A Comparison of Celebrity and Expert Endorsers on Advertising Effectiveness

Table of Contents Acknowledgement Abstract Table of Contents Chapter One: Introduction 1. 1 Background to Topic 1. 2 Fashion Field and Skin care Product Chapter Two: Literature Review 2. 1Advertising Endorser 2. 1. 1Celebrity 2. 1. 2 Expert 2. 2 Endorser Credibility 2. 2. 1 Trustworthiness 2. 2. 2 Expertise 2. 2. 3 Attractiveness 2. 3 Advertising Effectiveness 2. 3. 1 Brand Attitude 2. 3. 2 Attitude towards advertisement 2. 3. 3 Purchase Intention 2. 4 Match-up Hypothesis 2. 5 Information Processing of the AdvertisementChapter Three: Chapter Four: Methodology. 4. 1 Quantitative Research 4. 2 Questionnaire Design 4. 3 Pilot Test 4. 4 Data Analysis Techniques 4. 4 Testing Credibility of Endorsers 4. 5 Testing the Product Match-Up Hypothesis 4. 6 Testing Advertisement Message Process 4. 7 Testing Advertising Effectiveness Chapter Five: Findings and Analysis 5. 1 Result of Reliability Test 5. 2 Results of Credibility of Endorsers 5. 3 Results of Testing the Product Match-Up Hypothesis 5. 4 Evaluation Impact on Advertisement Message Process . 5 Evaluation Advertising Effectiveness Chapter Six: Discussion and Conclusion Appendix References Chapter 1—Introduction Chapter 1—Introduction In designing an advertising campaign, an influencing persuasion is an important factor, product endorsers is significant towards the transmission of message between the brand and consumers and they often contribute to an advertisement's persuasiveness for many consumers. Advertising endorser is one of promotional strategies which are often seen in daily life.Its main purpose is to use a famous, professional or attractive endorser to grab consumers’ attention in a short period of time, in order to increase the effectiveness of the advertisement. It is important for endorsers to achieve the object of communication with consumers. Research finds that advertisements with a reliable endorser could attract consumers’ attention, raise brand awareness, and build uniq ue brand image (Zajonc and Markus,1982). If a business can select product endorser carefully to match up with product attributes, it can produce a model effect to a brand.Therefore, understanding how consumers perceived product endorsers, and knowing which types of endorsers would create the best effect to the advertisement is significant for marketers. This research will mainly focus to research on skin-care products endorsers by the measure of their credibility, and how they influence the advertising effectiveness. 1. 1 Background to Topic 1. 2 Fashion Field and Skin care products Fashion is a business of wide variety: from typical apparel business to beauty and health care products. The fashion field is highly segmented and overlaps with other fields, especially with the cosmetics and skin care roducts. Some of the household fashion brand names may not definitely correspond to the apparel business but other kinds of products. One of the characteristic of the fashion field is that it is constantly re-forming in strategic cooperation and alliances. Fashion companies such as Fendi, Polo Ralph Lauren, Kenzo, and Louis Vuitton are practicing the strategic integration. For example, Christian Dior is part of LVMH limited, which is the largest luxury company and group in the world, also include cosmetics products and skin care products in their brands.The structure of the fashion field is obscured mainly by licensing and franchising strategy; fashion companies may manufacture products which belong to a particular line in the structure. For example, Donna Karan International licenses its name to Estee Lauder, and Polo Ralph Lauren licenses the fragrances and skin-care products to L'Oreal. LVMH, Chanel and Prada have their own brand name lines in skin care products. Some skin care brands may belong to the same fashion organization, though the brands are in totally different names and management structure.The identity of the famous fashion company would give their pro ducts a competitive advantage, which are the symbolic exchange and the commodity exchange. It would establish, maintain or strengthen a brand identity. Skin-care products advertisements with endorsers is not hard to be seen in different media, household skin-product brands such as L’oreal, Neutrogena or Shiseido has spent numerous money on hiring different endorsers for the brand and new products. Generally, two types of advertisement endorsers have been mainly been used in these advertisements – celebrity and expert.There are number of studies can be found that how different endorsers influence the consumers in different fields. However, there are few studies to focus only at the relationship of different endorsers and skin care product brand. Skin care product is a special category compared with other different products. It is considered both hedonic and utilitarian product. There are different categories of skin care product, such as the aqua cream, hand cream or UV -protection cream. Therefore, the skin-care product is both attractive-related and health-related.Customer needs adequate information and sufficient expertise prove and advice for them to purchase these products. Research shows that the extent of audience-perceived skills and knowledge of the endorser in the source expertise would make positive influence to the advertisement, such as the skin care experts are critical to influence in advertising (Chawla,Dave, and Barr 1994); however, some research suggest the sources characteristic attractiveness, such as celebrities are important to persuasion (Kamins and Gupta 1994; Patzer 1983).Although the perspectives are diverse, source credibility which combined of both attractiveness and expertise is critical to make influence to advertisements towards the audience. Skin care product marketers would typically employ a product endorser with high credibility to advertise the product. Therefore, it is significant for marketers to know which typ e of endorsers and how endorsers would make an advertisement worthwhile and effective, in addition to this, whom could make good communication with customers.The purpose of the study is to explore whether endorser credibility has a positive effect on advertising effectiveness in the skin care product. This study would also explore which type of endorser in the field of skincare products would make more influence, and how they influence the consumers. Chapter 2—- Literature review 2. 1Advertising Endorser According to Federal Trade Commission (FTC), any advertising message reflects spokespersons' or endorsers' opinion, belief, character, and experience that make consumers believe is called endorsement.Advertising endorsers are often seen on TV, newspaper, magazine, or direct mail advertisements in daily life. Using the endorsers' popularity, it could present the benefits of the endorsed product and make consumers produce reliability on the product. (McCracken,1989) Using adver tising endorser to promote a product is a very popular marketing strategy. Researchers also found that the reliability of advertising spokespersons is one of critical factors to influence purchase intention, and the higher the reliability is, the higher the positive advertising and brand attitudes are (Laffery ; Goldsmith, 1999).An advertisement can catch consumers’ attention and increase brand awareness (McCracken, 1989), and transfer consumers’ feelings onto the product and produce a good impression (Biswas et al. , 2006). If spokespersons can express a positive attitude on the advertised product, it will create an intensive preference to consumers and connect the product with the spokespersons (Chen ;Chang, 2001). Study suggested that with a successful endorsement, the recall of product information and brand recognition would be enhanced, it would positive influences the attitude towards the advertisement and products. Liu et al, 2007) Different research proposed fo ur main types of advertising endorsers including celebrities, experts, CEO and typical consumers to test the effectiveness of communication between the endorsers and consumers through advertisement (Freiden, 1984; Wang, 2002). The outfit of the endorser is suggested to create positive attitude toward the consumers (Chaiken, 1979). McGuire (1985) also suggested that endorser which is familiar and likable towards the audience may bring persuasiveness to the advertisement. 2. 1. 1Celebrity EndorserSchiffman and Kanuk (2007) defined celebrities to public and famous figures. Celebrity commonly has a linkage with the source attractiveness. Research has found that there is a linkage between the celebrity attractiveness and attitude changes toward advertisements (Chaiken 1979; Caballero and Pride, 1984). Companies usually use celebrity to be the endorser of product in order to increase the popularity or attraction, making audience to have a positive attitude toward endorsed products, the br and and the advertisement. Research supported the celebrity endorser is suitable for different types of products.It is generally shows that celebrity endorser make positive contribution in different aspects like brand awareness (Till 1998), brand recall (Friedman 1979), attitude toward the advertisement [Kamins 1989; Frieden 1984; Tripp, Jensen,and Carlson 1994), and also purchase intention (Ohanian, 1991). Research also shows that celebrity endorser would generate positive attitude towards brand recall, attitude towards the advertisement, and also purchase intention (Wang 2002). Celebrity with high expertise tends to have higher level of sources believability and trustworthiness. Buhr, Simpson, and Pryor 1987). Studies found that celebrity endorser would be perceived higher values for likeability attribute by the consumer, comparing to an expert, CEO or customer endorsers (Freiden, 1984). However, in the same research, it did not show that celebrity endorsers have a significant adv antage when compared to other types of endorsers in the measure of expertise, believability, product quality and trustworthiness. Celebrity endorser would generally create a positive perception to consumers in sources attractiveness in terms of credibility perceptions.Researchers have found that celebrity endorsers have higher credibility to make the product be more desirable and also higher the image of the product quality; Consumers are associated with endorsers’ image when using the product while the endorsers’ image has been transferred to the product. (Ronald E. Goldsmith, Barbara A. Lafferty and Stephen J. Newell, 2000) Research also suggest that celebrity endorsement can increase brand and product recall (Clark and Horstman, 2003). 2. 1. 2 Expert Endorser Expert endorser is perceived as a person who has extensive skill or knowledge in a particular field.Expertise is the extent of the communication source which has relevant knowledge and skills. The trustworthine ss attribute is an significant source for the expert endorsers, which makes the consumers to have a perception that the advertisement is believable. (Hovland, Janis, and Kelley,1953). Hass (1981) suggests that the expert endorsers have an advantage on source credibility in terms of the expertise and trustworthiness. Research suggests that endorser who has higher level in expertise or trustworthiness, would be more effective when compared to low-expertise sources (Hass 1981; Dholakia 1978).Research also finds that expert endorsers would be more persuasive when compared to the endorsers who have less expertise in the persuasion theory. (Ohanian 1990; Stemthal, Phillips, and Dholakia 1978). The degree of influence of the expert endorser is moderated by variables such as message comprehension (Ratneshwar and Chaiken 1991), placement of the expert source in relation to the message arguments, (Homer and Kahle 1990; Stemthal, Dholakia, and Leavitt 1978), and fit between the expert source a nd the product (Till and Busier 2000).An endorsement from a credible or expert endorser would influence the perspective, also the consumers’ behavior and attitudes (Belch and Belch 2004, p. 169). The receiver is motivated to have a positive and objective sense toward the products and brand when the endorser is an expert, since the audiences believe the message from the endorser is accurate and positive. Till and Busier (1998, 2000) manipulated the expertise of a fictitious person and the fit of the product, the result shows using expertise would create a significant positive relationship towards the brand attitude and purchase intentions.The research shows expertise source is significant when compared to the attractiveness source in different advertisements and products. 2. 2Endorser Credibility According to Ohanian (1990), endorser credibility can be defined as â€Å"as a communicator's positive characteristics that affect the receiver's acceptance of a message†. It i s also a way that can enhance the message of an advertisement. (Anderson, 1970) Dimensions can be found in the previous studies of endorser credibility.Typically, endorsers’ credibility can be separated as three dimensions: trustworthiness, attractiveness, and expertise (e. g. , Homer and Kahle 1990; Ohanian 1990, 1991; Stemthal, Dholakia, and Leavitt 1978). The credibility would show how effective of an endorser in terms of the personal attributes towards the consumers. Goldsmith, Lafferty, and Newell (2000) found that endorser credibility positively influence the attitudes toward the advertisement, and also brand attitude. A high credibility of an endorser is considered significant in influence acceptance.A consumer is more likely to accept the content of the advertisements with a credible endorser (Sternthal, Phillips, and Dholakia 1978). Danwshvary and Schwer (2000) also suggest that in an advertisement with a high credible endorser, purchase intention would be positively affected. According to Khatri(2006) , high credible endorser would also enhance the recall of the product. Research found that higher levels of endorsers’ credibility would have a significant association with attitudes toward the advertisement and purchase intention (Craig and McCann, 1978; Woodside and Davenport, 1974).The dimensions of attractiveness and expertise have generated additional interest to determine how these attributes in an endorser individually enhance advertising effectiveness (e. g. , Homer and Kahle 1990; Kamins 1990; Maddux and Rogers 1980; Patzer 1983; Till and Busier 1998, 2000). 2. 2. 1Trustworthiness Trustworthiness is the level of consumers’ trust toward the endorser and advertising message (Hovland et al. 1953). It also means the general believability of an endorser. Research has suggested the trustworthiness of the endorser would affect the advertising effectiveness.Miller and Baseheart (1969) found that when the endorser was perceived to b e trustworthy, the advertisement would be more effective to influence consumers’ attitudes. McCinnies and Ward (1980) find that the expertise and trustworthiness would influence endorsers’ credibility and persuasiveness. They indicated that the endorser with both expert and trustworthy would generate the opinion change of consumers. Trustworthiness moreover refers to the honesty, believability and integrity of an endorser (Erdogan 1999).Therefore, honesty is in the trustworthiness attribute in this study. 2. 2. 2Expertise Expertise is one of the fundamental dimensions of source credibility and is the knowledge sources are perceived to possess about the product they are endorsing (Homer and Kahle 1990; Ohanian 1990). Recent studies on source expertise indicates that the expertise attribute has a positive influence on attitude change (Maddux and Rogers 1980; Till and Busier 1998, 2000) and purchase intention (Till and Busier 2000). 2. 2. 3 AttractivenessIn terms of attra ctiveness, it represents that advertising endorsers can catch consumers’ attention to a product (Ohania, 1990; Miciak ; Shanklin, 1994; Goldsmith, Laffery, ; Newell, 2000). Research shows that the marketers prefer to use attractive endorser in order to gain the likability and positive attitude toward the advertisement. Some of the research may group attractiveness attributes in source attractiveness itself, however, attractiveness can also be as an attribute of source credibility in advertisments (McCracken, 1989; Ohanian, 1990).In the research of Maddux and Rogers (1980), likability is considered to be a test variable of attractiveness attribute in endorser credibility. Therefore, likability would also be tested as attractiveness variable in the study, it is employed as the measure of homological validity of attractiveness. Advertising Effectiveness Generally, advertising effectiveness is the attributes of brand attitude, attitude towards the advertisement and purchase inten tion attributes. (Gurel Atay, Eda, 2001; Friedman, Hershey H, 1976; David Strutton, 2008)Numerous researches have proved the direct and significant relationship of brand attitude, attitude towards the advertisement and purchase intention attributes. (e. g. , Goldsmith et al. 1999; 2000; 2002; Goldberg, et al, 1990; Mitchell et al. 1981; Mackenzie, Lutz, and Belch, 1986). However, research also can be found to group these three variables together in order to test a more macro view towards the effectiveness of the advertisement. (Gurel Atay, Eda, 2001; Friedman, Hershey H, 1976; David Strutton, 2008) 2. 5 Purchase IntentionAccording to Shamdasani (2001), purchase intention can be defined as the possibility of a customer buying a product or making a recommendation for product. ) It is also a process of the demand for product information, purchasing, evaluation, consumption, and disposal of a product or service. Purchase intentions also means the choice that a consumer would probably ma ke in future course of action. (Bagozzi,1983). According to Fishbein and Ajzen model, higher purchase intention will lead higher purchase willingness. According to Zeithamal (1988), perceived value will influence purchase intention. . 6 Brand Attitude Brand Attitude can be defined as evaluation of the brand from the consumer. It may consist an emotional motivation toward a brand and its product. The motivation could be cognitive or logical toward the particular brand. In recent researches, it has proved that using of endorsers credibility has a positive influence on brand attitudes of the consumers (Seno and Lukas, 2005). Agarwal and Malhotra (2005) have also defined that brand attitude is a general evaluative judgment of a brand. It contains the process of the brand product, reputation and the benefits. 2. Attitude towards advertisement Attitudes toward the ads can be generally defined as a â€Å"predisposition to respond in a favorable or unfavorable manner to a particular advert ising stimulus during a particular exposure situation† (MacKenzie, Lutz and Belch, 1986). Attitudes toward the ads would contain affective reactions and evaluations. (Baker and Lutz, 2000). Research shows that attitudes toward the ads are influenced by a process set of brand or non-brand. (Biehal, Stephen and Curlo, 1992; Hastak and Olson, 1989; Madden, Allen and Twible, 1988; Gardner, 1985; Homer, 1990). 2. 8 Product Match-up HypothesisProduct Match-up Hypothesis can be defined as the match-up theory between an endorser’s and a product’s attributes. McCracken (1989) and Kahle (1985) suggest the celebrity endorser create better inherent match and congruency effect than other types of endorsers by having higher level of attractiveness. Researches based on the matchup hypothesis find that attractiveness is a significant determinant of advertising effectiveness. (Kahle and Homer, 1985; Till and Busler, 1998) suggests that its importance is limited by the degree to w hich attractiveness â€Å"fits† well with the advertised product (e. . Kamins,1990). The product match-up hypothesis is focus on product-endorser fit based on endorser attractiveness. Research suggests that the attractiveness of a celebrity endorser is more favorable attitudes to related the product which is attractiveness-related . Product match- up is the congruence between endorsers and product. The match-up hypothesis (e. g. Kamins, 1990) suggests that endorsers are more effective there is a â€Å"fit† between the advertising endorser and the endorsed product. 2. 4 Information ProcessingAccording to Kahle ; Homer (1985), consumer usually sees the information as relevance when it satisfies their need. The ELM is a persuasion model to predict the influence information process of the advertisement of different types of endorser. (Petty ; Cacioppo, 1981a, 1986a, 1986b) suggests that there are two route, the central route and peripheral route, whereas the peripheral rou te is more likely to prove that endorser relationship with the information processing of the advertisement. ELM posits that a source cue does not serve as a simple acceptance or ejection cue but may be considered together with all other information in the recipients attempt to assess the merits of the arguments and the advocacy. Studies have found that endorsers’ credibility has a significant relationship toward ELM and information processing of the advertisement (Homer ; Kahle, 1990; Petty ; Cacioppo, 1981b, 1986a, 1986b; Petty et al. , 1991). Mehta (1994) also found that the celebrity endorser would influence consumers to have more thoughts about the endorsers, however, and the fewer toward the product and brand.A different type of endorser such as experts would influence consumers to generate fewer thoughts about the endorser but led to more thoughts about the brand and product featured Chapter 3 : Research Hypothesis and Conceptual Framework 3. 1Introduction According to research purposes and literature reviews, the study proposes the research frame as shown in Figure 1. 3. 2 Research Hypothesis H1: Endorser credibility would significantly affect advertisement effectiveness Celebrity vs ExpertH2: Celebrity endorser has a better performance in the general measure of â€Å"Endorser Credibility† than expert endorser H3: Celebrity endorsers has a better performance in the measure of â€Å"attractiveness† attributes than expert endorser H4: Expert endorser has a better performance in the measure of â€Å"trustworthiness† attributes than celebrity endorser H5: Expert endorser has a better performance in the measure of â€Å"expertise† attributes than celebrity endorser Product Match-UpH6: Endorser credibility would significantly affect product match-up hypothesis H7: Celebrity endorser would generate a better match up effect towards the product than expert endorser Information Process H8: Endorser credibility would significantl y affect information process of the advertisement H9: Consumer is more likely to process the information of the advertisement when the endorser is an expert, than a celebrity H10: â€Å"Product match up† and â€Å"Information Process† would positively moderate the relationship between endorser credibility and advertising effectiveness Conceptual Framework Chapter 4:Methodology . 1 Questionnaire Design In order to assess the relative advertisement effectiveness between celebrity and expert endorsers, two advertising executions were tested across print advertisements for two different type skin-care products: an aqua cream and hand cream with body emulsion. A celebrity advertisement and an expert advertisement represented each product. In this research, the celebrity is person who is publicly recognized and could direct and communicate to consumers by their reputation in the advertisement. On the other hand, an expert is a person represents expertise of the product and s kin care.The experts who appeared in the advertisement sample has been noted a â€Å"professional doctor of skin care† and â€Å"dermatologist†. They have no public notoriety but appear in an advertisement for representing the authority of the product. The samples are based on real print advertisements (see appendix 1 and 2), in order to increase the authentication. Famous Hong Kong singer Kandy, a member of the band Sugar Club, is the endorser of the aqua cream advertisement; on the other hand, famous model Gaile is selected as endorser of the hand cream and body emulsion cream.The expert endorser is from the real print advertisement of Neutrogena, however, for the expert endorser, we created a fictitious endorser, as the names and their scope of profession have changed to fit this sample research. The use of a created endorser offers a benefit of controlling the experiment. Although endorsers are usually well-known, there can be a significant amount of variation in s ubjects’ knowledge and attitude toward any given endorser.By using a created endorser, we minimize the amount of variation in subjects’ knowledge thereby strengthening the statistical power of the analysis. In order to avoid brand perception of the audience, the products in the sample advertisements has used the brand name â€Å"Super† which does exist in the reality market, instead of the real brand names of the products. The research selected two categories of skin care products: aqua defense cream and hand cream and body emulsion. In order to minimize brand familiarity effects, a fictitious brand name, â€Å"super† was used. 4. 1. Questionnaire Structure and Details The questionnaire used for this study consisted of five parts targeting different aspects of information about consumer’s attitude on different endorsers’ advertisement and the influence of advertisement effectiveness. The aim of this study was stated in the beginning and foll owed by a notes explaining the terminologies used in the questionnaire. For the scale of data measurement, five-point Likert scales were used in the questions of part A and part B sections for measuring the attitudes and quantifies the opinion of the consumers.Likert scale is a set of statements that ask respondents to express their level of agreement or disagreement of a five-point scale (Churchill, 2005). For the remaining parts, they were consisted of single and multiple selections of answer. 1=Strongly Disagree| 2=Disagree| 3=Neutral| 4=Agree| 5=Strongly Agree| 4. 1. 3. 1 Part A of the Questionnaire The first part of the questionnaire aimed to obtaining data about the respondents’ purchase experience on skin care products as well as their knowledge and experience about current practice of different types of endorsers’ advertisement, the source of information is also included.The respondents are required to indicate how they receive the information about endorsement and which type(s) of endorsers were familiar with them. 4. 1. 3. 2 Part B of the Questionnaire This part is aimed to focus on the aqua cream advertisement, which represents the skin care product type which is attractive-related. Two â€Å"super† aqua cream product print advertisements were shown in this part. This advertisement is a real advertisement from the brand â€Å"Garnier†. This first advertisement is endorsed by famous Hong Kong singer Kandy, a member of the band Sugar Club, who is the actual endorser for â€Å"Garnier†.The second one is endorsed by a fictitious expert endorser, named as Albert Li, noted as a â€Å"professional doctor of skin care†. The context of the advertisement contains the product features of the cream, and comparison with other brands in order to show the effect of the cream. The content of two advertisements are exactly the same, however, only the endorser is changed in order to test the effect of these two types of endor sers. There are 17 questions for each advertisements, it is a set of statements regarding the attributes of the endorsers, and the attributes of the advertisement.The attributes were based from the source credibility models, product match-up hypothesis, and advertising effectiveness which were suggested by previous studies regarding advertisements with endorsers. 4. 1. 3. 3 Part C of the Questionnaire This part is aimed to focus on the hand cream and boy emulsion advertisement, which represents the skin care product type which is health-related. Two â€Å"super† aqua cream product print advertisements were shown in this part. This advertisement is a real advertisement from the brand â€Å"Neutrogena†.This first advertisement is endorsed by famous Hong Kong model Gaile, who is the ex-wife of Hong Kong famous singer Leon Lai. The second one is endorsed by an expert endorser, named as Robert Kwon, noted as a â€Å"dermatologist†, who is the actual endorser for â₠¬Å"Neutrogena†, however, in the actual advertisement, the endorser is a a regional director of professional marketing. The context of the advertisement mainly contains the product features of the hand cream and the body emulsion. The content of two advertisements are exactly the same, however, only the endorser is changed in order to test the effect of these two types of endorsers.The structure of the questions is the same as part B section. 4. 1. 3. 4 Part D of the Questionnaire This was the final section of the questionnaire, four questions were asked in order to find out the demographic information of the respondents. Respondents were required to provide their gender, age, educational level and income. The information would be used to test the difference response from different demographic group, mainly the educational level and income, since the target group is selected to be young female adults in generation Y. 4. 2 Questions Analysis and Discussion Guide The survey is se t in two main sections.One scale is used to assess endorser credibility, including the aspect of attractiveness, expertise, image, likeability and trustworthiness. The survey also included questions related to the advertising effectiveness in aspects of brand attitude, attitude toward the advertisement and purchase intention. Message processing and product and endorser match- up issues would also be included in the questions. The questions were grouped in order to analysis the relations between variables. Each respondent was shown two print advertisements of different skin care product and were asked to complete the questionnaire.In each case respondents were exposed to advertisements for of two products including a celebrity, and an expert endorser. 3. 2. 1 Testing Credibility of Endorsers To test the credibility of endorsers, the attributes by previous studies are adopted. The attributes would be attractiveness (DeSarbo and Harshman 1985), trustworthiness (DeSarbo and Harshman 198 5;), expertise (DeSarbo and Harshman 1985; Simpson and Kahler 1980-81; Wynn 1987), likability (DeSarbo and Harshman 1985) and believability (Simpson and Kahler 1980-81; Wynn 1987).In the questionnaire, 5 statements would refer to 5 different attributes from the source credibility model. â€Å"The endorser is attractive† is to test the attractiveness variable, â€Å"The endorser is trustworthy† is to test the trustworthiness variable, â€Å"The endorser is professional† is to test the expertise variable, â€Å"The endorser is honest† is to test the believability variable and â€Å"The endorser's image is positive† is to test the likability variable. These 5 attributes would be grouped to be the â€Å"Credibility† level of each endorser in the followed analysis. 4. 2. Testing the Product Match-Up Hypothesis As the product match-up hypothesis is not the main focus of the research, only two statements in the questionnaire was asked to test the h ypothesis, â€Å"The endorser in the advertisement makes good match with the product† and â€Å"The endorser helps to understand the function of the product† was asked to figured out if the audience considered the endorsers made good match with the product and helped them to understand the function of the products. The result of this hypothesis would be tested if it is a factor to influence the advertising effectiveness. . 2. 3 Testing Advertisement Message Process One statement was asked to understand if the respondents would read the content message of the advertisement, besides the endorsers’ image. The result of this part would be analyzed with if different endorsers have influence for the audience to process the image, and this question would also analyzed with the advertising effectiveness attributes to see if there is a relation between audience process the advertisement message and the effectiveness of the advertisement. . 2. 4 Testing Advertising Effect iveness Three attributes were combined to consider the effectiveness of the advertisement: â€Å"Brand attitude†, â€Å"Attitude towards the Advertisements† and â€Å"Purchase Intention†. 4 statements were set to test the brand attitude towards the advertisements, which were â€Å"The endorser enhances my ability to recognize the brand†, â€Å"This advertisement projects a good brand image†, â€Å"This advertisement helps to recall the product features† and â€Å"This advertisement helps to recall the brand†.Another 4 statements were also set to test the attitude towards the advertisements, which were â€Å"This advertisement projects a sense of good quality towards the product†, â€Å"This advertisement projects a pleasant feeling†, â€Å"This advertisement is reliable† and â€Å"This advertisement is persuasive†. In addition, 1 statement was set to test the purchase intention of the audience towards the a dvertisement and endorsed product, which was â€Å"This advertisement increases my intention to purchase the product†. These three attributes would be the dependent variables to combine as â€Å"advertising effectiveness†.They would be analyzed with the credibility of different endorsers, product match-up hypothesis and advertisement message process. 4. 3 Research Objective The quantitative survey is focused on the young female adults as the interviewees, which is in the demographic of generation Y. The age range of young is between 18and 30 years old, which are mostly in the student segment. In this group of people, they tend to be attracted by ‘advertising’, ‘brand’, and ‘fashion’. They are more familiar to celebrities and advertising from different types of media.In the meanwhile, they have more comprehensive understanding and relative matured self-norms. 4. 4 Pilot Test A pilot test was done in advance of distributing of the q uestionnaire for gathering information, this is to ensure the format and design of the questionnaire were effective and capable of obtaining required information for the researching objectives. Another important function of the pilot test to this study is that the sample population was asked to rank a set of selection criteria of celebrity and expert endorsers in order to refining the selection attributes for a more efficient analysis. 3 questionnaires were distributed and 20 questionnaires were returned with comments on the questionnaire design. Some amendment and adjustment was made to the questionnaire after reviewing the feedback of the sample population, the modification included adjusting the layout of the questions, use of question’s wordings, segmentation of demographic data of respondents, and elimination of repeated questions. 4. 5 Distribution of the questionnaire Data were collected from a total of 203 respondents on the internet survey instrument.The survey is sp read by social network requests and e-mail request, which ensures that the target group of people could reach to the survey, and avoid people who is not in the target group doing the survey. The internet-based survey can also obtain the response from more population within a short period of time by not restricting by geographical constrain. 4. 6 Research process and design The research process follows the structure in figure. First, the problem of the research is fomulated, which is the comparasion of expert and celebrity endorsers towards the credibility and advertising effectiveness.Then, an exploatory research is at the second procedure, by reviewing literature. Research framework and data collection methods are determinated at step three and step four. The following is designing samples and collecting data by internet-based survey. The data will be analysed to be the results of the research. Suggestions and recommendations would be made in the references of the results. Chapter 5: Result and Analysis Respondents Profile In the following section, basic demographic data of the respondents, including age, gender, education level, occupation and personal monthly income level, were reported.To be more specific, these descriptive data were summarized and presented with pie charts. Gender of Respondents Since the target respondent in this study is female, the questionnaire is mainly distributed to female interviewee. Therefore, there are totally 199 female and only 4 male respondents. The 4 male respondents are all from the internet survey. The female respondents have 98. 03% of sample population, while male respondents only have 1. 97%. Distribution of age group of the respondents The majority of respondents were 22-25 years old, which has 117 respondents and occupied 57. 64% of the sample population.The following largest group was age between 18-21 years old; there were 51 respondents in this age group, with 25. 12% of the sample population. The percentage of t he respondents in the age group 26-30 was 17. 24%, there were 35 respondents in this age group. Educational Level Over a half of the respondents’ educational level is above bachelor’s degree. 110 out of the 203 respondents, which are 54. 19 % of the sample population, are at the educational level of bachelor’s degree; 68 of the respondents, having 33. 50% of the sample population, are at the tertiary (non-degree) educational level. 5 of the respondents (12. 32% of the population) are postgraduate level. Monthly Income The majority of the respondents’ monthly income is less than $5000, which is 89. 16% of the sample population (181 respondents). 16 out of the 203 respondents (7. 88% of the sample population) have the monthly income between $5000 and $10000. Only 6 of the respondents (2. 96% of the sample population) have the monthly income between $10001 and $20000. Purchase Frequency for respondents In the purchase frequency of skin care product, most of the respondents, with 48. 8% of the sample population (98 out of the 203 respondents) buy skin products 1 to 2 times a month. The following group is respondents who buy skin care product 3 to 4 times a month, with 35. 47% (72 out of the 203 respondents). 10. 84%(22 out of the 203 respondents) of the respondents buy skin care products less than once a month and only 5. 42%(11 out of the 203 respondents) of the respondents buy skin care products more than 4 times a month. In the question of asking which skin-care brands the respondents mostly buy, the result between brands is close. Shiseido Limited’s brand has the largest sample population, with 28. 8% of respondents (57 out of 203) claiming mostly buy their products; the following is the L’oreal Company’s products, having 23. 63% respondents (50 out of 203) that mostly buy their products. 18. 72% (38 out of 203) and 17. 73% (22 out of 203)of respondents mostly buy skin care products of P&G Company and the LVMH L imited respectively. Only 10. 84% of respondents (22 out of 203) mostly buy the skin care products of Estee Lauder. Information towards the skin-care advertisements For the endorsement in skin-care product, the respondents mostly notice the celebrity endorsers and model endorsers, which have 45. 2% (92 out of 203) and 25. 62% (52 out of 203) of the sample population respectively. 17. 24% (35 out of 203)of the respondents noticed the expert endorsers in the advertisement. The following is the real customer endorsers, 8. 87% (18 out of 203) of respondents have noticed their endorsement. Only 1. 97% (4 out of 203) of respondents noticed the CEO endorsers and 2 of the respondents in the survey haven’t noticed any endorsers advertising. The channels that respondents get the information of the skin care product advertisements were asked in the survey.Most of the respondents received the skin care product information from print media such as magazines and newspaper, which had 28. 57 % (58 out of 203) of the respondents. 19. 7% (40 out of 203) of the respondents were getting skin care products information from TV, movie and internet. These two channels had the same population. 12. 81% (26 out of 203) of respondents were getting information from peer’s word-of-mouth. Direct mail and from outdoor billboard has the population of 9. 85% (20 out of 203) and 5. 42% (11 out of 203) respectively. The channel of radio, brands advertisements and sales personnel had the population of 2. 6% (5 out of 203 respondents), 0. 99% (2 out of 203 respondents)and 0. 49%(1 out of 203 respondents), which were the channels least respondents getting information from. 4. 1 Result of Reliability Test As a key factor to determine the quality of measurement instruments, reliability was very important for assessing the internal consist multi-item scales of endorser’s credibility and advertising effectiveness dimensions, Cronbach’s alpha was used. It provides the coeffici ent of inter-item correlations and measured the internal consistency of various items. Referring to Cohen et al. 2007), the reliability level was marginally acceptable at 0. 6 and highly reliable at 0. 8 or above, while according to Pallant (2007), the Cronbach’s alpha value above 0. 7 is considered acceptable and preferable when the values exceed 0. 8. Ohanian’s (1990) scale was used to assess the celebrity endorsers’ credibility. Items were chosen according to the item reliability of the scale. To measure credibility, the dependent variables â€Å"attractiveness†, â€Å"trustworthiness†, â€Å"expertise†, â€Å"likeability†, and â€Å"believability† were selected. In section A, the celebrity endorser Kandy has a Cronbach’s ? f . 962 towards the credibility. The Cronbach’s ? for the expert endorsers’ credibility is . 860 in section A. In section B, the celebrity endorser Gaile has a Cronbach’s ? of . 869 towards the credibility. The Cronbach’s ? for the expert endorsers’ credibility is . 860 in section B Based on studies addressing advertising effectiveness (Biehal, Stephens and Curlo, 1992;Craciun, Stephens and Madden, 2002; Gresham and Shimp, 1985; Spears and Singh,2004), brand attitude, attitude towards the advertisement and purchase intention were used to assess the effectiveness. The Cronbach’s ? or the brand attitude in section A are . 893 and . 824 The Cronbach’s ? for the attitude towards the brand in section A are . 806 and . 793. The Cronbach’s ? for the brand attitude in section B are . 831 and . 712. The Cronbach’s ? for the attitude towards the brand in section B are . 925 and . 908. Referring to Cohen et al. (2007), the reliability level was marginally acceptable at 0. 6 and highly reliable at 0. 8 or above, therefore, the items to be measured in this study is highly reliable. 4. 3 Endorser Credibility and Advertisement E ffectiveness IntroductionIn this study, in order to test H1: Credibility of endorsers significantly affects advertisement effectiveness, linear regression analysis is adopted in testing the relationship of dependent variable (Y), advertising effectiveness, to relate the independent variables(X), which is the endorsers’ credibility, for the prediction. The measures of endorser’s credibility consisted of 5 attributes, which are trustworthiness, expertise, believability, attractiveness and honesty. Meanwhile, advertising effectiveness contained 3 attributes, including brand attitude, attitude towards the advertisement and purchase intention.The attributes of credibility and advertising effectiveness had combined as the mean score in the analysis. In the following table, Credibility1 of celebrity endorser Kandy in part A; Credibility2 represents the computed results of expert endorser Albert in part A; Credibility3 represents the computed results of celebrity endorser Gail e in part B; Credibility4 represents the computed results of expert endorser Robert in part B. â€Å"EndorserAdeffectiveness† represents combined mean score of all endorsers’ advertising effectiveness. Coefficient of Determination R squareMujis (2004) had provided a guide to assess how well a developed model fit the data. The table would give a clearer interpretation of Mujis suggestion. 0. 5| Strong Fit| Result of Endorser Credibility and Advertisement Effectiveness Model Summary| Model| R| R Square| Adjusted R Square| Std. Error of the Estimate| | 1| . 756a| . 572| . 569| . 24445| a. Predictors: (Constant), Credibility1, Credibility2 Credibility3, Credibility4| To test the correlation of the endorser credibility and their advertising effectiveness, the coefficient of determination r2 is used.It is a statistical term that tells us how well one variable is at predicting another. Since the study is a small scale research, using adjusted R square would give a more accura te result. (Mujis ,2004). The dependent variable â€Å"EndorserAdeffectiveness† is the combined mean score of all endorsers’ advertising effectiveness, and the independent variable â€Å"Credibility 1† to â€Å" Credibility 4† is the mean score of celebrity and expert endorsers in part A and part B. In the table, the R square is 0. 572 and the adjusted R square is 0. 569, with the standard error of 0. 24445.As the adjusted R square is 0. 569, it indicated that the credibility of endorser explains 56. 9% of advertising effectiveness. According to the Mujis, when adjusted R square is >0. 5, it shows a strong fit of the model. Therefore, the correlation between endorsers’ credibility and advertising effectiveness is strong. ANOVAb| Model| Sum of Squares| df| Mean Square| F| Sig. | 1| Regression| 67. 671| 1| 33. 836| 404. 646| . 000a| | Residual| 16. 724| 201| . 060| | | | Total| 84. 395| 202| | | | b. a. Predictors: (Constant), Credibility1, Credibili ty2 Credibility3, Credibility4| b.Dependent Variable: EndorserAdeffectiveness| In the F test, a 95% of confidence level is adopted, the p-value is . 000, which is 3. However, celebrity perceived as more attractive than expert endorsers. Likability In testing the attribute â€Å"likability† with the statement â€Å"The endorser's image is positive†, the celebrity endorser has 3. 1 points and the expert endorser has 3. 52 points. The result shows that the respondents perceived both celebrity and expert endorser as likable, since their mean are ;3. However, expert endorser Albert had a slightly higher point than celebrity, while the celebrity is perceived as more attractive as shown above. Trustworthiness Attributes Trustworthiness In testing the attribute â€Å"trustworthiness† with the statement â€Å"The endorser is trustworthy†, the celebrity endorser has 3. 25 points and the expert endorser has 3. 42 points. Both endorsers perceived as trustworthy, and have a very close result.The expert endorser Albert received a slightly higher point than Kandy only. Honesty In testing the attribute â€Å"Honesty† with the statement â€Å"The endorser is honest†, the celebrity endorser has 3. 38 points and the expert endorser has 3. 54 points. Respondents graded both endorser scores that higher than the midpoint, which show that both endorsers are perceived as honest and believable. However, Albert still scores slightly higher point than Kandy in this attribute. Expertise Attribute Professional In testing the attribute â€Å"expertise† with the statement â€Å"The endorser is professional†, the celebrity endorser Kandy has 2. 0 points and the expert endorser Albert has 3. 80points. Differ from other variables in part A, the result shows significant difference between two endorsers, the celebrity endorser Kandy received a low score, which is lower than the â€Å"neutral† 3 point. The respondents disagree that Ka ndy is professional and has expertise towards the product. In contrast, the expert endorser Albert Li received a positive score, the respondents perceived Albert as professional and expert. Summary of Part A Part A: Endorser Credibility| | N| Mean| Std. Deviation| Std. Error Mean| Kandy| 203| 3. 26| . 892| . 063|Albert| 203| 3. 3113| . 67810| . 04759| Comparing the credibility attributes between celebrity and expert endorser in part A, which is for the attractive-related aqua cream skin care product from the brand â€Å"Super†, the celebrity endorser Kandy only has the advantage in the â€Å"Attractiveness† compared to the expert endorser Albert. On the contrary, the expert endorser has a higher grade in â€Å"trustworthiness†, â€Å"expertise†, â€Å"believability† and â€Å"likability† attributes compared to Kandy. Especially in the area of â€Å"expertise†, while Albert had 3. 54 points while the celebrity only had 2. 30 points.The result shows that the expert endorser Albert Li is having advantages in more attributes of credibility than Kandy. To conclude all the credibility attributes, Albert received a slightly higher mean score (3. 1113) than Kandy (3. 26), as shown in table. Results in Part B Part B: Comparison of Celebrity and Expert Endorsers| | Mean| N| Std. Deviation| Std. Error Mean| Pair 1| C:The endorser is attractive| 3. 44| 203| . 790| . 055| | E:The endorser is attractive| 2. 10| 203| . 605| . 042| Pair 2| C:The endorser's image is positive | 2. 72| 203| . 840| . 059| | E:The endorser's image is positive| 3. 0| 203| . 887| . 062| Pair 3| C:The endorser is trustworthy| 2. 80| 203| . 890| . 062| | E:The endorser is trustworthy | 3. 54| 203| . 749| . 053| Pair 4| C:The endorser is honest| 2. 77| 203| . 868| . 061| | E:The endorser is honest| 3. 57| 203| . 757| . 053| Pair 5| C:The endorser is professional| 2. 67| 203| . 840| . 059| | E:The endorser is professional| 3. 59| 203| . 852| . 060| Attrac tiveness Attributes Attractiveness As shown in table 3, for the statement â€Å"The endorser is attractive† this is to test the attractiveness in the credibility scale, from the 5 point Likert scale, the celebrity has 3. 4 points, when the expert endorser only has 2. 10 points. The result shows that the celebrity Gaile in part B is perceived as attractive, with the score higher than the midpoint. However, the expert endorser Robert received a respectively low score than Gaile. The respondents didn’t find the expert endorser attractive in this part. Likability In testing the attribute â€Å"likability† with the statement â€Å"The endorser's image is positive†, the celebrity endorser has 2. 72 points and the expert endorser has 3. 50 points. Gaile has the score lower than the midpoint, while Robert is perceived as likable in this part.Trustworthiness Attributes Trustworthiness In testing the attribute â€Å"trustworthiness† with the statement  "The endorser is trustworthy†, the celebrity endorser Gaile has 2. 80 points and the expert endorser Robert has 3. 54 points. The result shows that the respondents disagree that Gaile is trustworthy in this advertisement, while they found the expert endorser Robert more trustworthy than Gaile. Honesty In testing the attribute â€Å"Honesty† with the statement â€Å"The endorser is honest†, the celebrity endorser has 2. 77 points and the expert endorser has 3. 57 points.The result shows that respondents find that Robert is more honest in the advertisement than Gaile, since they graded Gaile a score lower than midpoint (2. 77). Expertise Attribute Professional In testing the attribute â€Å"expertise† with the statement â€Å"The endorser is professional†, the celebrity endorser has 2. 67 points and the expert endorser has 3. 59 points. The respondents graded a low score for Gaile in this attributes, which shows that they did not perceive Gaile as pro fessional and expert in this advertisement. On the other hand, Robert, the expert endorser is perceived as professional and expert.Summary of Part B Part B Credibility| | N| Mean| Std. Deviation| Std. Error Mean| Celebrity Endorser| 203| 2. 8828| . 68553| . 04811| Expert Endorser| 203| 3. 2197| . 62711| . 04401| Comparing the credibility attributes between celebrity and expert endorser in part B, which is for the hand cream and body emulsion from the brand â€Å"Super†, the celebrity endorser Gaile only has the advantage in the â€Å"Attractiveness† attribute compared to the expert endorser Robert, while Robert has the lowest score in this attribute, compared to other attributes.On the contrary, the expert endorser has a higher grade in â€Å"trustworthiness†, â€Å"expertise†, â€Å"honesty† and â€Å"likability† attributes compared to Gaile. In addition to this, Gaile has been graded relatively low points in these four attributes; all of t hese attributes are lower than the midpoint score. The lowest score is found at the â€Å"expertise† attribute, while Gaile only received 2. 67 point. To Combined the credibility attribute in part B, which is the comparison towards the health-related product hand cream and body emulsion, the celebrity endorser Gaile has an overall mean of 2. 828 points, compared to the 3. 2197 points of the expert endorser Robert, as shown in Table 4. The expert endorser Robert is perceived more credible than the celebrity endorser Gaile in this advertisement, in addition to this, the average score of Gaile is lower than the midpoint(3). The result shows that respondents disagree that Gaile is a credible endorser. Comparison between Celebrity Endorsers Mean Score of Celebrity Endorsers’ Credibility Attributes| | Kandy| Gaile| Attractive| 3. 87| 3. 44| Likability| 3. 51| 2. 72| Attractiveness Average| 3. 69| 3. 08|Honesty| 3. 38| 2. 77| Trustworthy| 3. 25| 2. 80| Trustworthiness Average | 3. 315| 2. 785| Expertise| 2. 30| 2. 67| Average Score| 3. 26| 2. 8828| In the table, it has shown the mean score of celebrity endorsers’ credibility attributes, combining part A and part B, which is Kandy and Gaile respectively. The average attribute score of each endorser is highlighted in the table. It can be seen that both of the celebrity received highest point in the â€Å"Attractiveness† attribute (3. 69 and 3. 08), on the other hand, thy both received lowest point in the â€Å"Expertise† attribute (2. 0 and 2. 67) among the other attributes. For the â€Å"Trustworthiness† attribute, Kandy received 3. 315 points while Gaile only had 2. 785, which was lower than midpoint 3. The result shows that the respondents perceived celebrity endorsers as attractive in the advertisements, making it the most significant attributes among the credibility attributes. However, respondents disagree celebrity is professional and expert in the advertisement, as the s core of the â€Å"expertise† attribute of the celebrity is both lower than the midpoint of the likert scale.The result also shows that Kandy has a higher credibility average score than Gaile, while Kandy has an average score (3. 26) above the midpoint. Kandy were all graded above the midpoint in the attributes of â€Å"Attractiveness† (3. 87), â€Å"Likability†(3. 51), â€Å"Believability†(3. 38) and â€Å"Trustworthiness†(3. 25), however, Gaile was all graded below the midpoint in the attributes of â€Å"Likability†(2. 72), â€Å"Expertise† (2. 67) â€Å"Believability†(2. 77) and â€Å"Trustworthiness†(2. 80) average score is below the midpoint level.Besides the â€Å"expertise† attribute, Kandy received higher points than Gaile among the other attribute. It indicated that the respondents perceived Kandy as a celebrity endorser who is more credible than Gaile. Comparison between Expert Endorsers Mean Score of Exp ert Endorsers| | Robert1| Robert2| Attractive| 3. 34| 2. 10| Likability| 3. 52| 3. 50| Attractiveness Average| 3. 43| 2. 8| Trustworthy| 3. 42| 3. 54| Honesty| 3. 54| 3. 57| Trustworthiness Average| 3. 48| 3. 555| Expertise| 3. 80| 3. 59| Average Score| 3. 3113| 3. 2197|As shown in the table, it indicated the mean score of expert endorsers’ credibility attributes, combing part A and part B, which is Albert Li and Robert Kwon respectively. The highest and lowest score of each endorser is highlighted in the table. It can be seen that both of the expert endorser received highest point in the â€Å"Expertise† attribute (3. 80 and 3. 59), on the other hand, thy both received lowest point in the â€Å"Attractiveness† (3. 43 and 2. 8) among the other attributes. Robert had a slightly higher point(3. 555) than Albert (3. 48) in the â€Å"Trustworthiness† attribute.The result shows that the respondents perceived celebrity endorsers as attractive in the advertiseme nts, making it the most significant attributes among the credibility attributes. However, respondents only found Albert is attractive. For Robert in the part B advertisement, the score of the â€Å"attractiveness† attribute was lower than the midpoint of the likert scale. There is a significant contrast between two expert endorsers toward this attribute. Despite of the contrast of the â€Å"attractiveness† attribute, the expert endorsers were graded above the agreement level and received a similar result in other credibility attributes.The average score of two expert endorsers is very close (3. 31113 and 3. 2197). The result shows that respondents perceived expert endorsers in these two advertisements as credible and most significantly, professional. Summary of Celebrity and Expert endorser | Credibility Attributes Between Celebrity and Expert Endorsers| Mean Score| Celebrity A| 3. 26| Expert A| 3. 3113| Mean Score| Celebrity B| 2. 8828| Expert B| 3. 2197| Average Scor e| 3. 0714| 3. 2655| Since the expert endorsers were grade a higher score in terms of credibility in both part A and part B.We can conclude that H2: Celebrity endorser has a better performance in the general measure of â€Å"Endorser Credibility† is rejected. Endorser Credibility to Particular Advertising Effectiveness Attributes As the â€Å"H1:credibility of endorsers significantly affects advertisement effectiveness† has been accepted, in the following section, the relationship of endorsers’ credibility and particular advertising effectiveness attributes –brand attitude; attitude towards the advertisement and purchase intention would be tested in order to gain a deeper understanding to the study.Celebrity endorsers to Advertising Effectiveness The celebrity endorsers’ credibility would be group as â€Å"CelebExpertise†, which is the mean score of endorsers’ expertise; â€Å"CelebTrustworthy†, which is the mean score of endor sers’ trustworthiness and â€Å"CelebAttractive† is the mean score of endorsers’ at

Neil Anderson Critique: Bondage Breaker Essay

Neil Anderson, in his book â€Å"Bondage Breaker† ( 1993) addresses using a new phenomenon for a New Age problem. Overall, Anderson suggests that a large amount of problems that people struggle with today are related to Satan’s attack on their mental state. Anderson stands firm on the belief that Christians are not aware of their ability to be attacked by Satan’s attempts to confuse and deter them from God’s plan for their life. This critique will share the overall summary of this theory. Summary Anderson (1993) writes this book in three major parts. The first entitled â€Å"Take Courage†, opens the reader up to his opinion on Satan’s influence and ability to mislead a person. Anderson begins suggesting that the enemy uses many different forms of negative thoughts, feelings and sins that plague people in and outside the counseling field. In these first chapters, Anderson (1993) supports his opinions with his many experiences of people under the attack of demonic forces.(p.18). In chapters two and three, Anderson (1993) shares his view that the world is heading in a new direction where culture is more accepting of Satanism and the supernatural (Anderson, 1993, p.29). Therefore this makes for a great time to share this concept and allow people in on the ability to have more control over the enemy’s confusion. It is also in this first section that he addresses the biblical need to accept and address the demonic influence (Anderson, 1993, p.37). The author suggests that Christians have accepted the idea that with Jesus Christ, the influence of Satan is dead ( Anderson, 1993, p.37). The author supports his belief that Satan’s influence is still very strong and suggests the bible informs this by such verses as in 2 Corinthians, 10:5, â€Å"†¦Every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (holy bible). He also continues to support his belief with scripture from Romans 7, where Paul is describing his struggles (Holy Bible) Anderson also shares his views on Satan’s attacks on the human mind (1993, p.64). He shares the support in scripture like â€Å"The spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons† (1Timothy 4:1, NSV). He also relates this to psychology by connecting this to a routine pattern of patients hearing voices (Anderson, 1993, p.65). In the final section of part 1, Anderson (1993) shares how God’s love and gift of Jesus Christ is enough to take control of Satan’s influence, but it’s about understanding and accepting it, before trying to take action (1993, p.93). Once this is understood by the client, then Christians must take action. Anderson (1993) compares this to being in the military and resting in the tanks and missiles but not taking caution in wearing a helmet (1993, p.93). In other words, the author suggests there is work to be done in â€Å"taking up the armor of God† discussed in Ephesians (Holy Bible). Moving into the second part of the book, Anderson (1993) begins sharing more about Satan’s strategy with his attack on a person’s thoughts and sins. In chapter seven, one reads the different qualities of a demon, like its ability to exist in or outside humans (Anderson, 1993, p.116).In chapter 10, the reader is informed of Satan’s lies that continue to linger in a person’s mind until they become their truth (Anderson, 1993, p.153). And finally in this section, the author shares about how easily deception can slowly sneak into a person’s mind and can take over their life (Anderson, 1993, p.171). The last portion of the book is about the freedom through Christ that we are unaware that we have. This section is Anderson’s explanation of what to do to rid yourself of the demonic forces that have been fueling a negative path in one’s life. The first step that he states in taking action towards this freedom is prayer and acknowledging, by renouncing all past or current non-Christian activities that a person may have participated in (Anderson, 1993, p.201). The next step is to make oneself aware of the deception that you are believing (Anderson, 1993, 204). Anderson gives many scripture and sample prayers to help a person realize this (Anderson, 1993, p.209 ). The third step in this process is to allow yourself to choose forgiveness for others (Anderson, 1993, p.203). The last steps described in these sections explain in detail for areas of pride, rebellion, and lastly how to make sure this process is a success. Strengths and Weaknesses The major area that I feel uneasy about with this theory of Satan’s attacks on Christians is his biblical support. Anderson (1993) supports this theory on the idea that Christians are free through Christ but we are influenced by Satan. I felt that his stance on this was not very clear. I recognize that we are informed in different areas of the bible to be aware of Satan’s influence, but I don’t know if I agree with his opinion that demons can live within us (Anderson, 1993, p.118). I know that a lot of his interpretations are based on his methodology that he uses, and therefore, I start to question his opinion of the scripture. It’s just hard for me to understand and accept that if Christ died to give us freedom, how are demonic forces able to live among us still? I’m not against this idea entirely, but it has led me to question where I stand on this. I feel I will need to investigate more on this topic. In agreeing that this may not be acceptable, it brings me to question the ways this theory on Satan’s control could be abused. If someone were to begin accessing their situation and applying it their everyday life, I can see how this could very easily be abused. Every time you stub your toe, it’s now all thanks to Satan’s attacks on you. Eventually a person could begin to label their sins Satan’s faults as well. Biblically, God calls his people to honesty and dignity. I would not want to find myself falling into this pattern of never truly evaluating my own struggles and just accepting them as Satan’s fault. With all this being said, I will say I highly enjoyed this book. I would prefer reading this book the most, as it brought me to consider a new perspective on the dark world that we live in. Until reading this book, I was not very clear on the biblical support that this topic has, even if it is an area of methodology in scripture and several diff erent theological opinions to go with it. I appreciate Anderson’s views on these attacks in the counseling field. I was amazed at the experiences he has had to back up every one of his theories. I also enjoyed his information on new age super natural influences in the world. I think that is vital information because so many people today are looking to these sources for advice. Personal application I’ve had a small portion of my walk with Christ influenced with the knowledge of Satan’s attacks on the earth and our spiritual walk with God. I enjoyed reading this book and will probably study it further in the future. I appreciate knowing that the times in my life when I could not figure out what I was missing or understand what I was doing wrong, it may have been because of spiritual warfare. However, with that being said, I am not comfortable relying on that as a crutch. Therefore, I feel as though this is an area worth investigating and hearing others’ opinions on before calling it fact. I do think that this is an issue I would like to compare further with other critics in the counseling field and hear their opinions. I would like to see the new studies that are developing in regards to Christian therapy that acknowledges demonic influences. I am curious to not only hear if this is common treatment, but how it is being researched.

In What Ways Did the Causes of the Second World War Differ?

In what ways did the causes of the Second World War differ from the causes of the First World War? The causes of World War One and World War Two shared both differences and similarities, but overall there were more differences between the two. The social, political, and economic circumstances of the times varied, though at times correlated with each other, but there are extreme differences that help create a different atmosphere for each war.The assassination of Franz Ferdinand, on the 28th June, 1914, set off World War One; Martel argues â€Å"The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand was the final straw in the struggle for mastery in the Balkans†. He was shot by Gavrilo Princip, a member of the Black Hand, a Serbian group set up to fight for the unification of all South Slav territories that had been annexed by Austria-Hungary. Two months after the shooting Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, setting off the next chain of events that brought into account the alliance syste m.In 1938, a year before the start of World War Two, Hitler was growing ever more confident due to the lack of resistance he experienced from any other European country. He had annexed Austria with little or no consequences, and made a deal with France and Britain guaranteeing him the Sudetenland if he did not go after any other territories. In 1939 he broke this deal by occupying Czechoslovakia, and starting to advance on Danzig.At this point, the Allies realized that they must put an end to Hitler’s advance, as they could already see that Hitler had a lot more in mind than just the invasion of Poland. The Alliance system was present throughout both wars, although as countries surrendered and changed loyalties none of them remained permanent. The alliances system was originally created to help keep the peace in Europe, with the belief that they would act together as a defensive mechanism against any attack, as it was also in their own interest to keep Europe in peace.Neverth eless the alliance system is now seen as a major cause of the war, as Schmit believes: â€Å"The alliances which had originally served as the cause of peace when put to the final test operated to convert a local quarrel into a general war†, as two small countries with a territorial dispute were able to set of a chain reaction in the alliances that brought the greatest powers in Europe to declare war on each other. The Wall St. Crash of 1929 is believed to have led to the Great Depression of the 1930s, and caused there to be 6 million unemployed in Germany.This social unrest and resentment caused the Weimar Republic to become even more unpopular, and left Hitler with an opportunity to gain the public’s support. He set up soup kitchens across Germany to feed the unemployed, and during his election campaign of 1933 he promised to abolish unemployment if elected. The unpopularity of the Weimar government left the people looking for someone who could restore national pride to Germany and save her from her current depression, and it appeared as if Hitler could do exactly that, which led to an increase in popularity and votes.Historians such as Fischer blame the German people for the out break of the Second World War as it was their support that gave Hitler power to pursue his plans. The Treaty of Versailles was felt to bring humiliation to Germany, and created a feeling of Diktat. It was eventually seen by other European countries as being to harsh. Germany and her allies had to agree to take all of the blame for the war; lost all its overseas colonies, the Saar and Rhineland, along with many more military, territorial and legal restrictions.The Rhineland was demilitarized and was seen as a buffer zone between the borders of France and Germany. When Hitler ordered his troops to march into the Rhineland he said: â€Å"The 48 hours after the march into the Rhineland were the most nerve-racking in my life. If the French had marched into the Rhineland we would have had to withdraw, for the military resources at our disposal would have been wholly inadequate for even moderate resistance. This shows the weakness of the League of Nations, because if the League of Nations had shown any resistance to Hitler’s expansion the expansion would of stopped and Hitler would of withdrawn from the Rhineland. â€Å"a credible achievement that eventually failed because of the reluctance of the victors to enforce it† -Ruth Henig The failure of other countries to check German ambition was also apparent in World War One, when Germany’s new foreign policy meant that they began to rely heavily on the military to force their way into the European powers and increase their overseas empire, long with other advantages for themselves. Hitler’s rearmament of Germany was necessary due to the fact that the Treaty of Versailles had left her unable to defend herself. Conscription was banned and troop numbers could be no more than 100,00 0. Weapons were no longer allowed to be manufactured, and importing and exporting weapons was also prohibited. The Navy was decreased to 15,000 men, 6 battleships, 6 cruisers, 12 destroyers and 12 torpedo boats. Submarines were banned, and so were aircrafts.The rearmament of Germany was a lengthy task, and Hitler at first found loopholes in the treaty that allowed for aircraft clubs to be set up that allowed men to learn how to fly without it being considered as military preparation. Rearmament wasn’t an issue in the run up to World War One as no such restrictions had been placed on Germany, although they did start a naval arms race with Britain while they increased their fleet size. â€Å"[The German] bid for continental supremacy was certainly decisive in bringing on the European War† AJP Taylor.Both World Wars seem to start from the same general situations, such as a the urge to increase the nations strength and image in front of the other nations, but when looked a t closely, it is evident that there are many differences between the causes of the two Wars. Factors such as the Treaty of Versailles and the Wall Street Crash of 1929 play a big part in the start of the Second World War. Thus in conclusion the causes of World War Two differ from the causes of World War One.

Protecting the Scenic Beauty of Wildlife

Protecting the Scenic Beauty of Wildlife By Jeramy Buckman CM220 Unit 9 Final Project 7/17/12 I want everyone to close your eyes and picture yourself in the Rocky Mountains with your children hiking up a trail to your favorite camping site next to a hidden lake. While walking down the trail you are looking around looking for animals prints to show your children. You are excited to show your children some of the beautiful wildlife that you got to see when you where their age when your parents did this for you.As you and your children are walking you start to realize that you are not really seeing any wildlife that should be very abundant in this area. You also are noticing that there are not as many wild flowers and plants that were also here. You finally realize that you will not be able to give your children the wonderful memories that you received as a child. As you may have realized that this is a problem that we are starting to see and face today. Many times animals become extinc t causing changes to the scientific life cycle, environment, scenic sights, food sources and many others.This has a drastic affect not only one our habitat and environment but can and will also affect us as humans. We as people can prevent and preserve this beauty for future generations all we have to do is understand the problem and take action. We need to educate ourselves and our children of the importance of animals and how to protect them. We need to understand what happens when we introduce an exotic species to an area, about pollution, habitat destruction, over using animals, poaching, the punishment for poaching, and how we can help prevent all of this.Every day we are rapidly losing many different plant and animal species. With this rapid decrease of these animals and plants we start to lose the beautiful sights that we grew up with, taking away those potential memories from our children and generations to come. Ten thousand scientists in the World Conservation Union stated that anywhere between 2. 7 and 270 species are erased from existence every day including today. So broken down, 1 out or 4 mammals, 1 out of 8 birds, 1 out of 3 amphibians are at risk of extinction (Whitty, J. 2007). This is not the only thing that can happen though.With the loss of these species it starts to affect the plants and animals around them causing them to slowly die out. This then can end up causing more drastic effect to the environment and even us. As E. O. Wilson stated in a speech: â€Å"that if we were able to kill off all the insects that it would lead to our own extinction† (2007). First, I want to provide a friendly recap of what many of us have learned as a child in school, and that is the food chain. The food chain basically contains four important groups. The first group of the chain is the sun. This offers energy to everything on this planet.The next group is the producers. These are things that are able to make their own food by using the energy the s un provides. Examples of these are, grass, trees, flowers, vegetables, etc. Next, we have the consumers. Consumers are any species that eats something, either plants or other animals. Finally, we have the decomposers. These are things like bacteria or fungi that take something that has died and breaks it down and produces gases like carbon and nitrogen. They then release that back into the air, soil, or water where it will be used by future producers (ThinkQuest, 2012).When an animal (such as a grizzly bear) becomes extinct this an effect not only on the food chain but the food web also. When the bear is gone it is no longer eating other plants or animals, which can then lead to them starting to over populate. Over time these plants and animals are going to start to decline because their food sources are being depleted due to the increased numbers. So as you can see even the smallest species plays an important role and affects everything around them. There are many things that are t he leading causes of animal endangerment and extinction.One of these causes is the introduction of exotic species not found in a specific area. When this is done it can affect the balance of things. Lets’ take the government’s action to introduce the grey wolf into Montana and how it had a drastic effect on things. First off the grey wolf that the government introduced was not the species of grey wolf that are native to Montana. Because of this introduction many of us noticed the numbers of deer and elk started to rapidly decrease. And like I mentioned earlier the deer population decreasing has an effect on other species of plants and animals that depend on them.So the biggest thing that not only the government, but us also, is that we have to remember is that we need to introduce animals in the area that they normally come from instead of an area that has never known that type of species. Another factor that is causing the increase of endangerment and extinction of sp ecies is habitat destruction. The greatest force that causes habitat destruction is the human being. We cut down forests to make room for our expansion and needs. We cause pollution of the land, water, and air which in turn can also increase the greenhouse effect (Kurpis, L. 002). So what are some of the ways that we can prevent this? That is an ongoing battle that we fight today. For the pollution is to use greener more environment friendly types of energy such as wind or solar, drive less or carpool, and of course recycling is a big help. Also keep in contact with the state government if you notice factories or companies that happen to be polluting and see if there may be a safer alternative. Never be afraid to write to state officials, remember we helped to get them into office so they can help us protect the animals.This leads to another cause of the increase of endangerment and extinction is what some call â€Å"over exploitation†. This is when we â€Å"over use† a species. This can be caused by miscounting numbers of a species in an area, and then over hunting that area, causing a drastic drop in numbers. Again we are not just affecting that species but others that are part of that food web in that area. Another reason why animals’ numbers are declining is due to poaching. Poaching is the knowledgeable and purposeful illegal killing of an animal. This is done either for trophies such as antlers, horns, or other things that poachers will classify as a trophy.Some poachers will do it for money selling the animal meat or trophies to the highest bidder. Unfortunately, some do it because they need the food and cannot afford to wait till the proper hunting season, or come across the animal in a no hunting area. Yet some poachers do it for the sport of the kill. This affects us because they are killing and wasting animals that can be hunted during proper hunting seasons, kill endangered species, and other animals that are not allowed to be hunted (Fish, Wildlife, & Parks 2012). Here in Montana we do have laws against poaching but is it enough?The punishment for poaching an animal can be a fine of $50 up to $35,000, jail time from 6 months up to 20 years the loss of hunting, fishing, and trapping rights from 2 years to life and possible restitution for the animal based off of the species, sex, age, and whether it was a trophy animal or not. The bad thing about this is that not all judges will give the maximum punishment and give more of a â€Å"slap on the wrist†. For example a person was caught poaching two moose and the judge sentenced them with a fine of $50,000, no time in jail and the loss of their hunting rights for 8 years.I feel that we as a whole need to contact our state legislature and try to get the punishment increased and enforced better, because I feel that some poachers don’t learn the lesson. Again we will use the hunter mentioned earlier. He didn’t learn his lesson because he stil l brags about what he done and goes around telling people of other animals he has poached since then. If we can get additional laws and bills passed I believe that this will help limit the amount of animals killed due to poaching. Some of you are asking, â€Å"What can we personally do about poaching†.One of the ways that you can help reduce the numbers of poachers is if you happen to see an animal being killed illegally you need to report it to the local Fish and Game, Forest Service or the local authorities. Second if you are a hunter or a fisher make sure that you know that the area that you are hunting/fishing is an area that is not protected against it. On way you can do this is by purchasing a local map that will show areas that are allowed to be hunted or places that you can seek permission to hunt or fish. Always keep an eye out for no hunting or no trespassing signs which are the number one way to know you can’t be there.Also, you want to make sure that you be come familiar with the animals or fish that you are trying to get so that you don’t shoot or fish something that you should not. For example black bears are not always black but can also be brown. This can lead someone to shoot a grizzly which happens to be a protected animal. You need to learn the distinguishing marks and differences between the black bear and the grizzly before you go hunting. You should always get the hunting/fishing regulations because they always include information on the species and what to look for so that you know what you are trying to hunt or fish.Another option is that you can research the animal that you are going to be hunting and get information and pictures of them so you can become familiar with the species. And finally you can always take hunters safety which will give you additional hunting and fishing knowledge. You have to remember that poaching isn’t always done on purpose it can be done due to the lack of knowledge. The main this that everyone has to keep in mind is that poaching is illegal and needs to be stopped. We need to remember to know the areas that we can and cannot hunt or fish.We also need to have a running knowledge of the animals that we are hunting and fishing so as not to shoot something that looks similar only to find out that it is a different species. And above all is if you see or know someone that is poaching is that you need to report it to the proper authorities. With this knowledge and understanding of poaching together we can help lower one of the reasons for the rapid decline of animals. So as you can see, we as humans need to take a stand and start helping to protect what many of us hold very dear to us and future generations.We need to educate ourselves and future generations of the importance of animals. We need to limit, as best as possible, the amount of habitat that we destroy. We also need to understand the amount and types of species that we bring into an area. We need to un derstand and help prevent pollution not only for our sake but also the animals. Above all we need to take a stand against the over exploitation of animals and the biggest one is poaching. If we stand together I feel very confident that we can make a difference and protect our childhood scenic beauty to share with future generations to come. ReferencesFish, Wildlife, & Parks (2012). Poaching in Montana. Source Retrieved from http://fwp. mt. gov/enforcement/crimes/poaching. html Kurpis, L (2002). Causes of endangerment. Source Retrieved from http://www. endangeredspecie. com/causes_of_endangerment. htm ThinkQuest (2012). The food chain. Source Retrieved from http://library. thinkquest. org/11353/food. htm Wilson, E. O. (2007). Saving life on earth. Source Retrieved from http://www. ted. com/talks/e_o_wilson_on_saving_life_on_earth. html Whitty, J. (2007). Animal extinction – the greatest threat to mankind. Source Retrieved from http://www. commondreams. org/archive/2007/04/30/8 62

Divorce Research Paper

Divorce Crystal Perez Divorce is a big scary word for many. To some, it is a word that represents failure and a reason for them to raise the white flag in defeat. Trials and tribulations seemed to take their toll and cause reason for a significant change in lifestyle, routines, and marital status. To others, divorce is a reason to escape from a difficult and harmful relationship. Divorce is the final straw and the symbol of courage to leave when they had had enough. For whatever the reason, divorce has become extremely prevalent not just in the United States, but across the Earth. It is also a large reason for debate.Many feel as though divorce is looked at as a â€Å"get out of jail free card† and that people use it when they have decided that they want to move on. Many also see divorce as a harmful tool to tear a family to pieces. Regardless of how divorce is perceived, the fact is that it creates a very powerful change in families. The exact cause of a divorce is interchang eable from case to case. The cause and effect dynamic may display a pattern as to why many marriages fail. Factors and warning signs that may contribute to a failed marriage include factors before the marriage, and during a marriage.Such factors before a marriage include; his or her parents divorcing, either partner is under the age of 21, family is opposed to the marriage, cohabitation before marriage, a previous divorce of either partner, or a large discrepancy in age, background, interests, and values. (Berger 2009) While one may say that catching these warning signs early could prevent a couple from immaturely embarking on the trip down the aisle, many signs are simply ignored by pre-marital bliss. The warning signs for divorce while in the marriage may be more detectable.Such signs include; divergent plans and practices regarding childbearing and child rearing, financial stress/unemployment, substance abuse, communication difficulties, lack of time together, emotional or physic al abuse, and relatives who do not support the relationship. (Berger 2009) It has been said â€Å"many distressed marriages are happier after divorce, while those in merely distant marriages are less happy than they though they would be. † (Berger 2009) Many go into a relationship ignoring the faults of others; completely blind to potential risk factors or warning signs of a failing relationship. Why would they?To constantly look for fault in others and to always search for the problem could lead to a potentially lonely life. The saying that no one is perfect, while completely true, can ring in the ears of a man or woman looking for love. This statement can cause one to experience the common â€Å"overlooking the flaws† syndrome, and therefore send such star-crossed lovers down the aisle; never stopping to take a breath and consider the impossible†¦what if they are not truly compatible? The good news is that more so now than ever, individuals are deciding to exami ne their partners and themselves a little bit more carefully before tying the knot.The United States was the first nation to see the divorce rate rise significantly years ago. However, the divorce rate has remained steady for the past 15 years. (Berger 2009) To more closely examine the reasoning behind the steady rate, you have to consider where society was fifteen years ago. Fifteen years ago it was 1997; the year where the average income was $37,006. 00. (PeopleHistory. com 2004) Whether you consider it low or high today, the fact is that that $37,000 dollars was now being shared more frequently between powerful men and women. These women were executives, lawyers, professors, and collegiate professionals.One may say that these women had an unwavering sense of feminism and the mentality of being a strong, career-driven individual. It is at the age where women are not defined by their husband’s careers, but by their own accomplishments. With women taking their place in the wo rkplace, it may be safe to say that many found that a career was her top priority. Being a businesswoman and climbing the corporate ladder may have been reason enough for women to shy away from marriage until later in life; or quite possibly altogether. Whatever the case, women were allowed to be choosier in who they married, causing a lull in the divorce rate.Maybe women were realizing that they did not need marriage to feel fulfilled. Or maybe for the lucky ones, they really could have it all; maintain corporate executive status†¦and find and keep love. Although the divorce rate in the United States has kept steady for the past 15 years, the rates are still considerably high. Current divorce rates state that almost one out of two marriages end in divorce. This number is without considering that half of all adults do not get divorced. In fact, a large number of people never marry or many marry multiple times. Berger 2009) This brings up a great point as to why divorce rates ar e so high. We all know the tragic stories of those who have married multiple times on their desperate hunt to find happiness and true love. It evokes the question; while women and men can be wildly successful, why are they always looking for the fairytale? Why do we insist that somewhere, out there, our knight in shining armor will canter down the beaten path into our front yard and ask to be ours? Why do men proclaim that they will only settle down for the right woman; who coincidentally mirrors the only perfect woman in their life†¦ their mom?We have been told since we were young that we should never settle. We prepare ourselves for our futures, demand our friends to tell us the truth about â€Å"what’s wrong with us†, and have our hearts broken a million times because in the end, we are destined to find the one†¦right As a little girl, I remember my mom telling me to never settle for just anyone. â€Å"You have a lot to give and a big heart. Make sure the one who gets it really deserves it. † I have spent my life carrying around a heart that is locked up tight until I find that one perfect person who holds the key to it.It sounds like a fairy tale doesn’t it? For someone preaching about the idea that many marriages end because women expect a fairy tale, I still hold that fantasy in my own heart. We are told to not let just anyone in, but how do we know if they are that right person. In our favorite fairy tales, there is always a sign. For Snow White, it was true love’s kiss. If it were the wrong prince and not her true love, his kiss would not have woken her up. In which case, Snow White would experience her own trial and error process without ever having to go through the heartache of a breakup.For Sleeping Beauty, her Prince Charming would have never walked into her life without an arranged marriage. Luckily for her, true love’s kiss also woke her from her slumber. Apparently her betrothed just happened to be the right man for her. Watching these fairy tales growing up reinforces the idea that everyone has a true love. Everyone, no matter how difficult the situation, will eventually find the person that they belong to. Unfortunately for us, there is no sleeping spell that can wake us up with true love’s kiss. We have to continue searching for the perfect man; kissing any frog that comes our direction.So the question is, do we believe the fairytales too much? Do many marriages end in divorce because the man we marry just doesn’t turn out to be Prince Charming? Many go into a relationship giving the benefit of the doubt and hoping that just this one time; he or she will be perfect. Could it be possible that many marriages end because of disappointment? Another theory as to why divorces do occur so frequently is the fact that we watch men and women in the media divorcing their spouse like it is a right of passage; like after the 3rd one, you get a discount on your next w edding. Take Elizabeth Taylor for example.The glamorously successful film star earned her star status by acting in films since the age of ten. She was considered to be one of the last great movie stars of her time. While she is known for her films, she is better known for her precocious love life. With all of her star success, one would think that she would be content; but like any other human being, she longed for love. When she didn’t find it the first time, she continued to search for and marry anyone who made her happy for the time being. Taylor married eight times. This leaves one to question whether her marriages were a matter of love, or acts which filled a void in her heart.A more recent star that has followed the same path is Jennifer Lopez. Wildly successful and envied by many, one may say that she has it all. Lopez has also been on the search for love. She has married and divorced three times. This draws a fine line between when it is morally right for a divorce to take place. One may say that a couple must divorce when one or both parties are unhappy. This being said, how unhappy is unhappy enough? Couples fight, argue over petty things, and question their compatibility, but when is it right to call it quits? Fighting for a marriage may be as important as preparing for one in the first place.Celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez who get out of a relationship do not set the best example for those fighting for their relationship. The divorce factors that make divorces likely during a divorce; such as emotional and physical abuse, financial stress/unemployment, etc. are rarely present in celebrity divorces. If celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor, Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears, and Russell Brand can divorce for â€Å"irreconcilable differences,† why shouldn’t the general public? Divorce may be something that many tend to do on a whim when they have simply had enough, but in many to most cases, it is not just themselves that hey have to worry about. Most traditional families that experience a divorce have children who are involved as much as their parents. In certain cases, a divorce may be helpful for those in an abusive environment or those who experience more arguments than dinner conversations. Divorces from harmful relationships can teach children that when you are hurting, sometimes you need to get out. However, divorces that are granted because of â€Å"irreconcilable differences† may teach children that when the going gets tough, it’s best to just get going. Divorce can also hurt bonds between a specific parent if that parent and the child were close.The child could experience a feeling of loss and be subject to the grieving process, which will help them to move on through the loss. If both parents do not assist with this grieving process, problems within the process may be created. Many think that the grieving process is only experienced after a death. It in fact can and should be followe d after any situation that creates great trauma to one’s usual state. The process can be quite helpful in maintaining a stable state of being after a loss. There are times that the process may be complicated.For example, absent grief is a situation in which overly private people cut themselves off from the community and customs that allow and expect grief. (Berger 2009) Another situation of complicated grief is disenfranchised grief. This is â€Å"a situation in which certain people, although they are bereaved, are prevented from mourning publicly by cultural customs or social restrictions. † (Berger 2009) This would be a situation where a child is told not to cry about a situation or to â€Å"suck it up† and not be bothered by the current situation. These aspects of complicated grief may affect the child later on in his or her adult life.If both adults in the marriage decide that divorce is the best option for all members of the family, it is important for the child to be informed and to be allowed to grieve in his or her own way. Open communication can be very helpful in getting through a complicated time. With this open communication, the couple must understand that each child, at each age level, will respond differently. An example given by The University of New Hampshire: Cooperative Extension was that a child of preschool age may think that if he/she had done his/her chores or eaten dinner when they were told, their father or mother would not have gone away.Elementary-aged children may have the most difficult time accepting divorce. (UNH) The children are old enough to recognize that they are hurting, but have no idea how or if they can fix the pain. (UNH) Adolescents generally take a different approach to fixing the problem at hand. He/she may assume the responsibilities of a parent in order to take less stress off of a specific parent. They are old enough to understand that his/her parents are not only adults, but they are also act ual people dealing with a crisis. He/she may take stress on themselves because they feel responsible for fixing a problem that they have no control of.According to the University of New Hampshire, â€Å"studies have shown that boys raised by fathers and girls raised by mothers may do better than children raised by the parent of the opposite sex. † This is also a very important aspect to consider when divorcing, who lives with whom. The divorce is not just the dividing of the assets; it is also the dividing of the children. Schedules dictating which holidays are with a given parent, or who has them on the weekends can be stressful for not only the parents, but the children as well.This relates to the idea that â€Å"the children’s adjustment following a divorce has more to do with the quality of the parent-child relationship than with the gender and age of the child. † (UNH) If the child has working relationships with his/her parent on each of their visits, the c hild should not struggle to find a way to adjust. Regardless of the quantity of time between parent and child, the quality of the time should be enough for the child to feel as though he/she is not missing a source of comfort. The relationship between child and parent is quite possibly one of the most difficult aspects of divorce.As an individual, it is easy to put yourself first. For many, it’s what they have done for his or her entire life. In the beginning, you have an entire world of opportunity in front of you. The stresses of a part-time job and school seem like the most intense and terrifying aspect of your entire life; because it’s not just school, it’s everything else. Love lives, career choices, moves to different places near and far away; our minds are constantly churning out new ideas for our futures. Then once you decide on a place to live and a career, you focus on how to move to the top of the ladder and become all that you can be; after ll, that is what your college experience has prepped you for, right? Then you meet someone that you decide to settle down with. So now you’re balancing a career, marriage, and of course the idea that you still have a long life to live. Then as the song goes, first comes love, then comes marriage†¦then of course comes children. I’ve been told that children may quite possibly be the biggest blessing in one’s life; but then your days of dreaming for one are over. Your dreams and life changes have now become the life source for someone else who means more than your desire to cross items off of your bucket list.A divorce is one of those changes that affect many relationships. These other relationships may be more important than the relationship that you have with yourself. In my opinion, this should be the question everyone contemplating a divorce must ask themselves†¦does this decision affect anyone else? If so, will this decision improve the lives of everyone invo lved? It is hard to say if a divorce helps or hurts family. Each case is different and each case is full of reasons for a couple to stay or to leave. It is easy to listen to a best friend tell you how much you deserve better, or a mother saying that she wants more for you.However, in the end the choice is yours. It is human nature to gravitate towards people who make you happy. You would never befriend someone who gave you the cold shoulder and told you how much they disliked you. Just as someone going into a relationship never sets out to find someone who makes him or her unhappy. Even in the case of celebrities looking for love of their own, they never go out searching for disaster. Whether it is the fairy tale image, the feeling of needing someone in your life, or the initial feeling that you are perfect for each other, no one goes into a relationship hoping for failure.We are given one shot at life and are constantly told to go out and live passionately; live the life we’ ve always wanted! Why else would our role models tell us that we could have anything we want if we just pursue it? It is my honest belief that we go through life trying to find and hold onto the things that make us ridiculously happy. You could tell the divorcing couple who were once madly in love that you told them so, but it would not change the fact that at one time they were in love. They took a chance and believed that their love could withstand anything.The reality is that while this couple’s marriage failed does not mean that all will. Despite current statistics, the truth is that while one out of two marriages ends in divorce, one half of them work. One can be a cinicist, look at a statistic and look for failure. Or one can look at the statistic and hold onto the belief that they are the fortunate half. Divorce is tragic no matter how one looks at it, however no one can predict the future. If a couple is aware of themselves and their chances for success, their happine ss has no expiration date.Despite the statistics, the prior judgments, and the expectations of others, a marriage has every chance to defy odds and last forever. Stories like that are those that give this girl every reason to believe that I really can have my own fairy tale. Resources Berger, Kathleen Stassen. Invitation to the Life Span. New York: Worth, 2010. Print. Temke, Mary. â€Å"The Effects of Divorce on Children. † University of New Hampshire: Cooperative Extension. University of New Hampshire, May 2006. Web. 13 May 2012. . â€Å"The Year 1997 From The People History. † What Happened in 1997 Inc. Pop Culture, Prices and Events. Web. 14 May 2012. .