Media has an enduring reputation of affecting perception. Perpetuating unrealistic body standards is just one way mediated messages influence negatively an audience. In the last 25 years, Kuwait has seen an invasion of western media including TV, music, magazines and movies. We decided to tackle the subject of the effects of this cultural imperialism to see if the prevalence of these imported western body images were having a negative impact. The social comparison theory states that individuals evaluate themselves through comparison even with media images. This study examines how Western--mainly --U.S. media imperialism and the social comparison theory through media affects body perception by examining the effects of collegeage young adults watching shows with prominent thin television characters compared to shows that had prominent average body types in the cast. We expect to find that exposure to programming with only thin characters will correlate with body dissatisfaction. The study included distributing 286 self-administered preliminary surveys to discover the most popular shows that college students (mostly 18 to 25 year olds) watched. After we identified the most popular shows, blind self-administered surveys were circulated to a sample of 240 college-age young adults (120 males and 120 females) to determine if any correlation could be made between their television show preferences and their body dissatisfaction. We found body image dissatisfaction is being reported, leading to the implication that media imperialism is eroding traditional Arab body image in Kuwait.

In this study we investigate parasocial relationships in media; more specifically we explore why audience members fashion attachments with television personalities. The study aligns with previous research in the area by Cole and Leets (1999) that looked at attachments formed with media figures and the correlation to level of attachments in real-life relationships. In their study, Cole and Leets (1999) used a three-dimensional attachment scale that included anxious-ambivalent, avoidant, and secure, and found those with higher insecurity or unstable real-life relationships have stronger parasocial relationships. We surveyed university age respondents and we used the same scales as Cole and Leets (1999) to examine whether in Kuwait, where dating violates social norms and looser bonds are found outside of the home, that stronger parasocial relationships with media personalities will be found because of the need to fulfill relationship needs outside of family. Our hypotheses in this chapter is that higher levels of anxious-ambivalents and avoidants both will be found due to the strict collectivist nature of the society forcing many to compensate for lack of real world relationships by forming mediated bonds. Moreover, we posited and discovered that that these two groups also showed the highest levels of parasocial relationships in our sample.

Online social networking sites have revealed an entirely new method of impression management and self-expression. These user-generated social tools present a new and evolving medium of investigation to study personality and identity. The current study examines how narcissism and self-esteem are demonstrated on the social networking application Instagram. To frame our research, we utilized the Uses and Gratifications Theory, which explains why audiences consume mediated messages and how and why authors create user-generated media (UGM). In this research our objective was to understand how and why users of Instagram in Kuwait were using the social media platform and how it related and impacted their self-esteem and how it revealed, if any, narcissistic personality traits. To do so, self-esteem and narcissistic personality self-reports were collected from 79 Instagram users in Kuwait and we also followed and analyzed their Instagram accounts. In our analysis, these participants’ profiles were coded on self-promotional content features based on their Instagram photos and captions posted on their Instagram accounts. By probing the relationship between this new medium, we can begin to understand the relationship amongst technology, culture, and the self. Keywords: social media, Kuwait, Instagram, self-esteem, narcissism, social networking

This study explores the rationale behind educational gender segregation and its psychological outcomes. An online survey in 2006 was conducted by the Student Government Association--SGA (student government at a private English language university in Kuwait) aimed at understanding if gender separation was manifested as the result of religious or cultural views and what psychological effects it is going to have on present and future interaction between the sexes. The results were interpreted using Albert Ellis' model of Cognitive Rational-Emotive Therapy and were correlated to the 2006 SGA study that was issued in response to the Kuwait law imposing gender segregation in private universities. This study is an updated version of the previous survey (Dinkha, 2010), which compares data from two universities (private vs public) in Kuwait. Its aimed at understanding if gender separation was manifested as the result of religious or cultural views and what psychological effects it is going to have on present and future interaction between the sexes.

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