Do Animated Disney Characters Portray and Promote the BeautyGoodness Stereotype?

Disney movies are frequently cited as a source of the what-is-beautiful-is-good stereotype. Two studies (a) assessed prevalence of the stereotype across animated Disney movies; and (b) examined whether exposure to such films influences children's judgments of peers. In Study 1, human characters in 21 films were rated on attractiveness, goodness, and character outcome. Regression analyses demonstrated that attractiveness of a character was a significant predictor of the character's portrayal. In the second study, 42 children (ages 6–12) were exposed to either a high or low beauty-biased film and then rated target peers. Children rated the attractive target more favorably than the less attractive target. However, film exposure did not increase children's use of the stereotype. The films of Walt Disney have served as icons of childhood over the last century. The Disney Corporation's success is evidenced in its financial fortitude. In 1995, Walt Disney Company had the biggest market share, relative to the number of releases, at 19% (Smith & Thompson, 1996). In 1997, Disney had sales of nearly $24 billion. This made Disney the world's second largest media firm behind Time Warner. As of mid-2007, Disney was a Dow 30 company, with annual revenues of nearly $34 billion in its previous fiscal year (“Disney Acquires Club Penguin,” 2007). Films for children contribute hundreds of millions of dollars to Disney annually (Robertson, 1998). One researcher suggested that Disney films inspire at least as much cultural authority and legitimacy for teaching specific roles, values, and ideals than more traditional sites of learning, such as public schools, religious institutions, and the family (Giroux, 1995). Their popularity among children and adults has led a handful of researchers to assess character portrayals within these films. For instance, Robinson, Callister, Magoffin, and Moore (2007) recently evaluated Disney's portrayal of the elderly. Disney characters have commonly been cited in social psychological literature as evidence of the stereotype known as “what is beautiful is good” (Dion, Berscheid, & Walster, 1972). For example, Eagly, Ashmore, Makhijani, and Longo (1991) proposed that examples of the stereotype are reflected in children's books and television in which the heroic prince and virtuous princess are attractive, but the wicked witch and evil giant are ugly. More specifically, Myers (2002) asserted, “Children learn the stereotype quite early. Snow White and Cinderella are beautiful and kind. The witch and the stepsisters are ugly and wicked” (p. 428). Although it may be seemingly apparent that the preponderance of virtuous characters in these films (e.g., Ariel of The Little Mermaid, Belle of Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty) are indeed beautiful, and evil characters are unattractive (e.g., Ursula of The Little Mermaid, Cruella De Vil of 101 Dalmatians), no studies to date have empirically evaluated whether the association between physical attractiveness and moral character is reliably depicted. Furthermore, assessments of the impact of these films on children's judgments of others relative to the physical attractiveness stereotype have not occurred. Thus, two studies were conducted to examine the prevalence of the stereotype in animated Disney films and their potential impact on peer judgments among children. WHAT IS BEAUTIFUL IS GOOD Seminal social psychological research conducted 30 years ago documented the what-isbeautiful-is-good stereotype (Dion et al., 1972), or the perception that physically attractive individuals possess more positive qualities and experience more satisfying life outcomes than do unattractive individuals. This physical attractiveness (PA) stereotype has been observed in social and professional contexts (Abramowitz & O'Grady, 1990; Cash & Kilcullen, 1985; Farley, Chia, & Allred, 1998) and has been shown in Western as well as non-Western cultures, despite differences in perceptions surrounding PA across cultures (Chen & Shaffer, 1997). Though the uniformity of the stereotype across personality traits and social judgments has been called into question by a meta-analysis of the relevant literature, Eagly et al. (1991) found that the stereotype was most robust for perceptions of social competency. People expect attractive individuals, relative to those who are less attractive, to be more socially adept and popular and to have similar positive characteristics (e.g., be fun loving). Furthermore, the results supported a moderate expectation for physically attractive individuals to be intellectually competent, and little or no expectation for such individuals to be more psychologically adjusted or to possess greater integrity and concern for others than less physically attractive individuals. Across decades of studies, less attractive individuals were never perceived more positively in any assessed category than more attractive individuals (Eagly et al., 1991). The media have been implicated as a common contributor to the PA stereotype. Eagly et al. (1991) stated that while the media do not consistently portray “beauty is good” and “ugly is bad,” they frequently encourage these associations. This association is especially true in advertising in which attractive models appear in positive settings. For example, in a study of over 4,000 commercials, Downs and Harrison (1985) found some form of attractiveness message in nearly 25% (1 out of 3.8) of the commercials. Another form of media often thought to portray the what-is-beautiful-is-good stereotype is movies. Smith, McIntosh, and Bazzini (1999) conducted a study that looked at the PA stereotype in the top-grossing films from 1940 to 1989. Raters watched 100 films (20 from each decade) and rated the central, secondary, and peripheral characters on a list of social attributes and life outcomes. They found that the attractiveness of a character was strongly and positively correlated with how morally good that character was portrayed. Greater physical beauty was associated with higher levels of romantic activity and better life outcomes, and was weakly related to higher intelligence and slightly lower levels of aggression. These findings were true for both male and female characters. Character centrality to the plot was also related to higher levels of character attractiveness relative to secondary or peripheral character portrayals.