Superheroes and Their Influence on Children

1. The most important and most obvious thing that I should have known from the beginning was to start as early as possible. It really helped starting my research early, because I was able to conduct the research more calmly and didn't panic when I had trouble finding sources. If I had known it would be that helpful, I may have started my research much sooner. I wish I would have started the heavier research process before writing my proposal, because I had originally only found non-academic sources and I lost confidence in them by the time I started finding the academic sources. It's also important to choose something you know you'll be interested in, because it makes the process a lot easier and it feels less like a chore.

2. My research question was "How do superheroes influence the way children grow up and identify themselves?" In order to answer this question, I tried to focus on gender roles and body images. If you are going to try something similar, it is important to know different ways to search for "gender roles" and also know to look for both "super hero" and "superhero" because it does make a difference. My two most useful resources for the paper were:

Psychology of Superheroes : An Unauthorized Exploration . Ed. Robin S. Rosenberg. Dallas, TX, USA: BenBella Books, 2008. Web.

  Young, Ariana F., Shira Gabriel, and Jordan L. Hollar. "Batman to the Rescue! the Protective Effects of Parasocial Relationships with Muscular Superheroes on Men's Body Image." Journal of experimental social psychology 49.1 (2013): 173-7. Web.