Effect of Exposure to Media Images on Perceptual Body Image Distortion and Affective Dissatisfaction Angie French & Blair Terrell Hanover College

Research Question  How does exposure to these images influence how women feel about themselves and their bodies?  Perceptual distortion  Social Comparison – (comparison of self to others) What is the perfect woman? (Nichter & Nichter, 1991) - 5’7”, 100 lbs, - long blonde hair - blue eyes Most fashion models meet weight criteria for anorexia nervosa. (Kalodner, 1997) Media is everywhere!

Hypothesis Social Comparison Exposure to Media Images of the Sociocultural Ideal Perceptual Body Image Distortion Increased Affective Body Image Dissatisfaction

Participants  49 female students from Hanover College  Mean age = 19  48 – Caucasian 1 – Pacific Islander

Phase 1  Two weeks prior to Phase 2  Social Comparison questionnaire and personal information  Frequency of Social Comparison Scale (Fujita, 1996)  Determines how prone an individual is to compare herself to others  Alpha =.90  Anonymity protection—code  Street name + last 4 digits from SSN

Phase 2  PowerPoint slide show of 30 fitness, fashion/beauty, or neutral images from popular magazines Selection criteria: --Only one model per image --3/4 length body shot --no overlaid type --no product shown (criteria from Waller, Hamilton, & Shaw, 1992)

Fitness

Fashion/ Beauty

Neutral

 Adjustable Light Beam Apparatus (Thompson & Spana, 1988)  Measures perceived size of cheeks, waist, and hips

 Eating Disorders Inventory (Garner, Olmstead, & Polivy, 1983)  Drive for Thinness scale  Body Dissatisfaction scale  Alpha =.9351  Actual body size measure  Perceptual distortion = discrepancy between perceived and actual body size of cheeks, waist, and hips (Alpha =.8697)

Exposure to Media Images of the Sociocultural Ideal Perceptual Body Image Distortion Social Comparison Increased Affective Body Image Dissatisfaction Results Does media exposure influence perceptual distortion?

YES Perceptual Distortion  Amount of distortion varied significantly across three conditions, F (1,45) = 3.24, p <.05  The only post hoc comparison that was significant was between beauty and neutral, p <.05.  Supports previous research  Exposure to beauty images increases distortion

Exposure to Media Images of the Sociocultural Ideal Perceptual Body Image Distortion Results Social Comparison Moderating variable comes into the picture Dissatisfaction means do not vary significantly across media conditions Increased Affective Body Image Dissatisfaction Dissatisfaction does not correlate with distortion

Results cont.  Split Social Comparison into “Low” and “High” categories.  Significant interaction found between social comparison and media condition (F (5, 42) = 2.77, p =.03).  The only significant difference between the means was found in fitness condition (t (15) = 2.4, p =.03).

Discussion  Two media conditions  different effects  Beauty images influence perception (distortion)  Fitness images influence emotion (dissatisfaction)

Thin Thighs, Firm Butt, Flat Abs 5 super moves that tone you everywhere! Fitness  Dissatisfaction  Message behind the fitness images  Idea of achievability  But is it really achievable?  Exposure  GUILT  Dissatisfaction Firm All Your Trouble Zones Get lean and sculpted, melt inches Fastest Ab and Butt Toners Cardio shortcuts Blast fat in 10, 15, 20 mins.

Beauty  Distortion  Beauty images thinner than fitness images  Less guilt because only option of attainability is to take drastic, unhealthy measures (e.g., drug use, eating disorder) Average woman beauty fitness Weight

 Non-representative sample  48 Caucasian & 1 Pacific Islander  Homemade equipment  Interrater reliability Limitations

Questions