder Among Young Adolescent Girls. Retrieved from http://www.scribd.com/doc/25325017/The-Effect-of-Magazine-Advertising-on-Body-Image-Disorder-Among-Young-Adolescent-Girls

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizations. 2009. Secondary Education Information Base: Country Profile(Philippines). D. Calderbank and E. Aoyama(Eds.). Retrieved from http://www2.unescobkk.org/elib/publications/253_254/Philippines.pdf