Cinderella Analysis Paper

For the purpose of this behavior analysis paper I chose the fairy tale character of Cinderella to analyze. Cinderella is a very familiar cartoon character among young children, especially young girls. Cinderella is a young woman who lives with her step-mother, who is often described as evil, and her two spoiled step-sisters. Unfortunately for Cinderella, her step-sisters are the jewels in their mother's eyes, while Cinderella is just taking up space in the background. The Cinderella movie depicts Cinderella's step-sisters as beautiful, privileged young women who get to go out and enjoy life, while Cinderella must stay at home to tend to the household chores.

Cinderella spends a lot of time doing all of these chores, and she shows a great
degree of obedience, acting directly as her step-mother orders her to, strictly because she was told to (Myers, 2008). One may see Cinderella doing all of the household chores and wonder why she does not stand up for herself so that the chores may be shared between Cinderella and her step-sisters. This would enable Cinderella to also be able to go to parties and enjoy life outside of the house, as her step-sisters do. One may also look at Cinderella's inferior behavior and attribute it to Cinderella being a weak or easily persuaded young woman. However, to make these attributions would be to commit the Fundamental Attribution Error (Myers, 2008). Cinderella's behavior may in fact have nothing to do with her personality, and therefore, it would be inappropriate to make a personal attribution about her (Myers, 2008). Cinderella's environment is very overwhelming. Her step-mother and step-sisters are very demanding and unkind to her. Cinderella lives with three people who make it known that they dislike her. Because of this home environment, it would be more appropriate to make a situational attribution about Cinderella's behavior (Myers, 2008). Taking Cinderella's situation into perspective, it is very probable that Cinderella's home life has a great impact on her behavior and why she appears so willing to do everything she is told.

Since Cinderella has been living this lifestyle for some time, it is also possible that she is experiencing learned helplessness (Myers, 2008). Cinderella has been forbidden from many activities for so long that she may no longer even attempt to escape her prison like home filled with housework. She accepts her role in the household and may assume that she has no other option. Luckily, for Cinderella, her fairy godmother shows up to show her that she can live a different life. The fairy godmother helps Cinderella prepare for a very important ball that she has not been allowed to go to. This is the same ball that Cinderella's step-sisters have been excitedly preparing for. This grand ball is where Cinderella has the opportunity to be a beautiful young lady instead of a house maid. Because of this experience, Cinderella meets her Prince Charming and eventually goes on to live happily ever after.

Cinderella and Prince Charming both exhibit what our society considers traditional male and female gender roles (Myers, 2008).
Cinderella's chores are those that our society would consider female. Cinderella's time is spent sweeping, mopping, cooking, and taking care of her step-mother and step-sisters. These are all tasks that are characteristically female. The Fairy Godmother comes to Cinderella's aid and helps her get to the ball. To get Cinderella to the ball, the Fairy Godmother magically changes Cinderella's appearance by adjusting her hair, makeup, and apparel to look more feminine. Ultimately, Prince Charming rescues Cinderella and her new look from her dire home situation. Prince Charming acts in a traditional male role by saving Cinderella and protecting her from the cruelty she experienced at home, while Cinderella lives up to our society's expectations of a female. It is interesting that the Fairy Godmother had to change Cinderella's appearance in order for Prince Charming to notice her and be attracted to her. Without the appropriate look, Cinderella was not worthy of Prince Charming's
attention.

The failure of Prince Charming to notice Cinderella prior to her makeover also has to do with his culture and social status (Myers. 2008). Prince Charming comes from a very successful, royal family, and his clothing and appearance reflect his social role. Cinderella's appearance showed that she was lower on the social hierarchy than Prince Charming. Appearance and clothing are easily recognizable indicators of social status. Prince Charming's higher social status may have prohibited him from socializing with Cinderella prior to her makeover.

What was it that attracted Cinderella to Prince Charming, and vice versa?
There are a variety of possibilities. One possible explanation could be the Reward Theory of Attraction (Myers, 2008). Prince Charming offered something to Cinderella. He offered her a new life away from her evil step-mother and step-sisters. That alone was reward enough for Cinderella to be attracted to Prince Charming. Prince Charming was one of the few people in Cinderella's life to show her kindness, which probably made her feel happy and, therefore, associate positive feelings with Prince Charming. Undoubtedly, Prince Charming saw a beautiful young lady in Cinderella. Hopefully the two had more that attracted them and were able to live up to the Disney expectation of living happily ever after. Cinderella is a cartoon fairy tale, but she is a complex one. She is more than a simple house maid. Cinderella is like most people. She has a diverse set of behaviors that help explain her true personality, and this behavior analysis shows that there is more to Cinderella than meets the
eye.