Master of Arts / Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work / L. Susan Williams / This study builds on a small but growing field of scholarship, arguing that certain nonnormative
behavior is also non-negative, a concept referred to as positive deviance. This thesis
examines positive behaviors, in the form of altruism, in the top 10 box-office animated movies of
all time. Historically, studies focusing on negative, violent, and criminal behaviors garner much
attention. Media violence is targeted as a cause for increasing violence, aggression, and
antisocial behavior in youth; thousands of studies demonstrate that media violence especially
influences children, a vulnerable group. Virtually no studies address the use of positive deviance
in children’s movies. Using quantitative and ethnographic analysis, this paper yields three
important findings. 1. Positive behaviors, in the form of altruism, are liberally displayed in
children’s animated movies. 2. Altruism does not align perfectly with group loyalty. 3. Risk of
life is used as a tool to portray altruism and is portrayed at critical, climactic, and memorable
moments, specifically as movies draw to conclusion. Previous studies demonstrate that children
are especially susceptible to both negativity and optimistic biases, underscoring the importance
of messages portrayed in children’s movies. This study recommends that scholars and
moviemakers consciously address the appearance and timing of positive deviance.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:KSU/oai:krex.k-state.edu:2097/1414 |
| Date | January 1900 |
| Creators | Westfall, David W. |
| Publisher | Kansas State University |
| Source Sets | K-State Research Exchange |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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