Citation

Greenwood DN. Sex Roles 2007; 57(9-10): 725-732.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s11199-007-9290-5

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Although research has shown that affinity for aggressive media characters is linked to greater aggressive tendencies, the increasingly prevalent female action hero has received little empirical scrutiny to date. The present study surveyed 85 undergraduate women in Michigan, United States to determine whether identification with and/or idealization (wishful identification) of a favorite female action hero was associated with aggressive tendencies. Results show that behavioral idealization of an action hero was linked to increased self-reported aggressive behaviors and feelings. Behavioral identification (perceived similarity), by contrast, was not significantly associated with behavioral or affective aggression and showed an inverse relationship with relational aggression. Findings highlight the potentially distinct psychological mechanisms and consequences for idealizing vs. identifying with a favorite female action character.