From glamour-oriented idolatry to achievement-oriented idolatry: A framing experiment among adolescents in Hong Kong and Shenzhen

The present study examined the framing effect of two modes of idolatry among a sample of 1095 secondary school students in Hong Kong and Shenzhen. Two experimental conditions were set up: in the glamour frame condition, subjects were exposed to frames that enhanced perfection and mystification of idols' personal or ideological characteristics; in the achievement frame condition, subjects were exposed to frames that enhanced emulation and identification of idols' pro-social behaviours or desirable dispositional traits. The experiment selected a prominent pop music and movie star well known in Chinese societies, Andy Lau, as the target idol. Subjects showed a consistently and significantly greater desire to glorify, idealize, identify with, emulate, and attach to Andy Lau in the achievement frame condition than in the glamour frame condition. The finding suggests that an achievement frame can heighten young people's adoration of an idol by emphasizing the idol's achievement processes. This suggestion is favourable to the possibility of transforming an idol into a role model for young people to learn to pursue career success. © 2010 The Authors. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd with the Asian Association of Social Psychology and the Japanese Group Dynamics Association.