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This is to certify that the

dissertation entitled

"If only I could be thin like her. maybe I could
be happy like her"t The self - implications of
associating being thin and attractive With

possible life outcomes
presented by

Peggy P.K. Chin

has been accepted towards fulfillment
of the requirements for

Ph.D. degree in Psychology

 

 

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“If only I could be thin like her, maybe I could be happy like her”:
The self-implications of associating being thin and attractive with possible life outcomes
By

Peggy P.K. Chin

AN ABSTRACT OF A DISSERTATION
Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fiJlfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Department of Psychology
200 1

Professor Lawrence A. Messé

ABSTRACT
“IF ONLY I COULD BE THIN LIKE HER, MAYBE I COULD BE
HAPPY LIKE HER”: THE SELF-IMPLICATIONS OF ASSOCIATIN G
BEING THIN AND ATTRACTIVE WITH POSSIBLE LIFE OUTCOMES
By
Peggy P.K. Chin

The current studies posit that women associate a thin-ideal female body type with
positive life-success; and, it may be this association that, to some extent, drives feelings
of negativity toward the self after such upward social comparisons. Study 1 revealed that
women do, indeed, attribute more positive life success to thin-ideal female images than to
heavier (but still attractive) female images. Study 2 showed that when women were
exposed to a thin-ideal female image, they experienced more feelings of self-satisfaction
and more optimism about their possible future life outcomes when the positive life-
stereotypes were invalidated than when they were confirmed, after controlling for
participants’ body mass index (BMI). Study 3 examined the extent to which having their
own weight measured and/or making upward social comparisons to thin-ideal females
affects women’s self-satisfaction; and, it also explored the degree to which two
personality factors (associations between weight and lifestyle and internalization of
thinness standards) influenced how women felt about themselves after exposure to
appearance- and weight-related stimuli. The results indicated that social comparisons to
thin-ideal females, rather than being weighed, drive negative feelings toward the self. In
addition, neither of the two personality factors was shown to moderate the effects of

social comparison on feelings of self-satisfaction. Implications of these three studies, as

well as directions for future research, are discussed.

This dissertation is dedicated to my newest family member, David Lee Evans

iii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

A heartfelt thank-you to Larry Messé who provided me with much moral and
academic support throughout the writing of this dissertation. Thank you also to my
dissertation committee members, Norb Kerr, Shira Gabriel, and Chris Shafer for their
help and guidance. I am gratefiil to Amani El-Alayli and Ernest Park for their wonderful
friendship and their boundless capacity to hear me whine. Lastly, to David, my husband-

to-be: Thank you for sharing this milestone with me.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................... vii
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................. 1
STUDY 1 METHOD ........................................................................ 11
STUDY 1 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION .............................................. 13
STUDY 2 INTRODUCTION .............................................................. 17
STUDY 2 METHOD ........................................................................ 18
STUDY 2 RESULTS ........................................................................ 24
STUDY 2 DISCUSSION .................................................................. 37
STUDY 3 METHOD ........................................................................ 46
STUDY 3 RESULTS ........................................................................ 49
STUDY 3 DISCUSSION .................................................................. 56
GENERAL DISCUSSION ................................................................. 60
CONCLUSION ............................................................................. 65
APPENDICES:
Appendix A — Study 1 Materials ................................................ 68
Appendix B — Factor Analysis Table (Study 1) .............................. 71
Appendix C — Life Outcomes Questionnaire ................................. 72
Appendix D — Mood Questionnaire ............................................ 73
Appendix E — State Self-Esteem Questionnaire .............................. 74

Appendix F — Selves Questionnaire ........................................... 75
Appendix G —- Body Esteem Scale ............................................. 79
Appendix H - Histogram of Participants’ BMI (Study 2) .................. 80
Appendix I — Analysis of Variance for Dependent Variable by

Condition (Stereotype Consistent Versus

Stereotype-Inconsistent) Covarying out BMI ................ 81
Appendix J — Univariate Analysis of Variance Comparing

Condition By Dependent Variables, Selecting

Out African-American Participants’ BMI ................... 82
Appendix K — Histogram of Participants’ BMI (Study 3) ................. 83

Appendix L — Associations Between Weight and Lifestyle
Questionnaire ................................................... 84

Appendix M — Sociocultural Attitudes Towards
Appearance Questionnaire .................................... 86

REFERENCES .......................................................................... 10]

vi

LIST OF TABLES

Table l — Means, Standard Deviations, Univariate Analysis of Variance,
and Analysis of Covariance (Partially Out Attractiveness)
For Dependent Variables by Stimulus Type (Study 1) ...................... 88

Table 2 — Means and Standard Deviations for Dependent Variables
by Condition (Study 2) .......................................................... 90

Table 3 — Univariate Analysis of Variance Comparing Within Life-Style
Information Conditions of Dependent Variables, Covarying
Out Participants’ BMI .......................................................... 91

Table 4 — Univariate Analysis of Variance Comparing Condition 4 and
Condition 5 on Dependent Variables ......................................... 92

Table 5 — Planned Comparisons Exploring Stereotype Information
(Consistent vs. Inconsistent) on Dependent Variables,
Selecting out Afi'ican-American Participants and Covarying
Out Participants’ BMI ......................................................... 93

Table 6 — Means and Standard Deviations for Dependent Variables
by Photograph and Weigh (Study 3) ......................................... 94

Table 7 — Means, Standard Errors, and Analysis of Variance for
Dependent Variables by Photograph (Thin-Ideal Female
Vs. Running Shoes) ............................................................ 95

Table 8 — Means, Standard Errors of Moderator Variables (Associations
Between Weigh and Lifestyle and Intemalization of Thinness
Standards) Photograph on Mood ............................................ 96

Table 9 — Means, Standard Errors of Moderator Variables (Associations

Between Weigh and Lifestyle and Intemalization of Thinness
Standards) Photograph on Social State Self-Esteem ..................... 97

vii

Table 10 —Means and Standard Deviations for Dependent Variables
By Associations Between Weight and Lifestyle ......................... 98

Table 11 -Means and Standard Deviations for Dependent Variables
By Intemalization of Thinness Standards ................................. 99

viii

INTRODUCTION

“I’ve lost 100 pounds in 8 months. . .I feel like a totally different person. I just know that
I’ll have a happier, healthier life now.”

Testimonial for Slimfast Weight-Loss Products

American women often report being dissatisfied with their bodies, and with their
weight in particular, especially after exposure to western media images that display a
thin-ideal standard of beauty (e. g., Posavac, Posavac, & Posavac, 1998). Studies also
indicate that while the ideal standard of beauty for females commonly portrayed in the
media has become thinner than it had been in the past (Silverstein, Perdue, Peterson, &
Kelly, 1986), the average body size of young adult North American females has
increased (Spitzer, Henderson, & Zivian, 1999). These findings suggest that many
modem-day American women may experience substantial discrepancies between their
ideal and actual selves in terms of physical characteristics (Higgins, Klein, & Strauman,
1985)

Although body image research has demonstrated that women report self-
dissatisfaction after exposure to thin-ideal female media images, the literature has not
identified the specific properties of these images that promote such self-dissatisfaction
after this type of upward social comparison. The current project posits that many women
do wish to be thin and may experience self-dissatisfaction after seeing a thin-ideal media

image; but, lack of thinness and beauty, per se, may not be the sole bases for

experiencing negativity toward the self. Rather, it may be the conscious or non-
conscious association between being thin (and therefore beautifiil) and having a more
fulfilling, more exciting, and more glamorous life (i.e., enjoying more positive life-
success) that leads women to have more negative feelings toward the self after exposure
to an image of a thin, physically attractive female. In this dissertation project, three
studies were conducted to explore the extent to which women in American culture
perceive (a) that thinness in attractive females is associated with more positive life-
success than is corpulence (Study 1), and (b) that explicitly contradicting this positive
life-success stereotype leads to less negative self-views among women afier a social
comparison with an ideal standard of beauty (Study 2). Finally, Study 3 examined the
extent to which having their weight measured and/or engaging in upward social
comparisons to thin-ideal females creates feelings of self-dissatisfaction among women.
In addition, Study 3 also explored two personality factors that may contribute to feelings
of self-dissatisfaction after such upward social comparisons.
Physical Appearance and Body Image

Research has demonstrated that physical appearance is a salient cue for
understanding others. For example, people oflen use external information (e.g., sex, age,
and race) in their initial evaluation of others (Fiske & Neuberg, 1990). Physical
attractiveness, specifically, may be an important cue for how people are evaluated,
particularly women. As Fallon (1990) notes, both women and men typically give much
more explicit consideration to the physical attractiveness of women than the physical
attractiveness of men. Other research has indicated that not only do people evaluate

women on their physical attractiveness, but women also evaluate themselves in the same

manner. For instance, self-perception of physical attractiveness was the most important
predictor of overall self-evaluation in female, but not male, college and high school
students (Jackson, Hodge, & Ingram, 1994). Moreover, women are more likely than men
to equate a positive evaluation of their physical appearance with a positive evaluation of
their self in general (Lerner, Orlos, & Knapp, 1976). Because physical appearance seems
to have a fairly pervasive influence on women’s self-evaluation, it is not surprising that
women tend to be more concerned than men with eating behaviors and with body weight
(Pliner, Chaiken, & Flett, 1990), and are more likely to self-objectify and feel badly about
themselves as a result of their physical appearance (F rederickson, Roberts, Noll, Quinn,
& Twenge, 1998).

In order to assess their level of attractiveness and to evaluate their own
appearance, women may engage in social comparisons with others. According to
Festinger’s (1954) social comparison theory, people compare themselves to others in
order to more accurately assess their own qualities, particularly when standards are
subjective, as in the case of beauty. However, upward social comparisons can make one
feel negatively about oneself at times (Major, Testa, & Bylsma, 1991). Consistent with
this idea, upward social comparisons with highly attractive others should reduce positive
feelings about the self. Indeed, several studies have demonstrated that females rate
themselves lower in attractiveness afier exposure to highly attractive same-sex models
(Cash, Cash, & Butters, 1983; Thornton & Moore, 1993). Other studies indicate that
women who view photographs of attractive same-sex others experience a reduction in
their body-esteem (Grogan, Williams, & Connor, 1996) and social self-esteem, as well as

an increase in their self-consciousness, and physique anxiety (Thornton & Maurice, 1997,

1999). In contrast, engaging in a downward social comparison with a less attractive other
enhances self-perceptions of attractiveness (Cash, Cash, & Butters, 1983; Thornton &
Moore, 1993).

A central factor in whether one may be considered physically attractive or not
physically attractive is one’s weight, or more precisely, one’s weight to height ratio. In
American society, there is a cultural trend toward an ideal of thinness for women (Garner,
Garfinkel, Schwartz, & Thompson, 1980). In fact, women who do not fit the thinness
ideal and who are considered overweight ofien sufl‘er professional and social
discrimination (Quinn & Crocker, 1998). Stereotypes about the overweight include
beliefs that they are lazy and gluttonous, as well as mentally deficient (Allon, 1982).
These stereotypes may lead women to be hyper-vigilant about their weight, and, thus,
make such issues as their own body image, their food intake, and their eating habits more
highly salient (Frederickson et al., 1998; Rodin, Silberstein, & Striegel-Moore, 1984).
Cash and Henry (1995), for instance, found that nearly 50% of their sample of 803 adult
American women reported negative evaluations of their physical appearance and a
preoccupation with being or becoming overweight. The authors concluded that body
image concerns are prevalent among women.

Although there may be several different ways that the thin-ideal standard of
beauty can be communicated to women, one of the most powerful conduits of such
information is likely to be the mass media, through which women may compare
themselves to the ideal female images being portrayed. Research demonstrates that
females report being significantly more depressed following appearance-related

commercials featuring women who are exemplars of societal ideals of thinness and

attractiveness (e. g., models for beer commercials, cosmetics, weight loss supplements
and others, than following non appearance-related commercials; Heinberg & Thompson,
1995). Furthermore, exposure to models from magazines that depict the thin-ideal
standard of beauty produces stress, depression, guilt, shame, insecurity, and body
dissatisfaction among female respondents (Stice & Shaw, 1994). Other research
indicates that current female television stars are slimmer than their male counterparts,
that female television stars are slimmer now than female television stars of the past, and
that more advertisements and articles in magazines directed toward women are concerned
with dieting and staying in shape than are advertisements and articles in magazine
directed toward men (Silverstein et al., 1986).

Taken together, these studies suggest that the media encourage women to adhere
quite rigidly to unrealistic thin-ideal standards of bodily attractiveness (Silverstein,
Perdue, Peterson, & Kelly, 1986). Although this encouragement to strive to meet thin-
ideal standards is not harmful in and of itself, body image research reveals that body
dissatisfaction and subscription to thin-ideal standards of beauty directly predicts eating
disordered symptomology (Harrison, 1997; Stice & Shaw, 1994; Stice, Schupak-
Neuberg, Shaw, & Stein, 1994).

Why do women want to meet these thin-ideal standards to the extent that they
may experience body dissatisfaction, depression, and even eating disordered behavior

When they perceive themselves as failing to do so? Conventional wisdom would suggest
that women compare themselves to and want to emulate the physique of a thin-ideal
standard, which, in tum, affects their perceptions of their own bodies. However, this

assumption may not be entirely correct.

It is possible that women may strive for the thin-ideal body type if they associate
thinness with positive life success. And, it may be this life success that women strive to
achieve via having a thin-ideal body. For example, A study by Harrison (1997) showed
that there is a positive association between women’s interpersonal attraction to thin
female media personalities and a drive for thinness in themselves. In this study, female
participants were exposed to thin, average-sized, and heavy female television stars and
magazine models. Participants were then asked to report how much they a) liked the
television character (model), b) felt similar to the television character (model), and c)
wanted to be like the television character (model). Lastly, participants were asked to
complete the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT), which provided a measure of disordered

eating. The results revealed that the only significant predictor of eating disordered
symptomology was participants’ self-reported attraction to the thin media personalities
(Harrison, 1997). This study suggests that thinness alone is not sufficient to motivate
women to emulate female media personalities. Rather, it may be women’s attraction to
the personal characteristics that thin-ideal females ostensibly possess that motivates them
to strive for these thin-ideal standards for their own bodies.

Thin media ideals may evoke physical-attractiveness stereotypes (e. g., “what is
beautiful is good”), such that people tend to believe that thin, beautiful people possess
more desirable personality traits (i.e., outgoing, popular, intelligent) than less attractive
(e.g., heavier) people (Dion, Berscheid, & Walster, 1972; Hatfield & Sprecher, 1986).
Researchers have noted that this “what is beautiful is good” stereotype is particularly
Strong for measures of social competence and interpersonal ease (Eagly, Ashmore;

IVlakhijani, & Longo, 1991; Dion, 1986). For example, physically attractive people are

perceived to possess more positive social skills, more positive social adjustment, and a
lack of social shyness or social anxiety in comparison to those who are less physically
attractive (Adams, 1977; Lerner & Lerner, 1977). The acceptance of this beauty-is-good
stereotype may then lead individuals to believe that, because of their greater social
prowess, beautifiil people also enjoy more exciting, more satisfied, and thus, more
successful lives than less attractive others. Consequently, women may associate being
thin and beautiful with life success in general and want to emulate the thin-ideal standard
not only in terms of body shape, but also in terms of projected positive life-success.
Conversely, women may associate being heavy-weighted (and therefore less attractive)
with less life success. A study by Hebl and Heatherton (1998) showed that female
participants rated heavier female models lower on attractiveness, intelligence, job
success, relationship success, happiness, and popularity than average-built or thin
women. Thus, women may want to adhere to thinness ideals because of these negative
attitudes about heavier females, and also because women do not want to be negatively
stereotyped by others as a result of their weight.

Women may have the expectation that if their own body matched the thin-ideal
standard, then they too would reap the anticipated life benefits of being ideally attractive.
However, if they do not feel that they measure up to the standard, then they may feel
negative about themselves. That is, to the extent to which women compare their own life
circumstances to the projected positive life-success associated with a thin-ideal image,
women may experience self-dissatisfaction.

Alternatively, research also indicates that while people tend to perceive beautifiJl

PCOple as possessing positive characteristics (Dion et al., 1972; Hatfield & Sprecher,

1986), they also believe that beautiful people have a “dark side.” (Dermer & Thiel,
1975). For example, people tend to believe that beautiful others are also egotistical and
self-centered (Cash & Janda, 1984). Moreover, a meta-analysis conducted by Eagly and
her colleagues (1991) indicates that while people do hold attitudes that are generally
positive toward attractive others — and, in particular believe that attractive others are
socially competent - they do not believe that there are positive associations between
being physically attractive and having a great concern for other people or for possessing
integrity. Thus, people do tend to associate positive characteristics with attractive others;
however, they are also inclined to perceive attractive others as having negative
characteristics. This suggests that women can be induced to believe that the thin-ideal
female does not necessarily have a positive life, and that challenging this positive life
stereotype may then lead women to experience more self-satisfaction in the face of a
social comparison to a thin-ideal female image.

One potential explanation for why women may feel dissatisfied or satisfied with
themselves after engaging in comparisons with a thin-media ideal is because such
standards may induce women to imagine an alternative world in which they could lead a
very different life if their physical appearance could be altered. Thus, the possible selves
that women generate for themselves may influence feelings about the current self.
Imagining the Possibilities

The concept of possible selves is defined as the elements of one’s self-concept
that represent a sense of what one might become, what one would like to become, and
what one is afraid of becoming. In essence, possible selves represent an individual’s

goals, motives, fears, and anxieties (Markus & Nurius, 1986). A study reported in

Markus and Nurius (1986), designed to explore people’s possible selves, asked female
and male college students to indicate whether a list of 150 possibilities for the self
(previously judged to be one-third positive, one-third negative, and one-third neutral) had
ever described them in the past, describes them currently, or if it could describe them in
the future. Results showed that people do imagine possible selves and that these possible
selves may not correspond to whom they report being currently, nor do their current
selves inhibit the imagination of their possible selves. For example, a person with a D-
average in their senior year of high school may still believe it possible that s/he will be
accepted into Harvard University. Thus, people do seem to employ their imaginations in
thinking about how their lives may turn out.

Research further indicates that possible selves can serve as a context for the
evaluation of the current self (Cross & Markus, 1991; Markus & Nurius, 1986), and may
be a motivator of future behavior (Ruvolo & Markus, 1992). Thus, a woman who
imagines a thin, beautiful, possible self with an exciting, glamorous, and satisfied life
may feel more negatively about her current self and strive to reduce the discrepancy
between what she hopes to become and what she is currently (Higgins et al., 1985). As
noted by Markus and Nurius (1986), one may experience negative affect resulting from
conflicts or discrepancies within the self-concept, consistent with research on self-
discrepancy theory (Higgins et al., 1985), in which the greater the discrepancy between
one’s actual and ideal selves, the more dissatisfaction, sadness, and disappointment one
may feel.

Although possible selves are anchored within the self-concept, which is thought

by some to be relatively stable (Swann, 1983, 1997), they are also only notions, albeit

vivid notions at times, of what an individual could be. As such, they may not be
grounded in objective reality. Thus, possible selves may be susceptible to change,
depending on the current environment, and may be sensitive to information that conveys
new or inconsistent “data” about the self (Markus & Nurius, 1986). For example, a
woman who is exposed to a photograph of an attractive female may feel less attractive
herself, and view her future possible selves as being more negative than before seeing the
photograph. Conversely, an individual who is exposed to a photograph of an
unattractive, same-sex person may feel more attractive and view her fiiture possible
selves as being more positive than before seeing the photograph. Hence, how an
individual feels about her possible life-outcomes may differ depending on the stimulus to
which she is exposed and what she believes to be true about that stimulus person.
Summary

Past research on women’s body image has found that women tend to feel
dissatisfied with their own bodies after an upward social comparison to a thin-ideal other
(Heinberg & Thompson, 1995; Thornton & Maurice, 1997). However, research findings
suggest that it may be more than just an attractive body image, per se, that women value
and wish to emulate. For example, the literature on the “what is beautiful is good”
stereotype indicates that people have strong associations between beautiful others and
their possession of social competence and ease in social situations (Dermer & Thiel,
1975; Dion, 1986; Eagly et al., 1991). Thus, people may want to be like beautiful (and
thin) others in terms of their perceived social graces, which may, in turn, have
consequences for success in life. Indeed, recent research indicates that women wish

mostly to imitate those thin-ideal standards to whom they are interpersonally drawn

10

(Harrison, 1997). This research suggests that women do not wish to emulate just any
thin-ideal, but rather, a thin-ideal whom they perceive as having personal characteristics
that they value and find appealing. Taken together, these findings suggest that women
may strive for thinness ideals because of associations in their minds between a certain
(positive) lifestyle and being thin and beautifiil. Hence, women may imagine a world of
possibilities for themselves such that being thinner than they currently are may lead to a
more positive lifestyle and possibly more life-satisfaction. The current studies sought to
understand why women sometimes feel dissatisfied with themselves after engaging in
social comparisons by exploring the possibility that women associate physical
attractiveness - particularly the thin-ideal body type — with positive life success.
Study 1

The purpose of this first study was to explore if women do, indeed, believe that
thin, beautiful females have more positive life-success than heavier (but still attractive)
females do. In addition, this study was conducted to identify the components that
constitute a potential positive lifestyle that could be associated with a thin, attractive
female physical appearance.

Method

Participants

Participants were 62 undergraduate women from Michigan State University who
participated in this study as a demonstration of scientific research in an introductory level
social psychology class. Of the participants, 91.9% were European-American, 6.5% were
African-American, and 1.6% were of other ethnic backgrounds. The mean age of the

participants was 19.9 years old.

11

Procedure

The cover story presented to participants was that the purpose of the study was to
assess how accurate people are in predicting the lives of other people. This cover story
was also employed by Dion and her colleagues (1972) in their seminal paper on the
“what is beautiful is good” stereotype. Participants were told that they would be looking
at photographs of different men and women, and that they should guess, to the best of
their ability, what these people’s lives are like.

All participants first viewed a photograph of an average-looking man and were
asked to list 5 words that would describe this person (Appendix A presents this stimulus
material). In actuality, the photograph of the man was presented in order to reduce
suspicions that this experiment was actually about female body image. Participants were
then randomly assigned to view one of two photographs: a picture of a thin-ideal image,
or one of a heavier, but still attractive female (pre-tested by another group of female
undergraduates for weight and attractiveness; Appendix A also presents these two
photographs). They were instructed to rate the image on 45 questions dealing with the
target’s life-style probability on a scale from 1 (very unlikely to be true of her) to 9 (very
likely to be true of her). Sample questions include, “This person dates frequently,” “This
person leads a dull life,” and “This person is on welfare” (see Appendix A, which
presents the complete instrument). Lastly, participants were asked to rate the overall
attractiveness of the target on a scale ranging from 1 (very unattractive) to 9 (very
attractive). Participants were thanked at the end of the session, which took place at the

end of a regular class period in the course.

12

Results and Discussion
OVLall PlysicfltMveness.

In order to ensure that participants found both thin and heavy target women to be
above average in attractiveness, t-tests were conducted to compare their evaluations to
the physical attractiveness scale’s midpoint (5.0). Results showed that participants found
both target women to be above average in attractiveness regardless of weight,
t(28)=14.84, p<.001 (for thin target) and t(32)=4.70, p<.001 (for heavier target).
However, a one-way analysis of variance (AN OVA) yielded a main effect of weight on
attractiveness, F(1, 61)=25.13, p<.001, reflecting more positive ratings of the thinner
target than the heavier target (I\_/l=7.79, 82:1 .01 and 13136.18, S_D=l .45, respectively).
Life-Success.

(Table 1 presents the condition means and the standard deviations for all items in
this study) An exploratory factor analysis (varimax rotation of factors with eigenvalues
greater than 1) of the items included in the life-outcomes questionnaire was performed.
The factor analysis produced two strong factors, which, after rotation, accounted for
20.3% and 20.0% of the variance in the ratings, respectively. The third factor only
accounted for 7.89% of the variance in the ratings. Thus, it appears that two factors best
model the variance in the ratings (see Appendix B for a table of the factor loadings). The
first factor seemed to be represent “positive” life outcomes (e. g., drives a sports car, is
admired, is wealthy, travels a lot). The second factor seemed to represent “negative” life
outcomes (e.g., is depressed, feels like a failure, is unloved, has an abusive boyfriend). In
order to firrther explore these factors, a composite positive life outcomes variable was

computed by averaging the 14 items that loaded above |.5| on factor 1 and below |.4| on

13

factor 2. Similarly, a composite negative life outcomes variable was computed by
averaging the 12 items that loaded above |.5| on factor 2 and below |.4| on factor 1.

One-way AN OVAs were then conducted in order to investigate whether the
ratings of the composite positive life outcomes variable and the composite negative life
outcomes variable would differ as a function of the weight of the photographed target
(thin vs. heavy). Indeed, there was a significant effect for positive life outcomes,

E(l, 81)=49.0, p<.001 and a significant effect for negative life outcomes, E(1,81)=3.92,
p=.051. Surprisingly, although the factor analysis indicated that the thin target female
was rated as having more positive life outcomes than the heavy target female (M=6.89,
S_D=.83 and M=5.28, §Q=1.22, respectively), it also showed that the thin target female
was rated as having more negative life outcomes than the heavy target female M=3.74,
S_D=1.20 and M=3.24, SQ=1.10, respectively).

A multivariate AN OVA was then conducted to identify the items that differed
depending on the weight of the target. As predicted, there was a main effect of weight,
E(46, 15)=3.75, p<.01. Following this test, the univariate ANOVAs were performed to
determine whether responses differed depending on the presented stimulus type for each
item (i.e., thin or heavy; see Table 1). As shown in Table 1, the thin target was rated as
having a more appealing life-style in many respects, in contrast to the heavier target. For
example, the thin, beautifirl woman was thought to lead a more exciting, successful life
than the heavier woman, whereas the heavier woman was believed more likely to be
pitied by others and to live in a trailer.

The results of this study are consistent with research on the “what is beautiful is

good” stereotype. Specifically, the thinner woman was rated more positively than the

14

heavier woman on items that were related to social competence and the successful
outcomes of those skills (e.g., frequently dates, is admired by others, drives an expensive
sports car). However, the thinner woman was also rated more negatively on items that
were related to concern for others and integrity (e. g., has gotten into trouble with the law,
lies frequently). As discussed by Eagly et al. (1991), the “what is beautiful is good”
stereotype is strongest for social competence, is moderate for intellectual competence,
psychological adjustment, and dominance, but does not seem to have consequences for
items that are related to concern for others or integrity. In fact, other research has
demonstrated that what is beautiful may also be self-centered and egocentric (Cash &
Janda, 1984), and that there may be a “dark side” to such stereotypes (Dermer & Thiel,
I975). The results of this preliminary study further supports past research findings that
there may be negative stereotypes associated with beauty as well as positive stereotypes.

It should also be noted that several of the items associated with interpersonal
competence (e.g., is loved, has many fiiends, is liked by others) were not significantly
different between the thin and heavy models in this study. One potential reason for these
findings is that the heavy model was heavier in weight than the thinner model, but not
unattractive. Thus, the “what is beautiful is good” stereotype may still apply to the
heavier model in some social domains. These findings may then suggest that the
differences that were found between thin and heavy target models were due specifically
to weight, and not attractiveness.

In order to examine this issue more closely, a multivariate analysis of covariance
(MAN COVA) was conducted to determine whether controlling for ratings of target’s

attractiveness would eliminate the differences found between targets of different weight.

15

Results showed that the multivariate effect for weight remained significant, E(46,
14)=4.18, p<.01. These findings indicate that the differences found between the thin and
heavy target models on the items were due specifically to weight, and not to
accompanying attractiveness differences. Furthermore, after controlling for
attractiveness ratings, several items that previously showed no differences by weight,
became statistically significant (see Table 1).

In sum, women were generally inclined to believe that a thinner female leads a
more appealing life than did a heavier female, regardless of attractiveness. However, the
factor analysis indicated that the thinner female was also perceived as having more
negative life outcomes (Factor 2 in Table 1) than the heavier female. These findings,
although they may seem surprising, are consistent with past research that indicates that
while people tend to believe that beautiful others possess positive characteristics, they
also perceive beautiful people to have a “dark side” (Dermer & Thiel, 1975). Indeed, the
current study indicates that being beautiful may also lead others to perceive the beautiful
one as being depressed, or feeling unloved.

Nonetheless, the findings of this study did indicate that a thinner women was
rated as having more positive life success than a heavier woman. This raises the
possibility that women may activate these positive life-success stereotypes of thin women
when making social comparisons. Moreover, the belief in this success stereotype may
promote in women feelings of dissatisfaction with their own circumstances in the face of

a comparison, rather than dissatisfaction with body image alone.

16

Study 2

As shown in Study 1, women tend to believe that thinner, attractive women enjoy
more life success than do heavier, attractive women (albeit with also potentially more
negative life outcomes, as revealed with the factor analysis). Hence, it is possible that
when women are exposed to thin-ideal female images in the media, these positive life-
stereotypes are activated and affect women’s views about themselves after engaging in an
upward social comparison. The purpose of this second study was to examine the effects
of women’s positive life-stereotypes of thin-ideal females on self-perception.
Specifically, this study explored the possibility that when the positive life-stereotypes of
thin-ideal females are explicitly challenged (either the positive stereotypes are negated or
lifestyles are shown to be the opposite of expectations), women will tend to have more
positive self-perceptions.

Conversely, if such positive life-stereotypes of thin-ideal females are supported,
women will tend to have more negative self-perceptions. The confirmation of these
hypotheses would suggest that it is more than just body dissatisfaction, per se, that
women experience after exposure to media ideals. Rather, it is also the belief that women
with ideal bodies also have ideal lives, and it is the ideal life that women strive to attain
via having a more perfect body. However, because the notion of having a happy life and
attaining a perfect body are so intimately intertwined for females, women may experience
more self-dissatisfaction in general if they perceive that they do not measure up to an

ideal standard of beauty.

17

Method
Participants

Participants were 181 women recruited from Michigan State University
introductory level psychology classes in exchange for course-related credit. Of the
participants, 77.9% were European-American, 13.3% were Afi'ican-American, 5.5% were
Asian-American, and the remaining 3.3% were from other ethnic backgrounds. The
mean age of the participants was 19.5 years old and their mean body mass index (BIS/H)
was 24.0 (with a normal range of BMI scores being between 18-25; Korbonits, Trainer,
Little, Edwards, Kopelman, Besser, Svec, & Grossman, 1997)

Measures

Life outcomes. A modified version of the possible selves questionnaire (Markus
& Nurius, 1986) was administered in order to assess participants’ beliefs about their
possible future life outcomes (Appendix C presents this instrument).

Participants were asked to indicate on a scale ranging from 1 (very unlikely to be
true of me) to 9 (very likely to be true of me) how likely they believe they will experience
a variety of life-circumstances in the fixture. Many of the items that appeared on the
questionnaire were taken fiom the questionnaire used in Study 1.

MM. General mood after exposure to stimulus materials was measured by
asking participants to describe how “thinking about the target in the photograph makes
you feel about yourself right now” (Appendix D presents this instrument). Participants
were asked to make ten bipolar ratings based on 9-point scales ranging from —4 to +4 on
the following adjectives: depressed-elated, stressed-relaxed, dissatisfied-satisfied,
unhappy-happy, disappointed-relieved, insecure-secure, self-conscious-self-confident,

guilty-innocent, ashamed-proud, and negative-positive.

18

mte self-esteem. Possible momentary changes in self-esteem after exposure to
stimulus materials was measured using the state self-esteem scale (SSES, Heatherton &
Polivy, 1991; Appendix E presents this instrument). This scale is a 20-item questionnaire
with three components: 1) appearance (6 items), 2) social (7 items), and 3) performance
(7 items). The scale asks participants to reflect on how they feel about themselves “right
now” on items such as, “I am pleased with my appearance right now” (appearance), “I
feel self-conscious” (social), and “I feel confident about my abilities” (performance).
State self-esteem is measured by asking participants to rate themselves on a scale ranging
from 1 (not at all) to 5 (extremely) with some items being reverse scored. The internal
consistency for this scale is alpha=.92 (Heatherton & Polivy, 1991).

Actual versus Ideal self. Self-discrepancy theory (Higgins et al., 1985) suggests
that people who believe that their actual and ideal selves are discrepant will be more
likely to experience lower self-esteem, greater dissatisfaction, and more depression than
those who report less discrepancy between their actual and ideal selves. Self-discrepancy
theory also posits that people who believe that their actual and ought self-states are
discrepant should experience more fear, threat, and restlessness than those whose actual
and ought selves are less discrepant (Higgins, 1987). Because this study was primarily
interested in women’s discrepancies between their actual selves and their ideal hopes and
wishes for themselves, rather than the discrepancies between women’s actual selves and
their feelings of obligation and responsibility to the society, it only measured women’s
actual and ideal discrepancies. Thus, a modified version of the selves questionnaire
(Higgins et al., 1985) was administered to participants to evaluate how much their actual

and ideal selves match (Appendix F presents this instrument).

19

Following the methodology that Chin and McConnell (2001) used to assess
actual-ideal self discrepancy, participants listed 10 characteristics that they believe they
actually possess and then rated the importance of having those qualities on a scale
ranging fi'om 1 (very unimportant) to 7 (very important). Following the actual selves
questionnaire, participants were asked to list 10 characteristics that they wish they ideally
possessed and rated the importance of possessing those qualities on a scale ranging from
1 (very unimportant) to 7 (very important). Participants were then asked to return to their
ideal list and to rate themselves on how close they are to reaching their ideal self on a
scale ranging from 1 (not close at all to being ideal) to 7 (very close to being ideal).

For each ideal attribute, the rating of its importance was multiplied by the rating
of how far the participants were to attaining their ideal self, and the mean of these
products was computed as the measure of mismatches between one’s actual and ideal
selves. Larger mismatch scores should indicate greater discrepancies on important
characteristics and more self-dissatisfaction.

Lastly, the characteristics that participants listed on the selves questionnaire were
coded for two dimensions, body or lifestyle. The coding of these results should indicate
differences in the extent to which exposure to media images activated thoughts about
one’s body and one’s life. These results should firrther clarify whether women are more
concerned with their bodies, per se, or their lifestyle after exposure to thin-ideal media
images.

Body attractiveness. The body esteem scale (BES; Franzoi & Shields, 1984)
using the female dimension of sexual attractiveness and weight concern, was

administered to participants in order for them to reflect on their own level of physical

20

attractiveness (Appendix G presents this instrument). Participants were asked to rate 18
of their body parts (e. g., nose, lips, thighs, hips, arms) on a scale ranging from 1 (have
strong negative feelings) to 5 (have strong positive feelings). The internal consistency of
this scale is alpha=.78 (Franzoi & Shields, 1984).

Overall attractiveness. Because the BES does not assess general physical
attractiveness, an additional question was asked to obtain an overall attractiveness score
for the participant (Appendix G presents this instrument). Participants rated their overall
attractiveness on a scale ranging from 1 (very unattractive) to 9 (very attractive).

Design and Procedure

This study employed a one-way, between-subjects factorial design with 5
target-information conditions (positive lifestyle, positive-negated lifestyle, unsuccessful
lifestyle, no lifestyle information, or control).

Participants were told that this study was about the impact of the media on health.
As such, they were told that they would look at a media image and would answer several
questionnaires. Upon arriving at the laboratory, participants were greeted by a female
experimenter who had them complete a consent form, and, for those in the experimental
conditions, a questionnaire asking participants about their dietary habits (e. g., “How often
do you eat hits and vegetables?” “How often do you exercise?” “How often do you
drink alcohol?”). In actuality, this measure was given to participants to activate
participants’ thoughts about their weight and lifestyle. Following this, the experimenter
weighed the participants in front of a mirror and measured their height in order to make

their own physical appearance more highly salient to them.

21

Participants were then randomly assigned to view one of four photographs. They
either saw one of two photographs of thin, attractive women (previously pilot-tested by
female college students for perceptions of weight and attractiveness) in the experimental
conditions, or one of two photographs of neutral stimulus related to health (two different
pairs of running shoes) - in keeping with the cover story but should not activate
participants’ thoughts about their bodies - in the control condition. In the experimental
conditions, participants were also randomly assigned to read one of three passages about
the target’s lifestyle, either a positive life-success passage:

We are interested in learning about your health and dietary habits because it is
generally believed that people who look like the woman in the photograph will possess
certain characteristics. In actuality, research has demonstrated a strong relationship
between looking like the woman in the photograph and having a happy and fulfilled life.
For example, a recent study with a national sample of 1,000 thin, average-weight, and
heavier women showed that by far, the group with the most life-satisfaction was thin
women. Thin women reported that people typically responded positively to them, and
that they felt a great deal of love, admiration, and acceptance from those around them.

The researchers conducting this current study also contacted the woman in the
photograph that you see before you and asked her about her life. She reported that she
has a very successful career, enjoys an exciting life, and just got engaged to a handsome
man who treats her very well. In short, this woman leads the “good life,” just as the
national survey reported above would suggest.

a positive-negated passage:

We are interested in learning about your health and dietary habits because it is
generally believed that people who look like the woman in the photograph will possess
certain characteristics. In actuality, research demonstrates no relationship between
physical appearance and life satisfaction. For example, a recent study with a national
sample of 1,000 thin, average-weight, and heavier women showed that the women did not
differ on any dimensions of life-satisfaction. Thus, people who look like the person in
the photograph do not enjoy more happiness than others, are not more successful than
others, and do not benefit from any special advantages over others.

The researchers conducting this current study also contacted the woman in the
photograph that you see before you and asked her about her life. She reported that she
has her “ups and downs” just like everybody else, some people like her and some do not,
and in general, her life is very similar to the life of an average person. In short, this
woman’s life is no different than the lives of most people, just as the national survey
reported above would suggest.

22

or an unsuccessfirl life passage:

We are interested in learning about your health and dietary habits because it is
generally believed that people who look like the woman in the photograph will possess
certain characteristics. In actuality, research has demonstrated a strong relationship
between looking like the woman in the photograph and having an unhappy and
unfulfilled life. For example, a recent study with a national sample of 1,000 thin,
average-weight, and heavier women showed that by far, the group with the least amount
of life-satisfaction was thin women. Thin women reported that people typically
responded negatively to them, and that they felt isolated, depressed and lonely.

The researchers conducting this current study also contacted the woman in the
photograph that you see before you and asked her about her life. She reported that she
has an abusive boyfi'iend, is battling a drinking problem, and is currently in trouble with
the law. In short, this woman leads an unhappy life, just as the national survey reported
above would suggest.

Participants who were assigned to the no-information condition were not given
any stereotype relevant information about the target model. However, as ascertained in
Study 1, thin-ideal females were typically perceived by others to enjoy positive life
success. Also, participants who were assigned to the control condition were exposed to a
photograph of running shoes, rather than a thin model, and did not receive any physical
appearance priming.

After participants were exposed to their respective photographs and lifestyle
information, they completed the life outcomes questionnaire. Participants then indicated
how they felt at the moment by completing the mood measure, as well as the state self-
esteem measure (Heatherton & Polivy, 1991). Following this, participants completed the
modified version of the selves questionnaire (Higgins et al., 1985) to assess their beliefs
about their actual and ideal selves. Finally, participants rated their perceptions of their

own level of attractiveness using the BES (Franzoi & Shields, 1984). Participants were

thanked and fiilly debriefed at the end of the experiment.

23

Results

Comparability of Stimulus Mate—rials

Because this study used two different photographs of thin models (in the
experimental conditions) and two different photographs of running shoes (in the control
condition), the first step in the analysis was to examine if participants’ responses in this
study differed as a fiinction of the photograph to which they were exposed (Photo 1 or
Photo 2). As such, a multivariate ANOVA was conducted to show that the two female
models did not elicit different responses on the dependent variables (means and standard
deviations for the variables are summarized in Table 2), F(9, 116)=.816, m», and that the
two pairs of running shoes did not elicit different responses on the dependent variables,
E(9, 12)=l .71, n_s. Because the two figures in each set of photographs showed no
differences across the dependent variables, the data for the two photographs depicting the
female figures were collapsed throughout the rest of the analyses, as were the data for the
two photographs showing the running shoes.
Body Mass Index

Participants’ actual body mass index (BMI) may influence the degree to which
they feel self-dissatisfied after a social comparison with a thin-ideal female image (see
Appendix H for a histogram of participant’s BMIs). Indeed, other researchers have noted
that satisfaction with one’s body (e.g., when one’s body shape is not markedly different
from the thin-ideal image presented) may be associated with overall self-satisfaction after
exposure to thinness-depicting media images (Harrison & Cantor, 1997; Posavac,
Posavac, & Posavac, 1998). Thus, all analyses contrasting the conditions in which

participants believed that the thin-ideal female image enjoyed positive life success

24

against the conditions in which participants had no such belief were conducted with
participants’ BMI scores covaried out.
Differences Between Conditions LStereotype Consistent Vs. Stereotype Inconsistent)
Two conditions (Condition 1 and Condition 4) comprised the stereotype-
consistent category, and two conditions (Condition 2 and Condition 3) comprised the
stereotype-inconsistent category. It is possible that there may be differences in
participants’ responses within these conditions. For example, perhaps explicitly
confirming women’s positive life stereotypes of a thin-ideal female image (Condition 1)
may increase their levels of self-dissatisfaction in comparison to implicitly confirming
their stereotypes by allowing women to use their baseline physical attractiveness
stereotypes when comparing themselves to a thin-ideal female image (Condition 4).
Similarly, perhaps leading women to believe that there is a negative correlation between
weight and lifestyle (Condition 3) may result in more self-satisfaction than merely
negating the positive life stereotypes of thin-ideal female images (Condition 2). Thus,
the strength of the manipulation may have varied within life-style information conditions.
To test these hypotheses, univariate AN OVAs were conducted to explore the
possibility of differences between Conditions 1 and 4, as well as Conditions 2 and 3, on
the dependent variables. As shown in Table 3 (see Table 3 for the ANOVA results using
the omnibus error term), there was a significant difference between Conditions 1 and 4
and between Conditions 2 and 3 on the variable of mismatches, whereby those in
Condition 4 reported greater mismatches than those in Condition 1, and those in
Condition 3 reported greater mismatches than those in Condition 2 (see Table 2 for

means and standard deviations). These results indicate that, with the exception of

25

mismatches in both the stereotype-consistent and stereotype-inconsistent conditions,
there were no other differences within conditions based on the strength of the lifestyle
information manipulation. Of particular interest to this study, Condition 1 and Condition
4 (stereotype-consistent), as well as Condition 2 and Condition 3 (stereotype-
inconsistent) did not differ on the life outcomes variables. As such, all further analyses
were conducted weighing Condition 1 and Condition 4 equivalently, and Condition 2 and
Condition 3 equivalently.

Life Outcomes

One way to discern self-satisfaction afier an upward social comparison with an
ideal female image is to measure one’s belief that one will attain positive life outcomes,
such that those who are more satisfied with themselves should report higher probabilities
that they will achieve life success than those with less self-satisfaction.

The life outcomes measure was based on a modified version of the possible selves
questionnaire (Markus & Nurius, 1986) and asked participants to speculate on the
probability that they might experience life circumstances of either a positive or negative
nature. Participants’ scores on the items that measured positive life outcomes were added
together, and the average of those scores then constituted the positive life outcomes
variable (alpha=.85). Similarly, participants’ scores on the items that measured negative
life outcomes were added together and the average of those scores then constituted the
negative life outcomes variable (alpha=.86).

It was hypothesized that participants who were given positive life stereotype
information about the thin model or who were given no information about the model (and

should therefore rely on their own positive stereotypes) should experience more negative

26

self-perceptions and hence, more pessimism regarding their future life outcomes after
viewing a photograph of a thin-ideal model than those participants who were given
information that either negates positive life stereotypes of thin women, or information
that was contrary to the positive life stereotypes. The results partially supported this
hypothesis.

Planned comparisons (conducted within the framework of an overall ANOVA)
were conducted to determine whether the average ratings in the positive stereotypes
(Condition 1) and the no information (Condition 4) conditions (known hereafter as the
stereotype—consistent conditions) differed from the average ratings in the negated positive
stereotypes (Condition 2) and the contrary information (Condition 3) conditions (known
hereafter as the stereotype-inconsistent conditions) in determining participants’ beliefs
that they will experience positive future life outcomes for themselves (see Appendix I for
a summary of the overall AN OVA results). This comparison yielded significant results,
t(121)=1.98, p<.05, indicating that participants in the stereotype-consistent conditions
predicted less positive life outcomes for themselves than those in the stereotype-
inconsistent conditions (see Table 2 for means and standard deviations of life outcomes
variables).

Although validating participants’ positive stereotypes about thin women led them
to predict less positive life outcomes for themselves, it did not lead them to predict more
negative life outcomes for themselves in comparison to those whose stereotypes about
thin women were disconfirmed. Planned comparisons (conducted within the framework
of an overall ANOVA) showed that the average ratings of those in the stereotype-

consistent conditions did not differ from those in the stereotype-inconsistent conditions in

27

terms of predictions about experiencing negative life outcomes, t(121)=.79, n_s (see
Appendix I for a summary of the overall ANOVA results)

Taken together, these findings suggest that women who believe that thinness
equals life success may predict that they will have less positive possible selves than
women who believe that thinness does not equal life success. However, the belief that
thinness and life success are correlated does not seem to affect the manner in which
people view their negative possible selves. This is consistent with past research on
possible selves which shows that respondents, in general, tend to have a positivity bias, in
which they typically report low probabilities that they could have negative outcomes in
their lives (Markus & Nurius, 1986).

Moo_p_d

Given that participants who were exposed to thin models with ostensibly happy
lives reported lower probabilities of life success for themselves than those whose positive
life stereotypes of thin women were disconfirrned, it is likely that these participants
should also report more negative moods than those who do not believe that there is a
positive correlation between thinness and lifestyle.

Participants made self-ratings on a group of ten bipolar adjectives. The scores
from these ten adjectives were then averaged to create the mood variable (alpha=.96).
Planned comparisons (conducted within the framework of an overall ANOVA),
contrasting the average mood scores in the stereotype-consistent conditions against the
average mood scores in the stereotype-inconsistent conditions revealed a significant
finding, t(121)=3.17, p<.01 (see Appendix I for a summary of the overall AN OVA

results). Thus, as hypothesized, those who believed that there was a positive correlation

28

between being thin and having positive life success were more likely to report being in a
negative mood after exposure to a thin model than those who had no such belief.

It was also expected that all participants who were primed with appearance- or
weight-related information about themselves (e.g., participants in the experimental
conditions who were weighed and saw a photograph of a thin model) should report being
in a more negative mood than those who were not prompted to think about their
appearance or weight. As such, a planned comparison, contrasting the four experimental
conditions against the control condition on mood, was conducted. Results showed a
significant finding, t(l75)=4.52, p<.001, indicating that people in the control condition
experienced significantly more positive moods than those who were exposed to any
appearance- or weight-related information (see Table 2 for means and standard
deviations).

These results suggest that while it makes women feel better to believe that thin
women do not have better lives on the basis of weight alone, just thinking about one’s
own weight and appearance, in general, leads women to experience somewhat negative
moods. However, one might suspect that certain women, such as those whose bodies are
heavier than average, might feel the most negatively after being prompted with
appearance— and weight-related stimuli.

To explore this possibility, participants’ BMI scores were trichotomized into the
heaviest one-third of participants, the middle one-third of participants, and the thinnest
one-third of participants. Following this, separate planned comparisons (conducted
within the framework of an overall ANOVA) were performed for each weight category

eXploring the effects of condition (e.g., stereotype-consistent or stereotype inconsistent

29

information) on mood. The results revealed a marginally significant effect for women in
the heaviest BMI category, t(133)=1.47, p<.07 (E(3, 47)=1.99, _n_s), such that heavy
women who received stereotype-consistent information about the thin-ideal female image
experienced more negative mood than heavy women who received stereotype-
inconsistent information. However, there were no significant mood by condition
differences for women in the medium-sized or thin categories, t(133)=.98, _n_s_

(E(3, 48)=1. 12, ns) and t(l33)=1.03, n_s (E(3, 48)=.2l, m»), respectively. These results
suggest that the moods of heavy women were the most influenced by the lifestyle
information that they received.

Although the results indicate that people tend to report being in a more negative
mood if they believe that there is an association between thinness and life success,
perhaps people experience (negative) mood through their cognitions. Thus, beliefs in
lifestyle information about a thin-ideal female image may lead to negative mood via
participants’ predictions about their possible positive firture life outcomes. To investigate
this issue, a mediational analysis following the guidelines set forth by Baron and Kenny
(1986) was performed (see also Judd & Kenny, 1981). That is, one must first show that
there is a significant relationship between the independent variable (i.e., stereotype
conditions) and the dependent variable (i.e., mood). Then, one must show that there is a
significant relationship between the independent variable and the mediator variable (i.e.,
positive life outcomes). Finally, one must show that there is a significant relationship
between the mediator variable and the dependent variable. If all necessary paths are

significant, then a mediational analysis can be performed.

30

Thus, a regression analysis regressing stereotype condition (a dummy coded
variable such that 1 is stereotype-consistent conditions and 0 is stereotype-inconsistent
conditions) on mood was performed. Indeed, there was a significant relationship between
stereotype condition and mood, B=.22, t(143)=2.70, p<.01. Another regression was then
conducted regressing stereotype condition on positive life outcomes. The results revealed
a marginally significant relationship between condition and positive life outcomes, B=.32,
t(144)=1.84, p=.068. Finally, a regression regressing positive life outcomes on mood was
performed. The results showed a significant relationship between the two variables,
13:33, t(143)=4.16, p<.001.

A hierarchical regression analysis was then conducted to test for mediation, in
which the initial inclusion of the mediational variable, positive life outcomes, in
predicting mood should weaken the relationship between condition type and mood
(entered as a second step in the regression equation). The results revealed that the
inclusion of positive life outcomes weakened the relationship between condition type and
mood, B=.17, t(142)=2.22, p<.05. However, in order to discern whether this weakened
relationship amounted to mediation, a modification of Sobel’s test (Baron & Kenny,
1986) was used. This test produced a Z score of 1.64, which is not-significant, 2-tailed
12:.10 Hence, it appears that positive life outcomes does not mediate the relationship
between condition type (lifestyle information) and mood.

Although positive life outcomes did not mediate the relationship between

condition type and mood, it is possible that mood may mediate the relationship between
condition type and positive life outcomes. Thus, an exploratory second mediational

analysis was conducted to explore this possibility. As shown earlier, there was a

31

marginally significant relationship between condition type and positive life outcomes, a
significant relationship between condition type and mood, and significant relationship
between mood and positive life outcomes. Because all necessary paths were shown to be
significant, a mediational analysis could be performed (Baron & Kenny, 1986). A
hierarchical regression analysis was then conducted to test for mediation, in which the
initial inclusion of the mediational variable, mood, in predicting positive life outcomes
should weaken the relationship between condition type and positive life outcomes
(entered as a second step in the regression equation). The results revealed that the
inclusion of positive life outcomes weakened the relationship between condition type and
positive life outcomes, B=.18, t(142)=1.00, p=.32. In order to examine whether this
weakened relationship amounted to mediation, a modified version of Sobel’s test was
performed (Baron & Kenny, 1986). This test produced a Z score of 2.21, which is
significant, 2-tailed p=.027. Hence, it appears that mood mediates, to some extent, the
relationship between condition type (lifestyle information) and positive life outcomes.

Because one’s mood may affect how one feels about oneself, it should follow that
those in more negative moods should also report lower levels of state self-esteem than
those in more positive moods.

State Self-Esteem

 

As expected, a regression analysis regressing mood on appearance, social, and
Performance SSES revealed significant findings, B=.77,t(143)=14.43, p<.001, B=.61,
l(143)=8.99, p<.001, and [3 =24, t(143)=2.91, p<.01, respectively. These results suggest
that participants who reported less positive moods experienced lower appearance, social,

and performance SSES than those who reported more positive moods.

32

Similarly, the prediction that those who hold positive associations between weight
and lifestyle should experience lower levels of state self-esteem relative to those who do
not hold such associations was supported. A planned comparison (conducted within the
framework of an overall ANOVA), testing whether participants would report different
levels of appearance SSES as a function of condition was significant, t(121)=2.16, p<.05
(see Appendix I for a summary of the overall ANOVA results). Moreover, a planned
comparison testing for differences in social SSES as a function of condition was also
significant, t(121)=2.01, p<.05. However, the effect of condition on performance SSES
was not significant, t(121)=. 13, ps. These results seem sensible given that appearance-
related SSES and social SSES should be the most affected by the threat of an upward
comparison to a thin model, whereas performance SSES (e. g., levels of ability) may be
more remote from body image concerns.

ActuJal versus Idgal self

Another method by which self-dissatisfaction may be measured is through ideal
self and actual self mismatches. Specifically, people who hold positive life stereotypes of
thin models may be more likely to wish to be thin themselves so that they, too, can enjoy
positive life success. As such, these people may also be more likely to report greater
discrepancies between who they are versus who they want to be in comparison to people
Who do not hold such associations between weight and lifestyle.

Planned comparisons (conducted within the framework of an overall ANOVA),
contrasting the mismatch scores in the stereotype-consistent conditions against the
mismatch scores in the stereotype-inconsistent conditions yielded non-significant results,

t(121)=131, pg (see Appendix I for a summary of the overall ANOVA results). These

33

results indicate that participants did not generate greater self-mismatches as a function of
their positive life stereotypes about thin women (see Table 2 for means and standard
deviations).

Additionally, the mismatch statements generated by the participants were coded
for either lifestyle discontent (e. g., “I am lonely”/”I wish I were less lonely”; “I don’t
have a boyfriend”/”I wish I could be more attractive to the opposite sex”) or body image
discontent (e. g., “I am overweight”/”I wish I weighed 30 pounds less”; “I have a big
belly”/”I wish I had a flatter stomach”) by two research assistants (with a third research
assistant settling coding disagreements). Inter-rater agreement was relatively high for
body mismatches (157 agreements out of a total of 184 decisions, yielding a 85%
agreement rate) and somewhat lower for life mismatches (117 agreements out of a total
of 184 decisions, yielding a 64% agreement rate). These statements were scored in order
to discern whether participants were more likely to generate spontaneous mismatches
about their lifestyles or their bodies.

Thus, a mixed-design AN OVA was conducted in which the experimental
condition assigned to the participant was treated as a between-subjects variable, and the
coded scores for mismatches (lifestyle or body) was entered as a repeated measure. The
results revealed non-significant findings, E(1, 142)=2.25, n_s, such that there was no
difference between the amount of lifestyle mismatches and body mismatches

SPontaneously generated across conditions (see Table 2 for means and standard

deviations),

34

Attractiveness

Because exposure to thin-ideal female images with ostensibly successful lives
may lead one to feel more negatively about one’s own appearance, it was hypothesized
that those in the stereotype-consistent conditions would report feeling less attractive than
those in the stereotype-inconsistent conditions. As predicted, planned comparisons
revealed that women in the stereotype-consistent conditions reported less body-
attractiveness scores than women in the stereotype-inconsistent conditions, t(121)=2.21,
p<.05 (see Appendix I for a summary of the overall ANOVA results). Moreover, women
in the stereotype-consistent conditions also reported less overall attractiveness scores than
women in the stereotype-inconsistent conditions, t(121)=1.94, p<.05 (see Table 2 for
means and standard deviations).
Additio_npl Analyses

An interesting question that one may ask is whether the current study replicates
previous research on body image, in which women report feeling more self-dissatisfied
after exposure to thin-ideal female images than to neutral images (Heinberg &
Thompson, 1995; Thornton & Maurice, 1997). In order to explore this issue, univariate
ANOVAs were performed to investigate possible differences in the dependent variables
comparing Condition 4 (no information/photograph of thin-ideal female image) and
Condition 5 (control — no information/photograph of running shoes). These two
conditions were chosen because they best represent previous comparison groups in body
image research. As shown in Table 4, there was a significant finding for mood, such that
Participants in Condition 4 reported being in a more negative mood than those in

Condition 5 (see Table 2 for means and standard deviations). However, there were no

35

other significant differences between the two conditions.

Lastly, previous research indicates that there may be cultural differences among
women in terms of their body image. For example, researchers have found that Afiican-
American women tend to be more accepting of heavier body-types (Hebl & Heatherton,
1998), and that they report more self-satisfaction in the face of a social comparison with a
thin-ideal female image than Anglo-American women (Chin & McConnell, 2001). In
contrast, Asian-American women respond similarly to Anglo-American women with
regards to body image concerns, and also tend to show lower levels of self-satisfaction
after exposure to thin-ideal female images (Chin & McConnell, 2001). Thus, African-
American participants may have responded in a different manner than the other
participants in this study. For this reason, planned comparisons were conducted
exploring the impact of stereotype information (consistent vs. inconsistent information)
on the dependent variables, selecting out African-American participants.

As revealed in Table 5 (see Appendix J for a summary of the overall ANOVA
results), the only significant planned comparison was with mood, whereby participants in
the stereotype-consistent conditions experienced more negative moods Ms=-.92 and —
1.28) than participants in the stereotype-inconsistent conditions (MS=-.8O and -.41).
These results are consistent with the previous findings on mood in the current study
which included the African-American participants.

Although the effect of stereotype information (consistent vs. inconsistent) on
mood remained significant when the responses of African-American participants were
excluded from analysis, the effect on positive life outcomes became non-significant.

These results may have occurred because the effect of stereotype information on positive

36

life outcomes may have been particularly strong among the African-American
participants. However, the interaction of condition (stereotype life information) and race
of participant on positive life outcomes was non-significant, _E(8, 130)=.69, gs, providing
no evidence that the effects were stronger among African-American participants than
among all participants in general.
Discussion

While it is generally accepted in the body image literature that viewing thin,
attractive female images in the media leads women to feel more negatively about their
own bodies, the current study further hypothesized that it may be the association between
thin and positive life-success that leads women to feel negatively about their own
circumstances, which may then translate into feeling negatively about their own bodies.
These results should be especially robust when controlling for women’s actual body mass
index (BMI). As previous research has shown, women’s actual body shape may
influence the way that women respond to social comparisons with a thin-ideal female,
such that women with body shapes that are not markedly different from the thin-ideal
image should not feel negative about themselves afier a social comparison (Posavac et
al., 1998). Thus, all analyses in this study comparing participants from the stereotype-
consistent conditions against participants from the stereotype-inconsistent conditions
were conducted controlling for participants’ actual BMIs.

Moreover, there were two conditions that comprised the stereotype-consistent
category, and two conditions that comprised the stereotype-inconsistent category. It may
be argued that there may be differences in the strength of the manipulation within

category type (stereotype consistent vs. stereotype inconsistent lifestyle information).

37

For instance, perhaps explicitly contradicting physical attractiveness stereotypes
(Condition 3) may be a more powerful manipulation than merely negating the stereotypes
(Condition 2). Similarly, perhaps explicitly reinforcing women’s physical attractiveness
(Condition 1) stereotypes may be more powerfirl than having them rely on their own
baseline stereotypes (Condition 4).

The results revealed that participants’ reported greater mismatches when relying
on their own baseline stereotypes in comparison to participants who received stereotype-
confirming information. Similarly, participants reported greater mismatches when
exposed to negative information about the thin-ideal female than when exposed to neutral
lifestyle information. There were no other significant differences between the two
conditions in the stereotype-consistent categories, or between the two conditions in the
stereotype-inconsistent categories. These results indicate that it may not be the strength
of the information that influences self-(dis)satisfaction, but rather the valence of the
information. Thus, it was appropriate to conduct analyses contrasting Conditions 1 and 4
(stereotype-consistent) against Conditions 2 and 3 (stereotype-inconsistent).

It was predicted that women who were exposed to stereotype-consistent life
information about a thin-ideal female image would feel more self-dissatisfied than
women who were exposed to stereotype-inconsistent life information. Consistent with
these predictions, exposure to thin models with ostensibly stereotype-consistent life
circumstances led women to predict less positive future life outcomes for themselves in
comparison to women who were exposed to thin models with ostensibly stereotype-
inconsistent life circumstances. However, exposure to stereotype-consistent life

information about the thin-ideal female image did not lead women to predict more

38

negative life outcomes for themselves in comparison to women who received stereotype-
inconsistent life information about the thin-ideal female. Thus, it appears that women
may strive for thinness as a consequence of their belief that thinness will lead to more life
success and happiness, and yet, women may not believe that they will suffer too much if
they cannot be as thin as they would like to be.

Also consistent with predictions that women should feel self-dissatisfied if they
believe that there is a positive association between weight and lifestyle, the participants
who reported being in the most negative mood were those who received stereotype-
consistent life information about the thin-ideal female image. In contrast, participants
who received stereotype-inconsistent life information about the thin-ideal female image
reported feeling less negatively about themselves. This effect was particularly true for
participants who were categorized as having the highest BMI scores (in comparison to
other participants). Interestingly, all participants who received appearance- and weight-
related feedback about themselves (i.e., those who were weighed in front of a mirror and
measured for height) reported experiencing more negativity than those who did not
receive appearance- or weight-related feedback.

Taken together, these findings suggest that women experience more self-
satisfaction if they believe that there is a negative or non-existent association between
weight and lifestyle in comparison to those who believe that there is a positive correlation
between weight and lifestyle; and, this effect seems to be the most reliable for women
with higher BMIs in comparison to women with lower BMIs in the current study.
Nevertheless, all women seem to experience some degree of self-dissatisfaction if primed

with appearance- or weight-related information about themselves.

39

Although women experienced more negative moods in the stereotype-consistent
conditions than in the stereotype-inconsistent conditions, one may question whether
physical attractiveness stereotypes leads directly to (negative) mood, or if there is another
variable that mediates this relationship. As such, a mediational analysis was performed
exploring the role of participants’ predictions of positive future life outcomes for
themselves between lifestyle-information of the thin-ideal female image and mood. The
results revealed that positive firture life outcomes did not mediate the relationship
between lifestyle information and mood.

Interestingly, a second exploratory mediational analysis investigating mood as the
mediator of lifestyle information and positive life outcomes showed mediation. These
results are surprising because one would suspect that one’s cognitions about one’s
possible fiiture life outcomes should mediate the relationship between lifestyle
information about a thin-ideal female image and mood, and not the reverse. It is possible
that differences in the psychometric qualities of the mood measure and the positive life
outcomes measure may account for these unexpected findings, such that the mood
measure (alpha=.96) was more internally consistent than the positive life outcomes
measure (alpha=.85). In any case, these results display an interesting trend that require
replication in order to further understand the implications of these findings.

It was also hypothesized that women who were exposed to stereotype-consistent
information about thin-ideal images should experience lower state self-esteem than those
who were exposed to stereotype-inconsistent information. These predictions were
supported. The results revealed that participants in the stereotype-consistent conditions

reported lower appearance SSES and social SSES than participants in the stereotype-

40

:I

inconsistent conditions. However, the effect of condition on performance SSES was not
significant. These results are not surprising because body image social comparisons
should be particularly impactfirl for appearance and social self-esteem (those variables
which seem to be more meaningful for self-feelings of physical attractiveness) than for
performance self-esteem, which may be more remote from body image concerns.

The prediction that participants would generate more mismatches in the
stereotype-consistent conditions relative to those in the stereotype-inconsistent conditions
did not borne out. Mismatches between one’s actual and ideal selves did not differ as a
function of the experimental condition to which participants were assigned. One
plausible explanation for these null findings is that the measure for mismatches was
somewhat tedious and required the participants to answer several pages of questionnaires.
Furthermore, this measure was given to the participants at the end of the experiment. It is
possible that participants’ concentration levels dwindled at the end of the study, which
may have resulted in the non-significant findings.

Moreover, although it was hypothesized that participants would spontaneously
generate more lifestyle mismatches than body mismatches across all lifestyle information
conditions, this prediction also was not supported. It is possible that non-significant
results occurred because dissatisfaction with one’s body may be intimately intertwined
with dissatisfaction with one’s life. Thus, there may be some ambiguity as to whether
participants were experiencing self-discrepancy with their body or their life when they
listed down a mismatch (e. g., “I wish I could be 5 pounds lighter,” might translate into “I

wish I had more self-confidence”). Moreover, the inter-rater agreement for life-

41

mismatches was only 64%. It is possible that this relatively low inter-rater agreement
may have also played a role in the non-significant findings.

Consistent with the a priori predictions, participants’ attractiveness scores (both
body and overall attractiveness) were lower in the stereotype-consistent conditions than
in the stereotype-inconsistent conditions. These results provide further evidence that
women may experience self-dissatisfaction to the extent that they believe that a thin-ideal
female image ostensibly enjoys positive life success.

In addition, past research has shown that people tend to feel more self-dissatisfied
after viewing appearance-related images than non-appearance related images (Heinberg
& Thompson, 1995). One question that arose with respect to the current study is whether
the findings replicate past research on body image. That is, do people feel more self-
dissatisfied after exposure to thinness-depicting media images (without any lifestyle
information — Condition 4) in comparison to exposure to non-appearance related images
(neutral stimuli — Condition 5)? The results showed that the only difference between the
two conditions was on mood, such that those who were exposed to a thin-ideal female
image reported being in a more negative mood than those who were exposed to a
photograph of a pair of running shoes.

Similar results occurred when African-American participants were selected out to
investigate cultural differences in the current study. Because previous research has
evinced that African-American females tend to be more accepting of heavier body types
than Anglo-American women (Hebl & Heatherton, 1998) and are less likely to compare
themselves to western ideals of beauty than Anglo-American women or Asian-American

women (Chin & McConnell, 2001), it is possible that including African-Americans in the

42

data analyses may have been masking significant findings. Thus, additional analyses
were conducted selecting out African-American participants.

The results revealed that the only significant effect that emerged was on mood,
such that those in the stereotype-consistent conditions reported more negative moods than
those in the stereotype-inconsistent conditions. Although these findings replicated the
earlier results that showed that participants in the stereotype-consistent conditions
reported more negative mood than participants in the stereotype-inconsistent conditions
among all participants, it did not replicate the effect of condition on positive life
outcomes. These results suggested that perhaps the effect of condition on positive life
outcomes was particularly strong for African-American participants. However, the
results did not support this notion.

It is possible that selecting out African-American participants weakened the
power of the data analyses (note that African-Americans did constitute 13.3% of the
participants), such that effects that may have emerged with more participants remained
non-significant (e. g., positive life outcomes). Perhaps with a larger sample of
participants, these cultural analyses would be more conclusive.

Overall, this study yielded evidence of a general phenomenon, in which,
consistent with the a priori predictions, confirming or disconfirming life stereotypes
about thin-ideal females led women to report different levels of life-satisfaction. Namely,
women reported a less optimistic outlook of their future life possibilities as well as more
negative mood, lower appearance and social state self-esteem, and lower attractiveness
scores when presented with a thin-ideal female with stereotype-consistent life

information in contrast to women who were presented with a thin-ideal female with

43

a l

m.

stereotype-inconsistent information. Moreover, optimism for future life outcomes
mediated the relationship between stereotypes of thin females and mood, in which
positive future life outcomes, to some extent, provided a mechanism through which life
stereotypes of thin-ideal females affected women’s mood. These findings suggest that
women’s stereotypes about thin females influences their feelings about themselves, and
that body image, in and of itself, may not be sufficient to understand why women may
feel self-dissatisfied after comparing themselves to a thin model. Rather, women seem to
have positive stereotypes associated with being thin and beautiful (e. g., Dion et al., 1972;
Eagly et al., 1991; Hatfield & Sprecher, 1986), and it is the belief in this stereotype that
seems to, in part, drive self-dissatisfaction.

Although participants seemed to respond to the dependent measures in a manner
consistent with predictions, one cannot be sure that participants firlly believed the
lifestyle information that they were given with respect to the thin-ideal female image or if
participants were, indeed, comparing themselves to the model. Therein lies the first
limitation of this study. Specifically, manipulation checks were not performed to
determine if participants truly accepted the lifestyle information that they received or if
participants made social comparisons with the model. Future research using this
experimental paradigm should employ manipulation checks to confirm that that the
manipulation was successful.

The second limitation of this study is that demand characteristics may have played
a role in the way that participants responded to the measures. Although they were given
a cover story that the study was about health and nutrition, it is possible that several of

the participants may have guessed the true purpose of the experiment and completed the

44

questionnaires in a manner that they believed was consistent with the hypothesis.
However, it should be noted that none of the participants seemed suspicious, or made any
comments that would suggest that they knew about the about the true nature of the
experiment during the laboratory sessions.

One question that arose out of this study is the degree to which weighing or not
weighing participants affects feelings about the self relative to the effects of viewing a
thin-ideal image versus a pair of running shoes. As shown earlier, the mood of those
participants who were in the experimental conditions and were therefore weighed (and
saw the photograph of the thin model) was significantly more negative than the mood of
those in the control condition who were not weighed (and saw the photograph of the
running shoes). Thus, a third study was conducted in order to explore whether feelings of
negativity in Study 2 were the result of the exposure to a thin-ideal female image, or if
the findings were due to negative feelings associated with being weighed.

Study 3 also examined two personality factors that may contribute to feelings of
self-satisfaction after receiving appearance- and weight-related stimuli. Specifically,
Study 3 investigated whether those who have stronger associations between weight and
positive life-success experience more self-dissatisfaction after exposure to a thin-ideal
female image than those who have weaker associations between being thin and enjoying
positive life-success. Moreover, Study 3 also examined whether those who have
internalized societal standards of thinness and attractiveness for women were more likely
to suffer from self—dissatisfaction after an upward social comparison to a thin-ideal
female image than those who have less internalization of such standards (Heinberg,

Thompson, & Storrner, 1995). As illustrated by Heinberg and Thompson (1995), female

45

participants who reported higher levels of internalizing thinness standards were more
likely to experience negative affect and lowered body satisfaction after viewing
appearance related television commercials in contrast to those who reported lower levels
of internalizing thinness standards. Thus, women who report higher levels of
internalizing thinness standards should be highly susceptible to experiencing self-
dissatisfaction after an upward social comparison to a thin-ideal standard.
STUDY 3
Method
Participants
Participants were 81 women recnrited from Michigan State University
introductory level psychology classes in exchange for course-related credit. Of the
participants, 76.5% were European-American, 11.1% were African-American, 6.2% were
Asian-American, 4.9% were Hispanic-American, and the remaining 1.2% were from
other ethnic backgrounds. The mean age of the participants was 19.7 years old and their
mean BMI was 22.7 (with a normal range of BMI scores being between 18-25;
Korbonits, Trainer, Little, Edwards, Kopelman, Besser, Svec, & Grossman, 1997; see
Appendix K for a histogram of participants’ BMI scores).
Measures
Associations between thinness and lifestyle. To assess possible associations
between thinness and lifestyle, participants completed a 10-item questionnaire (embedded
in twenty other non weight-related questions) measuring the extent to which they believe
that there is a relationship between weight and life success (Appendix L presents this

instrument). Participants were asked to respond to items on a scale ranging from 1

46

(strongly disagree) to 9 (strongly agree) on questions such as, “Thinner women lead more
satisfied lives than heavier women,” and “Heavier women are less likely to drive an
expensive sports car than thinner women.” The internal consistency for this scale is
alpha=.9l.

Intemalization of thinness—standards. The sociocultural attitudes towards
appearance questionnaire (SATAQ; Heinberg et al., 1995) was used to assess
participants’ internalization of societally approved standards of physical appearance for
women (Appendix M presents this instrument). The internalization subscale of the
SATAQ is an 8-item questionnaire and includes such items as, “Women who appear in
TV shows and movies project the type of appearance that I see as my goal,” and
“Attractiveness is very important if you want to get ahead in our culture.” Participants
responded to items on a scale ranging from 1 (completely disagree) to 5 (completely
agree) with some items reverse scored. The internal consistency for this scale is
alpha=.88 (Heinberg et al., 1995).

Life outcomes. The same scale used to measure possible selves in Study 2 was
used in the current study to measure participants’ beliefs about their possible future life
outcomes (See Appendix C). However, in the current study, participants completed this
questionnaire three times, once about their current self, once while imagining themselves
as “thin” (as thin as they want to be) and once while imagining themselves as “heavy”
(50 pounds heavier than they are currently). The internal consistency for this scale is
alpha=.85 (current self positive life outcomes), alpha=.88 (current self negative life

outcomes, alpha=.87 (thin self positive life outcomes), alpha=.84 (thin self negative life

47

outcomes), alpha=.91 (heavy self positive life outcomes), and alpha=.92 (heave self
negative life outcomes).

Mood and State self-esteem. General mood and state self-esteem were measured
using the same questionnaires that were employed in Study 2 (See Appendix D and
Appendix E). The internal consistency for mood is alpha=.95, and the internal
consistency for state self-esteem is alpha=.92 (Heatherton & Polivy, 1992).

Design and Procedure

This study employed a 2 (photograph: thin-ideal female vs. running shoes) X 2
(weight measured: yes vs. no) between-subjects factorial design.

Participants completed a questionnaire assessing the strength of their weight and
lifestyle associations on the world-wide-web prior to coming into the laboratory. They
also completed the SATAQ (Heinberg et al., 1995) to measure their internalization of
societal standards of thinness for women prior to coming into the laboratory. These
measures were taken prior to participants coming into the laboratory so as to not
influence their responses on other variables.

Similar to Study 2, participants were greeted by a female experimenter and were
informed that the study was about the impact of the media on health. Therefore, they
were told that they would be looking at a media image and would answer several
questionnaires. Participants in the weigh condition were asked to complete a
questionnaire on their dietary habits (e.g., “How often do you eat fruits and vegetables?”
“How often do you exercise?” “How often do you drink alcohol?”), and were weighed
and measured for height in front of a mirror. Participants in the no-weigh condition were

asked to complete the dietary habits questionnaire, but were not weighed nor measured

48

for height. Participants in both the weigh and no-weigh conditions were then randomly
assigned to view either one of two photographs of a thin-ideal female or one of two
photographs of a pair of running shoes (the same photographs that were employed in
Study 2). Participants were then asked to complete the life outcomes questionnaire based
on their current circumstances (i.e., current physical appearance, current lifestyle) in
order to measure their optimism about their futures. Following this, participants
completed the mood measure, as well as the state self-esteem scale (Heatherton & Polivy,
1991). Finally, they completed the life outcomes questionnaire two more times, once
while imagining themselves to be as thin as they would like to be, and once while
imagining themselves to be 50 pounds heavier than their present self. Participants were.
thanked and debriefed at the end of the study.
Results

The first point of interest was whether or not Study 3 replicated the findings of
Study 2. That is, Study 2 showed that there was a significant difference between those
participants who were exposed to a photograph of a thin-ideal female (with no life-
inforrnation) and those participants who were exposed to a photograph of a pair of
running shoes, such that those who viewed a thin-ideal female reported being in a more
negative mood than those who viewed a pair of running shoes. However, there were no
other significant findings on the dependent variables (e. g., life outcomes, state self-
esteem, mismatches, attractiveness). These results were surprising because it was not
consistent with previous research on body image that shows that women report feeling
more self-dissatisfied after exposure to thin—ideal female images than to neutral images

(Heinberg & Thompson, 1995; Thornton & Maurice, 1997).

49

 

In order to explore whether Study 3 replicated Study 2, a one-way analysis of
variance (ANOVA) was performed contrasting participants in the weigh/photograph of
thin-female condition against participants in the no weigh/photograph of running shoes
condition on mood. The results revealed non-significant findings, E(l, 37)=2.11, pg.
Moreover, the multivariate AN OVA contrasting the weigh/thin-female condition against
the no weigh/running shoes condition on all of the dependent variables was also non-
significant, F(10, 26)=l.24, I_‘I§. Hence, it appears that Study 3 did replicate Study 2 for
the most part, although Study 2 found a significant effect on mood, whereas Study 3 did
not.

Primm Analyses

One of the aims of this study was to clarify the findings of Study 2. In particular,
this study investigated whether negative feelings about the self were a direct consequence
of the social comparison to a thin-ideal female image, or if negative feelings occurred as
a product of being weighed. Thus, a MANOVA was conducted in order to examine
whether there were any significant differences among dependent variables as a function
of the photograph to which participants were exposed (thin-ideal female vs. running
shoes), and weigh condition (weighed vs. not weighed; see means and standard
deviations for the dependent variables in Table 6). The results revealed a significant
multivariate main effect for photograph, E(10, 63)=2.21, p<.05, and a non-significant
effect for both weigh, E(10, 63)=l .48, as, and the interaction between photograph and
weigh, 5(10, 63)=.78, n_s. These results suggest that exposure to thin-ideal females,
alone, rather than being weighed, affected participants’ reports of self-dissatisfaction in

Study 2.

50

 

Univariate AN OVAs were then conducted on each of the individual dependent
variables to explore the impact of photograph on these variables. Results showed non-
significant effects for any of the life outcome variables (see Table 7 for means, standard
errors, and AN OVA F-values). However, there was a significant mood effect, such that
those who were exposed to a photograph of running shoes reported being in a more
positive mood than those who were exposed to a photograph of a thin-ideal. Finally,
results yielded non-significant effects for appearance and performance SSES. However,
there was a significant finding for social SSES. Surprisingly, the social SSES pattern of
results contradicted the predictions. In fact, the results indicate that those who were
exposed to a thin-ideal female reported higher social SSES scores than those who were
exposed to a pair of running shoes.

Although the results revealed that women’s levels of self-satisfaction was
influenced by the photograph to which they were exposed, it is possible that their actual
BMI scores may affect these findings. In order to examine this issue more closely, a
median split on participants’ BMI scores was computed. Following this, a MANOVA
was conducted in order to determine if participants’ BMI scores moderated the effects of
photograph on the dependent variables. The results revealed a non-significant main
effect for BMI, 5(10, 24)=.46, pa. Moreover, the interaction between BMI and
photograph was also non-significant, E(10, 24)=.90, n_s. These results suggest that the
actual BMI of the participants did not influence their levels of self-satisfaction after
exposure to the photographs.

It was also hypothesized that certain personality variables, such as associations

between weight and lifestyle and internalization of societal standards of thinness for

51

women, should moderate negative feelings toward the self after receiving appearance-
and weight-related stimuli. Although these two potential moderator variables seem inter-
related, in fact, they measure different constructs and are independent from each other,
r(73)=.15, ps. Moreover, because earlier univariate ANOVAs indicated that there was a
significant effect of photograph on mood and social SSES, the moderator analyses were
performed to investigate the effects of the two moderator variables on photograph and
mood, as well as photograph and social SSES.

The results revealed that the variable of associations between weight and lifestyle
did not moderate the effects of photograph on mood, E(1, 70)=.11, n_s (see Table 8 for
means and standard errors), nor the effects of photograph on social SSES, E(1, 71)=.20,
n_s (see Table 9 for means and standard errors). Similarly, the variable of internalization
of thinness standards did not moderate the effects of photograph on mood, £(1, 70)=.01,
n_s (see Table 8 for means and standard errors), nor the effects of photograph on social
SSES, E(1, 70)=.64, pa (see Table 9 for means and standard errors).
Additiopal Analysis

Although the two personality variables did not moderate the relationship between
the photograph shown and the dependent variables, it would stand to reason that
individual differences in the belief of a positive stereotype between weight and lifestyle,
as well as individual differences in the internalization of thinness standards, should be
related to the extent to which women feel optimistically or pessimistically about their
future life outcomes when asked to imagine themselves as either normal (their current
physical appearance and weight), thin (as thin as they would like to be), or heavy (50

pounds heavier than their current weight). That is, those who have stronger associations

52

between being thin and having life success should predict more positive life outcomes
and less negative life outcomes for themselves when they imagine themselves as a thin
person versus imagining themselves as a heavier person relative to those with weaker
associations between weight and lifestyle. Correspondingly, those with higher levels of
internalization of thinness standards should also predict more positive life outcomes and
less negative life outcomes for themselves when imagining themselves as a thin person
versus imagining themselves as a heavier person relative to those with lower levels of
internalization.

Consistent with predictions, a mixed-design ANOVA with associations between
weight and lifestyle as a between-subjects factor and positive life outcomes (as current
self, thin self, and heavy self) as a repeated measure showed a main effect for positive life
outcomes, E(2, 71)=93.94, p<.001. This effect was then qualified by a significant
interaction between positive life outcomes and associations between weight and lifestyle,
_E(2, 71)=3.89, p<.05 (means and standard deviations of the positive life outcome
variables by weight/life associations are summarized in Table 10). In order to investigate
this interaction more closely, simple effects tests examining the discrepancies in positive
life outcomes between current, thin, and heavy selves were conducted separately for
those who scored either low or high in their associations between weight and lifestyle, as
determined by a median split. Results showed that those who were higher in their
associations between weight and lifestyle showed a significantly greater discrepancy in
their ratings of their positive life outcomes between their thin and heavy selves (M

difference =2.57) than did those who were lower in their associations

53

 

(M difference =1.99), EU, 72)=9.71, p<.01. Similarly, those who were higher in their
associations between weight and lifestyle showed a significantly greater discrepancy in
their ratings of their positive life outcomes between their current and heavy selves (M
difference =2.08) than did those who were lower in their associations

M difference =l.44), E(1,72)=12.23, p<.001.

Additionally, another mixed-design ANOVA was conducted with associations
between weight and lifestyle as a between-subjects factor and negative life outcomes (as
current self, thin self, and heavy self) as a repeated measure. Results revealed a main
effect for negative life outcomes, E(2, 71)=78.99, p<.001, such that scores on the
negative life outcomes measure differed depending on whether participants imagined
themselves to be their current weight, thinner than their current self, or heavier than their
current self (see Table 10 for means and standard deviations of the negative life outcome
variables by weight/life associations). Specifically, participants expected to have poorer
life outcomes the heavier in weight they imagined themselves to be. However, the
interaction between weight/lifestyle associations and life outcomes was non-significant,
E (2, 71)=1.53, 3, suggesting that participants responded in a similar manner regardless
of their weight/life associations.

In order to discern whether participants’ internalization of thinness standards
affected predictions of positive life outcomes, a mixed-design ANOVA was conducted
with internalization as a between-subjects factor and positive life outcomes as a repeated
measure (as current self, thin self, and heavy self). Results revealed a significant main
effect for life outcomes, E(2, 70)=94.54, p<.001, which was qualified by a significant

interaction between positive life outcomes and internalization, F (2, 70)=4.38, p<.05

54

(means and standard deviations of positive life outcome variables by internalization of
thinness standards are summarized in Table 11). These results suggest that participants’
predictions of their positive life outcomes were influenced by the degree to which they
internalized the belief that in order to be considered beautifirl, one must also be thin.
Simple effects tests were then conducted in order to examine the discrepancies in positive
life outcomes between current, thin, and heavy selves for those who scored either low or
high in their internalization beliefs, as determined by a median split. Results revealed
that those who scored higher in internalization showed significantly greater discrepancies
in their ratings of their positive life outcomes between both their thin and heavy selves
(M difference =2.77) and between their current and heavy selves (M difference =2.04)
than did those who scored lower in internalization (Ms differences =1 .46 and 1.81,
respectively), E(1, 71)=26.09, p<.001 and E(l, 71)=10.51, p<.01, respectively.
Moreover, there was a marginally significant effect for the discrepancies between thin
and current selves, such that those who were higher in internalization reported more of a
discrepancy between their thin and current selves @ difference = .73) than those who
were lower in internalization (M difference =35), E(1,71)=3.46, p=.07.

It was also predicted that those with more internalization of thinness standards
should predict more negative life outcomes for themselves than those with less
internalization. Thus, a mixed-design ANOVA with internalization as a between-subjects
factor and negative life outcomes as a repeated measure was conducted. This analysis
revealed a significant main effect for negative life outcomes E(2, 70)=79.65, p<.001,
which was then qualified by a significant interaction between internalization and negative

life outcomes, E(2, 70)=4.09, p<.05, suggesting that there was a difference in predictions

55

for negative life outcomes depending on one’s level of internalization (see Tablell for
means and standard deviations of negative life outcomes by internalization of thinness
standards). Simple effects tests examining the discrepancies in negative life outcomes
between current, thin, and heavy selves were then conducted separately for those who
scored either low or high in their internalization beliefs, as determined by a median split.
Results showed that those who scored higher in internalization showed a significantly
greater discrepancy in their ratings of their negative life outcomes between their thin and
heavy selves M difference=l .34) than did those who were lower in internalization (M
difference =1.14), E(1,71)=4.99, p<.05. Likewise, those who were higher in their
internalization beliefs also showed a significantly greater discrepancy in their ratings of
their negative life outcomes between their thin and current selves (M difference =66)
than did those who were lower in internalization M difference =29), E(1, 71)=14.17,
p<.001. Finally, there was a marginally significant effect for the discrepancies between
the current and heavy selves, such that those who were higher in internalization reported
more of a discrepancy in their negative life outcomes between their current and heavy
selves M difference = 1.34) than those who were lower in internalization
M difference =1.14), E(1, 71)=3.33, p=.07.
Discussion

Interestingly, Study 3 replicated the findings in Study 2, which showed that, with
the exception of mood, women did not report feeling more negatively when exposed to a
photograph of a thin-ideal female image than to a photograph of a pair of running shoes.
These results are surprising because they do not replicate other research on body image

that shows that women tend to feel more self-dissatisfied after exposure to thinness-

56

depicting media images than to non-thinness related media images (Heinberg &
Thompson, 1995). It is possible that Study 2 and Study 3 did not replicate past findings
because participants were only shown one photograph of a thin-ideal female. Showing
one photograph may not have been as strong a manipulation as showing, for instance, 50
photographs of a thin-ideal female image (Thornton & Moore, 1997), or even 10
photographs (Posavac et. al, 1998).

One of the major purposes of Study 3 was to clarify the findings of Study 2.
Specifically, do women feel more self-dissatisfied as a result of being weighed, or as a
consequence of their upward social comparison to a thin-ideal female image? The results
revealed that weighing did not seem to significantly influence women’s feelings about the
self. Rather, what seemed to be the impetus behind women’s reports of self-
dissatisfaction was the photograph to which they were exposed. Specifically, women
who viewed a photograph of a thin-ideal female were more likely to experience a less
positive mood than women who viewed a photograph of running shoes. Furthermore,
this effect was not moderated by participants’ actual BMI scores, suggesting that women
experienced more negative moods after exposure to the thin-ideal female image than after
exposure to the pair of running shoes regardless of their actual body mass.

Surprisingly, and contrary to predictions, women who were exposed to a
photograph of a thin-ideal female also reported higher levels of social state self-esteem
than women who were exposed to a photograph of running shoes. One explanation for
these unexpected results is that exposure to a thin-ideal female and imagining oneself
emulating her may actually give people a self-esteem boost. For instance, research on

social comparison indicates that upward social comparisons may inspire people to self-

57

improve (Brickman & Bulman, 1977; Roese, 1994), and in fact, imagining oneself
reaching a goal state may be enough to actually make it more likely that the goal state
will be reached (Boninger, Gleicher, & Strathman, 1994; Nasco & Marsh, 1999; Roese,
1994). Hence, perhaps women who were exposed to an upward standard were motivated
to improve themselves, and this feeling of possible self-improvement then lead to higher
social state self-esteem scores.

It was firrther hypothesized that certain individual differences, such as
associations between weight and lifestyle and internalization of thinness standards, would
moderate the relationship between exposure to a photograph and mood, as well as
photograph and social SSES. Interestingly, there was no significant correlation between
associations between weight/lifestyle and internalization of thinness standards. These
results may have occurred because the analysis may have been conducted aggregating
multiple distinct populations. For instance, perhaps women’s actual body mass index
was a third variable that affected the results of the correlation. That is, perhaps those
with heavier BMI scores believed that there was a negative correlation between
associations between weight/life and internalization, and those with lower BMI scores
believed that there was a positive correlation between associations between weight/life
and internalization. Thus, the results would cancel each other out, and a non-significant
correlation would result. Unfortunately, because Study 3 did not weigh all participants,
and the sample size of those who were weighed was fairly low (n=40), the possibility of
BMI scores as a third variable remains as speculation.

Nevertheless, the prediction that associations between weight and lifestyle and

internalization of thinness standards would moderate the effects of photograph on mood

58

and social SSES were not supported. Two explanations for these null findings appear
plausible. First, the most parsimonious explanation is that the two predicted moderators
were, in fact, not moderators and that there are other personality factors that may affect
the relationship between exposure to physical appearance stimuli and self-satisfaction.
Second, it is possible that the effects of the manipulation were so strong that the
significant main effects found were consistent across levels of both weight and lifestyle
associations and internalization of thinness standards.

Although these individual personality differences did not moderate the
relationship between the photograph to which the participants were exposed and the
dependent variables, individual personality differences did differentially affect
participants’ predictions of their life outcomes, depending on whether they were
imagining life possibilities for the current self, thin self, or the heavy self Namely, those
with stronger associations between weight and lifestyle were more likely to experience a
discrepancy between their heavier and thinner selves in terms of positive future outlook
than those with weaker associations between weight and lifestyle. This pattern is
reasonable, given that people with stronger associations between weight and lifestyle
should expect more positive life success for thinner women. In addition, those with
higher levels of internalization of thinness standards showed more discrepancies between
their thinner and heavier selves when imagining their future possibilities than those with
lower levels of internalization standards. Specifically, those with higher internalization
scores predicted that they would experience more positive life outcomes and less negative
life outcomes for themselves the thinner that they imagined themselves to be relative to

those with lower internalization scores. These results suggest that people with high levels

59

 

 

of internalization should feel the most negatively about themselves if they believe that
they are not thin, consistent with predictions.
General Discussion
The common pattern found in these studies that comprised this dissertation
project is that women tend to associate positive life circumstances with being thin, and it

may be this association that, to some extent, drives feelings of self-dissatisfaction when

 

In.“
comparing oneself to a thin-ideal female. For example, Study 1 clearly indicated that
women believe that thinner females enjoy more positive life success than heavier |
females, even when controlling for attractiveness. In addition, Study 2 showed that 5

when these positive life stereotypes about thin-ideal females are explicitly or implicitly
confirmed, women predict more pessimistic life possibilities for themselves and report
greater levels of self-dissatisfaction when comparing their own lives to that of the thin-
ideal female.

Study 2 also showed that participants’ predictions for their own positive future
life possibilities (their cognitions about themselves) did not mediate the relationship
between the lifestyle-information that they received about the thin-ideal female image
and mood. However, a second mediational analyses indicated that mood was a mediator
of the relationship between lifestyle information and positive life outcomes. Although
the first mediational analysis seems to be more theoretically plausible than the second
mediational analysis but resulted in non-significant results (whereas the second
mediational analysis was significant), it is necessary that there be replication of these

findings before any concrete conclusions can be drawn.

6O

Study 3 further re-affirmed that the positive life stereotypes associated with thin-
ideal females can contribute to self-dissatisfaction and the experience of negative affect.
Specifically, women who had greater associations between being thin and enjoying
positive life success were more cynical about their possible future life outcomes when
they imagined themselves to be heavier than when they imagined themselves to be
thinner relative to those with fewer associations between weight and lifestyle. This same
pattern of results was also found for those with higher levels of internalization of thinness
standards in comparison to those with lower levels of internalization.

Taken together, the findings of these studies suggest that self-dissatisfaction
regarding one’s own physical appearance can occur when one believes that thin-ideal
females possess the physical attractiveness stereotype (Hatfield & Sprecher, 1986). For
example, women seem to compare themselves to thin-ideal females, typically media
figures, with the belief that these thin-ideal females also possess ideal lifestyles, and it is
this comparison of lifestyles that may then lead to negative feelings about one’s body.
One may have the feeling that, “if only I could be thin like her, then I could be happy like
her.” Thus, the findings in the current studies show that women do not necessarily want
to improve their bodies simply to improve the way that their bodies look. Instead, it is
the belief that a person can also improve their life by improving their bodies that may
drive women to strive for thinness.

Although these three studies suggest that women strive for an ideal body type
(i.e., thinness) because they associate positive life success with this body-type, there are
several limitations to this study that make these findings more tentative. First, Study 2,

which showcased the findings that women feel more dissatisfied if they believe that there

61

is a positive association between being thin and happy, did not employ manipulation
checks to ensure that participants fully believed the lifestyle information that they
received. Moreover, the theoretically reasonable mediational analysis which investigated
whether positive life outcomes mediated the relationship between lifestyle information
and mood was non-significant. Conversely, mood seemed to mediate the relationship
between lifestyle information and positive life outcomes. Because of these ambiguous
mediational analyses, definite conclusions should not be drawn without additional
research.

Another limitation that applies to both Studies 2 and 3, is that of demand
characteristics. Namely, participants may have been aware, or became aware at some
point during the study, that the research was about female body image. As such,
participants may have responded to the measures in a manner consistent with how they
believed they should react to a body image study. Future studies should perhaps take
greater care in designing a cover story that may make it less likely that participants would
come to know the true purpose of the study.

Limitations aside, there are several implications of these findings. The first is that
women readily accept information that disconfirms their positive stereotypes about thin
females. In fact, they are willing to accept that thin females actually have more negative
life circumstances than other females. This is consistent with past research on
stereotypes of the beautiful, in which people also readily believe that beautiful others
have a “dark” side — one that is vain, egotistical, and self-centered (Cash & Janda, 1984;
Dermer & Thiel, 1975). As such, women may happily engage in a downward social

comparison with thin females who ostensibly lead unhappy lives.

62

The fact that women are willing to believe that there is no association between
weight and lifestyle, or that there is a negative association between weight and lifestyle is
an important one because it has implications for the mental health treatment of women
with body image disturbances. Specifically, treatment for body image disturbances
should include helping women to disassociate weight from life success. As shown in
Study 2, women experience less self-dissatisfaction when their positive life stereotypes of
a thin-ideal female were disconfirmed relative to when such positive life stereotypes were
confirmed. Moreover, other research indicates that there is no guarantee that women will
eventually become satisfied with themselves once they become thinner (Stunkard & Burt,
1967; Stunkard & Mendelson, 1967). As illustrated in one study, formerly overweight
women who had lost weight continued to maintain negative thoughts and feelings about
their weight and themselves (Cash, Counts, & Huffrne, 1990).

Some may argue that thinner women are, indeed, happier than heavier women,
and that telling heavier women that there is no correlation between weight and lifestyle
may be unethical because some research indicates that heavier women do have somewhat
more difficulties than thinner women. For example, obese women to be lower in socio-
economic status than their non-obese peers (Sobal & Stunkard, 1989), they tend to be
discriminated against in the college selection process (Canning & Mayer, 1966), and
when they do enter into college, obese women tend to receive less financial assistance
from their parents than their male counterparts (Crandall, 1991, 1995). However, these
research illustrate the difference between obese and non-obese women. For many
American women, the issue is not necessarily about becoming non-obese, but about

becoming thinner than they already are. Does lifestyle really undergo a seismic shift by

63

losing 5 or 10 pounds? Probably not. And yet, many women are obsessed with the
notion of “if only I could lose 5 pounds.” Perhaps it may be unethical to inform
medically obese women that there will be no difference in their lifestyles if they were to
become normal-sized. However, it is in this author’s opinion that there truly is no
measurable difference in lifestyle for a woman who loses 5 or 10 pounds, and indeed,
there may not be a positive change. Future research may also want to address this issue.
Do women actually enjoy more positive life success if they lose a nominal amount of
weight?

Although Study 2 revealed that college women tend to feel more optimistic about
their life possibilities when positive stereotypes about thin-ideal females were
invalidated, it is not clear whether disconfirming stereotypes about thin-ideal females
would be as beneficial for a different population of women. For instance, clinically
depressed women, or women with eating disordered behaviors, may not be as willing to
believe that there is no association, or even a negative association, between weight and
lifestyle. Or, there may be a different psychological mechanism that drives the self-
dissatisfaction that women from a clinical population may feel. Therefore, the results of
the current studies may not be generalizable to all women. Because one application of
the current research is to help foster the mental health of those with body image
disturbances, it may be essential to conduct future research using the current
psychological paradigm with a clinical population to see if the findings would also be
relevant to them.

Additional research on body image may want to explore whether the current

findings on the effects of lifestyle information on self-(dis)satisfaction would also hold

64

firm in domains other than weight. For example, instead of thin versus not thin, perhaps
this paradigm could be employed with facial features (e. g., attractive versus unattractive
faces), or physical fitness (physically-fit women versus physically unfit women).

Another avenue for fixture research in this area may also focus on men’s
associations between weight and lifestyle. As indicated by past research, men also report
dissatisfaction with their physical appearance (Berscheid, Walster, & Borhnstedt, 1973;
Cash, Winstead, & Janda, 1986). Although people tend to believe that men are more
satisfied with their bodies than women, other research indicates that there is not such a
vast body-dissatisfaction gap between women and men (Jackson, Sullivan, & Rostker,
1988; Keeton, Cash & Brown, 1990). Therefore, it may be valuable to firrther investigate
how social comparisons to attractive same-sex others with either confirming or
disconfirming stereotypic life information may affect self-satisfaction among men.

Conclusion

The number of people who report that they are dissatisfied with their bodies is
striking and potentially alarming. A national survey on body image with nearly 30,000
respondents that appeared in the magazine, Psychology Today, revealed that 38% of
women and 34% of men are dissatisfied with their looks in general, 55% of women and
41% of men are dissatisfied with their weight, and 47% of females and 29% of males
classified themselves as overweight, when, in actuality, they were of a normal weight
(Cash et al., 1986). One must question why so many people are dissatisfied with their
appearance, and their weight in particular. The current studies allow us a glimpse into
one facet of why people continue to experience self-dissatisfaction with their physical

appearance and why they struggle with their weight in order to attempt to attain the ever

65

elusive goal of thinness. In essence, people do not strive merely to improve their
physical appearance as a goal in-and-of-itself. Rather, as the present work indicates, it is
also the promise of a better, more glamorous life that is waiting in the wings of a thinner
self that leads people to want to improve their physical appearance, often by losing
weight. In order to fully understand the psychology of body image dissatisfaction, we
should move beyond focusing solely on body-dissatisfaction and move toward a more
comprehensive understanding of the multifaceted role that physical appearance play in
people’s psychological functioning, including how body-dissatisfaction takes place

within a social and cultural context.

66

APPENDICES

67

APPENDIX A

We are interested in seeing how accurate people are in predicting other people’s lives.
On the following pages, you will be shown several photographs and you will be asked to
predict, to the best of your ability, what these people are like.

 

In the following space, please list 5 words that you think would describe this person:

1)
2)
3)
4)

5)

 

 

 

 

 

68

Presented below are statements that the person in this photograph might have made about
herself. Using the following scale, indicate how likely you think each statement
describes her. Please answer every item and do not skip questions.

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
very unlikely very likely to
to be true of her be true of her

 

(Participants were shown either the heavier woman or the thinner woman, but not both)

 

This person:

1 buys used clothing 23. has the “good” life

2 is unemployed 24. is admired by others

3 is energetic 25. is depressed

4 leads a dull life 26. does not date very often
5. is engaged to a handsome man 27. has a successful career
6. cats TV dinners 28. is pessimistic about her fiiture
7 is intelligent 29. has high self-esteem

8. does not have many friends 30. is on welfare

9. is loved 31. feels like a failure

10. is an alcoholic 32. frequently dates

11. is optimistic about her firture 33. has an abusive boyfiiend
12. lives in a trailer 34. travels a lot

13. drives an expensive sports car 35. has many friends

14. is self-confident 36. has low self—esteem

15. is unhappy with her life 37. is withdrawn

69

16. dresses stylishly 38.
17. is unhealthy 39.
18. owns a beautiful home 40.
19. is unloved 41.
20. is wealthy 42.
21. is liked by others 43.
22. does not care very much 44.

about herself

is pitied by others

leads an exciting life

is lonely

lacks self-confidence

feels like a success

is happy with her life

has gotten into trouble with
the law in the past

Some of the things that the woman in the photograph reported about her life are not listed
here. Can you think of anything else that might be true about her life? If so, please list

them here now:

 

A) How old do you think this woman is?

B) Overall, how physically attractive is this woman (please circle a number)?:

1 2 3 4

very
unattractive

5 6 7 8 9

very
attractive

C) What is this woman’s education level (please mark an X in the box you think

describes her)?

Some high school
High school diploma
Some college
College degree
Graduate degree

D) In which US. State does this woman reside?

 

E) How often do you think this woman tells lies (Please circle a number)?:

1 2 3 4
never

5 6 7 8 9
frequently

70

APPENDIX B

Factor Loadings for Life-Outcomes Questionnaire

 

 

Factor Factor

Question 1 2 Question 1 2

sports car .80 - depressed - .75
admired .79 - feels like failure - .75
wealthy .77 - unloved - .74
travels lots .77 - abusive boyfriend - .68
attractive .74 - no friends - .66
handsome man .72 - unhappy - .64
nice home .72 - lonely - .64
exciting life .66 - alcoholic - .63
good life .65 - low self-esteem -.51 .61
lots of dates .64 - don’t care about self - .60
unhealthy -.64 - happy .46 -.57
stylish .63 - lies frequently - .55
dull life -.56 - intelligent - -.55
feels like success .55 -.42 lots of fiiends .52 -.54
self-confident .52 -.43 withdrawn -.41 .53
energetic .51 - loved - -.51
lives in trailer -.48 - travels .77 -

pitied -.48 - no self-confidence -.45 .49
high self-esteem .47 -.47 optimist - -.48
successful career .45 - liked - -.46
no dates -.41 - pessimistic - .45
welfare - - law-abiding - -

TV dinner - - attractive .7 5 -

unemployed -
used clothes -

 

Note. Factor loadings below .40 represented by dashes. n=62.

71

APPENDIX C

Life Outcomes

At some point, we all think about how our future may turn out. In this questionnaire, we
are interested in assessing what you think is the probability that you might experience
certain future outcomes for yourself. Please think about these events carefirlly and
answer as honestly as you can using the following scale. Although it might be tempting to
just answer 5 (somewhat likely to occur) for several of the questions, please take the
questions seriously and give your best guesses.

 

 

l 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

very unlikely somewhat likely very likely

to be true of me to be true of me to be true of me

1) I may be on welfare 17) I may live in a trailer

2) I may lead an exciting life 18) I may have my own business

3) I may eat TV dinners 19) I may have a nervous
breakdown

4) I may be unemployed 20) I may have lots of fiiends

5) I may travel a great deal 21) I may be famous

6) I may feel lonely 22) I may be poor

7) I may be pursued by 23) I may own a beautifiil home

handsome men

8) I may be depressed 24) I may be healthy

9) I may be happy with my life 25) I may lead a dull life

10) I may dress stylishly 26) I may use drugs

11) I may be pitied by others 27) I may drive an expensive
sports car

12) I may feel like a failure 28) I may be unhappy with my
life

13) I may be a nobody 29) I may be admired by others

14) I may be unhealthy 30) I may be a cancer victim

15) I may have an active social life 31) I may feel like a success

16) I may be fired from my job 32) I may be a good parent

72

APPENDIX D

Mood

Using the following scale, please describe how thinking about the target in the
photograph makes you feel about yourself right now. Please respond as honestly as you
can.

-4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4
depressed overjoyed
-4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4
stressed relaxed
-4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4
dissatisfied satisfied
-4 -3 -2 - 1 O l 2 3 4
unhappy happy
-4 -3 -2 -l 0 l 2 3 4
disappointed relieved
-4 -3 -2 - 1 O l 2 3 4
self-conscious self-confident
-4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4
guilty innocent
-4 -3 -2 -l 0 1 2 3 4
ashamed proud
.4 i -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4
negative positive
-4 -3 -2 -1 0 l 2 3 4
insecure secure

73

APPENDIX D

Mood

Using the following scale, please describe how thinking about the target in the
photograph makes you feel about yourself right now. Please respond as honestly as you

can.

-4 -3
depressed

-4 -3
stressed

-4 -3
dissatisfied

-4 -3
unhappy

-4 -3
disappointed
-4 -3
self-conscious
—4 -3
guilty

—4 -3
ashamed

—4 -3
negative

-4 -3
insecure

73

4
overjoyed

4
relaxed

4
satisfied

4
happy

4
relieved

4
self-confident

4
innocent

4
proud

4
positive

4
secure

APPENDIX E

State Self-Esteem

This is a questionnaire designed to measure what you are thinking at this moment. There
is, of course, no right answer for any statement. The best answer is what you feel is true
of yourself at this moment. Be sure to answer all of the items using the following scale,
even if you are not certain of the best answer. Again, answer these questions as they are
true for you RIGHT NOW.

 

 

l 2 3 4 5
not at all a little bit somewhat very much extremely

l) I feel confident about my abilities right now.

2) I am worried about whether I am regarded as a success or failure
right now.

3) I feel satisfied with the way my body looks right now.

4) I feel fi'ustrated or rattled about my performance right now.

5) I feel that I am having trouble understanding things that I read right
now.

6) I feel that others respect and admire me right now.

7) I am dissatisfied with my weight right now.

8) I feel self-conscious right now.

9) I feel as smart as others right now.

10) I feel displeased with myself right now.

11) I feel good about myself right now.

12) I am pleased with my appearance right now.

13) I am worried about what other people think of me right now.

14) I feel confident that I understand things right now.

15) I feel inferior to others at this moment right now.

16) I feel unattractive right now.

17) I feel concerned about the impression that I am making right now.

18) I feel that I have less scholastic ability right now than others right
now.

19) I feel like I’m not doing well right now.

20) I am worried about looking foolish right now.

74

APPENDIX F

Actual Selves Questionnaire Part I

List 10 characteristics about yourself that you believe are descriptive of you (e. g., I am
short, I don’t have many friends, and so forth). Remember, all answers are confidential
so please answer as honestly and as openly as possible.

~©msowewwr

List 10 characteristics that you wished you possessed (e. g., I wish I was taller, I wish I
had more friends, and so forth). Again, all answers are confidential so please answer as
honestly and as openly as possible.

~>op°>ip~rw+seror

75

Actual Selves Questionnaire Part II

In Part I of the Actual Selves Questionnaire, you listed 10 characteristics that you believe
are currently descriptive of you. Using the items that you listed for your actual self,
please indicate how important those characteristics are to you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Characteristic #1
1 2 3 4 5
very unimportant somewhat uncertain somewhat
unimportant unimportant important
Characteristic #2
l 2 3 4 5
very unimportant somewhat uncertain somewhat
unimportant unimportant important
Characteristic #3
1 2 3 4 5
very unimportant somewhat uncertain somewhat
unimportant unimportant important
Characteristic #4
1 2 3 4 5
very unimportant somewhat uncertain somewhat
unimportant unimportant important
Characteristic #5
l 2 3 4 5
very unimportant somewhat uncertain somewhat
unimportant unimportant important
Characteristic #6
l 2 3 4 5
very unimportant somewhat uncertain somewhat
unimportant unimportant important
Characteristic #7
1 2 3 4 5
very unimportant somewhat uncertain somewhat
unimportant unimportant important
Characteristic #8
1 ~ 2 3 4 5
very unimportant somewhat uncertain somewhat
unimportant unimportant important
Characteristic #9
l 2 3 4 5
very unimportant somewhat uncertain somewhat
unimportant unimportant important
Characteristic #10
1 2 3 4 5
very unimportant somewhat uncertain somewhat
unimportant unimportant important

76

6
important

6
important

6
important

6
important

6
important

6
important

6
important

6
important

6
important

important

7

very
important

7

very
important

7

very
important

7

very
important

7

very
important

7

very
important

7

very
important

7

very
important

7

very
important

7

very
important

Ideal Selves Questionnaire Part H

In Part I of the Ideal Selves Questionnaire, you listed 10 characteristics that you wished
you possessed. Using the items that you listed for your ideal self, please indicate how
important those characteristics are to you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Characteristic #1
1 2 3 4 5
very unimportant somewhat uncertain somewhat
unimportant unimportant important
Characteristic #2
1 2 3 4 5
very unimportant somewhat uncertain somewhat
unimportant unimportant important
Characteristic #3
l 2 3 4 5
very unimportant somewhat uncertain somewhat
unimportant unimportant important
Characteristic #4
1 2 3 4 5
very unimportant somewhat uncertain somewhat
unimportant unimportant important
Characteristic #5
1 2 3 4 5
very unimportant somewhat uncertain somewhat
unimportant unimportant important
Characteristic #6
1 2 3 4 5
very unimportant somewhat uncertain somewhat
unimportant unimportant important
Characteristic #7
l 2 3 4 5
very unimportant somewhat uncertain somewhat
unimportant unimportant important
Characteristic #8
1 2 3 4 5
very unimportant somewhat uncertain somewhat
unimportant unimportant important
Characteristic #9
1 2 3 4 5
very unimportant somewhat uncertain somewhat
unimportant unimportant important
Characteristic #10
1 2 3 4 5
very unimportant somewhat uncertain somewhat
unimportant unimportant important

77

6
important

6
important

6
important

6
important

6
important

6
important

6
important

6
important

6
important

6
important

7

very
important

7

very
important

7

very
important

7

very
important

7

very
important

7

very
important

7

very
important

7

very
important

7

very
important

7

very
important

Using the characteristics that you listed as being ideal, please rate how close you are to

achieving these ideals:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Characteristic #1
1 2 3 4
very close close somewhat uncertain
close
Characteristic #2
1 2 3 4
very close close somewhat uncertain
close
Characteristic #3
1 2 3 4
very close close somewhat uncertain
close
Characteristic #4
1 2 3 4
very close close somewhat uncertain
close
Characteristic #5
l 2 3 4
very close close somewhat uncertain
close
Characteristic #6
1 2 3 4
very close close somewhat uncertain
close
Characteristic #7
l 2 3 4
very close close somewhat uncertain
close
Characteristic #8
1 2 3 4
very close close somewhat uncertain
close
Characteristic #9
1 2 3 4
very close close somewhat uncertain
close
Characteristic #10
1 2 3 4
very close close somewhat uncertain
close

78

5
somewhat
not close

5
somewhat
not close

5
somewhat
not close

5
somewhat
not close

5
somewhat
not close

5
somewhat
not close

5
somewhat
not close

5
somewhat
not close

5
somewhat
not close

5
somewhat
not close

6
not close

6
not close

6
not close

6
not close

6
not close

6
not close

6
not close

6
not close

6
not close

6
not close

7
not close
at all

7

not close
at all

7
not close
at all

7
not close
at all

7

not close
at all

7
not close
at all

7

not close
at all

7
not close
at all

7
not close
at all

7
not close
at all

APPENDIX G

Body Esteem Scale (BES)

Please use the following scale to rate the physical characteristics of the media image
(yourself) in front of you.

 

 

1 2 3 4 5

Have strong Have moderate Have no feelings Have moderate Have strong
negative negative one way or positive positive
feelings feelings the other feelings feelings

I) How do you feel about the woman’s/your nose?

2) How do you feel about the woman’s/your lips?

3) How do you feel about the woman’s/your ears?

4) How do you feel about the woman’s/your hair?

5) How do you feel about the woman’s/your chin?

6) How do you feel about the woman’s/your eyes?

7) How do you feel about the woman’s/your checks?

8) How do you feel about the woman’s/your face?

9) How do you feel about the woman’s/your chest?

10) How do you feel about the woman’s/your waist?
11) How do you feel about the woman’s/your thighs?
12) How do you feel about the woman’s/your hips?

13) How do you feel about the woman’s/your legs?

14) How do you feel about the woman’s/your buttocks?
15) How do you feel about the woman’s/your stomach?
16) How do you feel about the woman’s/your arms?
17) How do you feel about the woman’s/your figure?
18) How do you feel about the woman’s/your weight?

Overall, how attractive is this woman/are you?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
very average very
unattractive attractive

79

APPENDIX H

Histogram of Participants’ Body Mass Index (Study 2)

Participants' Body Mass Index

 

Std. Dev = 5.67
Mum=zul

' ' ‘ - .N3147.m
e e e a
<20 2' 630 a, "3:0 '40 ‘90 ‘30 e0 fro “‘40

 

 

 

 

O

I
630

BODYMASS

80

APPENDIX I

Analysis of Variance for Dependent Variables By Condition LStereotype
Consistent vs. Stereogpe Inconsistent) Covming Out Body Mass Index

 

 

 

Variable E M_SI;Z
Good Life Outcomes 1.46 1.51
Bad Life Outcomes 1.08 1.19
Mood 390* 11.48
Appearance State Self-Esteem 1.93 1.19
Social State Self-Esteem 1.68 1.02
Performance State Self-Esteem .29 .13
Mismatches 2.24 9248.80
Body Attractiveness 1.73 .50
Overall Attractiveness 1.3 1 2.40
Nata * p<.01

df =3, 121

81

APPENDIX J

Univariate Analysis of Variance Comparing Condition by Dependent Variables
Selecting Out Afrfin-American Participantsand Covaming out Participapts’
Body Mass Index

 

 

 

Variable _E _M_SE
Positive Life Outcomes .80 .72
Negative Life Outcomes 1.16 1.17
Mood 2.14 5.45
Appearance SSES .90 .53
Social SSES .90 .57
Performance SSES .50 .23
Body Attractiveness .56 .13
Overall Attractiveness .40 .65

 

Note. df=4, 112

82

APPENDIX K

Histogram of Participants’ Body Mass Index (Study 3)

Participants' Body Mass Index

 

10

84

2‘ Std. Dev = 3.80

Mean = 22.7
N = 40.00

 

 

 

0
17.0 19.0 21.0 23.0 25.0 27.0 29.0 31.0 33.0
18.0 20.0 22.0 24.0 26.0 28.0 30.0 32.0 34.0

BODYMASS

83

APPENDIX L

Associations Between Weight and Lifestyle Questionnaire

Using the following scale, please indicate the degree to which you agree/disagree with
the statements listed below. There are no right or wrong answers. We are only interested
in assessing your honest opinions. Although it might be tempting to just answer 5
(somewhat agree) for several of the questions, please take the questions seriously and
give your best guesses.

 

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
strongly somewhat strongly
disagree agree agree
On average,

1. People with more education watch more television than people with less
education.

2. Heavier women are less likely to drive an expensive sports car than
thinner women.

3. Northeastemers lead more exciting lives than do Midwestemers.

4. People with more education are nicer than people with less education.

5. Heavier women are less likely to be wealthy than thinner women.

6. Northeastemers are admired more than Midwestemers.

7. People with less education are more likely to have friends than people
with more education.

8. Thinner women are more energetic than heavier women.

9. Midwestemers are more likely to be self-confident than
Northeastemers.

10. People with more education are more likely to live in a trailer park than
people with less education.

11. Thinner women lead more satisfied lives than do heavier women.

12. Midwestemers are more likely to take vacations than Northeastemers.

13. People with less education are more likely to be happy than people with
more education.

14. Heavier women are more likely to be pessimistic about their futures
than thinner women.

15. Northeastemers are more likely to gamble than Midwestemers.

16. People with more education are more likely to drink alcohol than people
with less education.

17. Thinner women have healthier lives than do heavier women.

18. Midwestemers are more likely to invest in the stock market than
Northeastemers.

19. People with less education are more likely to be happy with themselves

than people with more education.

84

20.

21.
22.

23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.

30.

Heavier women are more likely to be pitied by others than thinner
women.

Northeastemers have more of an “attitude” than Midwestemers.
People with more education have higher self-esteem than people with
less education.

Thinner women are more likely to lead exciting lives than heavier
women.

Midwestemers are more likely to buy expensive clothes than
Northeastemers

People with less education are more optimistic about their lives than
people with more education

Heavier women are more likely to be lonely than thinner women.
Northeastemers have more pets than do Midwestemers

People with more education are more likely to tell lies than people with
less education.

Thinner women are more likely to be admired by others than heavier
women.

Midwestemers enjoy hunting more than Northeastemers.

85

APPENDIX M

Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire (SATAQ)

Please read each of the following items and circle the number that best reflects your
agreement with the statement. Please DO NOT circle in between numbers.

 

 

l 2 3 4 5
completely disagree neither agree agree completely
disagree nor disagree agree
1) Women who appear in TV shows and movies project the type of
appearance that I see as my goal.
2) I believe that clothes look better on thin models.
3) Music videos that show thin women make me wish that I were thin
4) I do not wish to look like the models in the magazines.
5) I tend to compare my body to people in magazines and on TV.
6) Photographs of thin women make me wish that I were thin.
7) I wish I looked like a swimsuit model.
8) I often read magazine like Cosmopolitan, Vogue, and Glamour, and

compare my appearance to the models.

86

TABLES

87

Table 1

Means Standard Deviationflnivarfite Analysis of Variance and Analysis of

 

Covariance (Partialling out Amaiveness) For Dependent Variables By Stimulus Type

 

 

 

(Study 1)

1M Heayy ANOVA ANCOVA
Variable M_ S_D n M S_D. n E _E.
This person:
Buys used clothing 2.52 1.79 29 3.03 1.81 33 1.26 1.57
Unemployed 3.14 2.29 29 2.27 1.59 33 3.04 1.77
Energetic 6.93 1.49 29 6.18 1.86 33 3.01 5.70"
Leads a dull life 2.28 1.25 29 3.18 1.63 33 591* 4.56
Engaged 6.52 1.64 29 5.45 1.64 33 6.48** 12.44***
Eats TV dinners 3.76 1.83 29 4.45 2.15 33 1.86 .96
Intelligent 5.69 1.93 29 7.09 1.18 33 12.21*** 8.86***
Not many fiiends 3.17 2.12 29 3.03 1.08 33 .08 446*
Loved 7.34 1.84 29 7.82 1.67 33 1.13 6.59"
Alcoholic 3.79 2.04 29 2.61 1.62 33 6.50" 5.69
Optimistic 6.76 1.53 29 7.09 1.44 33 .77 339*
Lives in a trailer 2.14 1.57 29 3.21 1.69 33 6.64** 3.27*
Drives sports car 6.55 1.82 29 3.76 1.79 33 37.04*** 19.57***
Self-confident 7.03 1.61 29 6.70 2.20 33 .46 8.24" *
Unhappy with life 4.03 1.92 29 3.48 1.73 33 1.40 372*
Dresses stylishly 7.86 1.33 29 6.55 2.20 33 7.88" 638’”
Is unhealthy 3.55 1.99 29 6.55 1.85 33 9.20** 17.79***
Owns beautiful home 6.66 1.59 29 5.03 1.40 33 12.68*** 9.37***
Unloved 2.72 1.81 29 2.15 1.48 33 1.87 2.87
Wealthy 6.90 1.47 29 4.73 1.55 33 31.76*** 16.89***
Liked by others 6.97 1.09 29 6.97 1.49 33 .00 1.11
Does not care 3.10 2.24 29 3.03 2.02 33 .02 1.04
Has the “good” life 6.41 1.90 29 5.33 1.49 33 6.27* 17.13***
Admired by others 7.66 1.04 29 5.45 1.68 33 37.15*** 3229*"
Depressed 4.62 2.19 29 3.64 1.60 33 4.15* 7.01**
No dates 3.62 2.23 29 4.48 1.97 33 2.63 1.75
Successfisl career 6.41 1.97 29 6.30 1.21 33 .07 4.14*
Pessimistic 3.07 1.81 29 3.55 1.80 33 1.07 .99
High self-esteem 6.62 1.63 29 5.79 1.95 33 3.27 1100*"
On welfare 1.69 1.14 29 2.45 1.33 33 587* 2.91
Feels like a failure 3.00 1.93 29 2.97 1.51 33 .01 1.52
Frequently dates 6.59 1.82 29 5.15 1.97 33 8.77 ** 6.26**
Abusive boyfriend 4.17 1.85 29 2.97 1.70 33 7.08" 6.82"
Travels a lot 6.83 1.79 29 4.88 1.92 33 1694*" 1235*"
Has many friends 6.93 1.41 29 6.85 1.25 33 .06 8.47***
Has low self-esteem 3.17 1.79 29 3.76 2.03 33 1.43 9.59***

88

Table 1

Means Standard Deviations Univariate Analysis of Variance. _and An_alysis of

 

Covariance QPartialling out Attractiveness) For Dependent Vambles By Stimulus Type

 

LSmdy 1; Continued)

 

 

 

m Heafl ANOVA ANCOVA

Variable M SD n M S. n E E
This person:
Withdrawn 2.86 1.38 29 3.00 1.54 33 .14 1.37
Pitied by others 2.21 1.78 29 4.15 2.22 33 14. 18*** 1397*"
Leads exciting life 6.72 1.49 29 5.88 1.47 33 504* 1421*"
Lonely 4.21 2.11 29 3.88 1.90 33 .42 4.90"
No self-confidence 3.00 2.07 29 4.03 2.27 33 3.45 6.85"
Feels like a success 6.41 1.45 29 6.24 1.37 33 .23 416*
Happy with her life 6.45 1.59 29 6.45 1.37 33 .00 360*
Trouble with law 4.00 1.91 29 2.61 1.48 33 10.47** 529*
Lies frequently 5.48 1.12 29 4.39 1.25 33 12.90*** 6.37**
15m. * p<.05

** p<.01

*** p<001

df=1, 61

89

Table 2

Means and Standard Deviations for Dependent Vaflbles by Condition (Study 2)

 

Information Given about Female Model/Condition

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Variable: Positive 9 Negated p Negative 9 No Info. p Control 3
Positive Life 6.25 37 6.67 37 6.59 37 6.37 36 6.59 34
Outcomes (1.19) (1.15) (.91) (.94) (.62)
Negative Life 3.03 37 3.19 37 2.83 37 3.08 36 3.08 34
Outcomes (1.11) (1.05) (.96) (1.06) (.89)
Mood -.86 37 -.38 36 -.12 37 -1.18 36 .84 34
(1.66) (1.65) (2.00) (1.82) (1.32)
Appearance 3.08 37 3.25 37 3.21 37 3.05 36 3.12 34
SSES (.86) (.65) (.83) (.90) (.71)
Social SSES 3.74 37 3.89 37 3.95 37 3.75 36 3.88 34
(.82) (.67) (.70) (.91) (.69)
Performance 3.98 37 3.87 37 3.87 37 3.86 36 3.70 34
SSES (.61) (.63) (.75) (.69) (.73)
Mismatches 233.81 32 235.00 30 241.98 36 270.79 28 237.41 22
(66.70) (57.06) (64.29) (70.58) (79.39)
Lifestyle 1.46 37 1.00 37 1.27 37 1.39 36 1.44 34
Mismatches (1.37) (1.49) (1.24) (1.10) (1.54)
Body 1.27 37 .92 37 1.05 37 1.14 36 .88 34
Mismatches (1.59) (. 83) (.94) (.90) (.95)
Body 3.07 37 3.00 37 2.91 35 3.00 34
Attractiveness 2.92 37 (.55) (.60) (.65) (.60)
(.62)
Overall 6.03 37 5.97 37 5.67 35 5.85 34
Attractiveness 5.65 37 (1.28) (1.21) (1 .66) (1.62)
(1.46)

 

9O

Table 3

Univariate An_alysis of Variance Comparing Within Life-Style Information
Conditiorfln Dependent Vagables. Covaryingout Participants’ Body Mags

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inge;
Conditions 1 & 4 Con_ditiong 2 & 3

Variable E M_Sl; E m
Positive Life Outcomes .16 1.11 .80 1.03
Negative Life Outcomes .38 .52 .59 1.10
Mood .80 2.43 2.13 2.95
Appearance SSES .70 .65 1.05 .62
Social SSES .22 .76 .91 .61
Performance SSES .42 .42 .16 .46
Mismatches 2.49** 4563.10 122* 4129.83
Body Attractiveness .20 .26 .95 .05
Overall Attgictiveness . 12 2.06 .72 .29
Egg * p<.05

** p<.01

df= 1, 121

91

Table 4

 

Univariate Analysis of Variance Comparing Condition 4 and Condition 5 on

Dependent Variables

 

 

Variable E M_SE
Positive Life Outcomes 1.60 1.08
Negative Life Outcomes .21 .21
Mood 32.41*** 80.72
Appearance SSES 1.39 .81
Social SSES 1.46 .90
Performance SSES .27 .11
Mismatches 2.47 13724.47
Body Attractiveness 1.33 .41
Overall Attractiveness .87 2.44

 

Note. *** p<.001
df=1, 48

92

Table 5
P_lanned Comaaiscala Exploring Stereotype Information (Con_sjstent vs.
Incongiatentl on Dependent Vambles. Selectiag Out Afrian-American

Participants Covgying out Participants’ Body Mass Index

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dependent Variables Comparison Test
1

Positive Life Outcomes 149
Negative Life Outcomes .69
Mood 243*
Appearance SSES 1.55
Social SSES 1.39
Performance SSES .36
Mismatches 1 .50
Body Attractiveness 1.38
Overall Attractiveness 1 .01

* p<.05

df=112

93

Table 6

Means and Standard Deviations for Depenalent Va_riables By Photoggaph and

 

 

Weigh (Study 3)
Thin Female Running Shoes
weigh a no weigh a weigh a no weigh a
Good Life Outcomes 6.43 20 6.24 21 6.55 20 6.66 20
(Current Self) (1.02) (.85) (.98) (.95)
Good Life Outcomes 6.81 19 6.91 21 7.08 20 7.09 20
(Thin Self) (1.04) (.88) (.97) (1.21)
Good Life Outcomes 4.57 20 4.70 21 4.37 19 5.07 20
(Heavy Self) (1.50) (1.08) (1.26) (1.36)
Bad Life Outcomes 2.87 20 3.26 21 2.66 20 2.80 20
(Current Self) (.72) (1.44) (.78) (.92)
Bad Life Outcomes 2.46 19 2.67 20 2.30 20 2.29 20
(Thin Self) (.77) (1.06) (.96) (.75)
Bad Life Outcomes 4.36 20 4.20 21 4.37 20 3.81 20
(Heavy Self) (1.40) (1.58) (1.24) (1.46)
Mood -.09 19 -1.05 21 .54 20 .55 20
(1.38) (1.33) (1.67) (1.35)
Appearance SSES 2.68 20 2.32 21 2.48 20 2.54 20
(.42) (.49) (.59) (.46)
Social SSES 1.91 20 1.88 21 1.80 20 1.59 20
(.46) (.43) (.44) (.30)
Performance SSES 2.53 20 2.42 21 2.37 20 2.47 20
(.24) (.31) (.34) (.27)

 

94

Table 7

Means Standard ErrorL and Analysis of Vaflnce for Dependent Variables By

 

Photogzaph (Thin-Ideal Female vs. Running Shoes)

 

 

Thin-Female Running Shoes

 

 

Variable 1\_/I S_E M S_E E MSE
Good Life Outcomes 6.32 .15 6.60 .15 1.60 1.44
(Current Self)
Good Life Outcomes 6.89 .17 7.1 1 .17 .90 .98
(Thin Self)
Good Life Outcomes 4.62 .21 4.70 .21 .07 .13
(Heavy Self)
Bad Life Outcomes 3.09 .17 2.75 .17 2.05 2.16
(Current Self)
Bad Life Outcomes 2.59 .15 2.31 .15 1.79 1.48
(Thin Self)
Bad Life Outcomes 4.32 .23 4.10 .23 .45 .92
(Heavy Self)
Mood -.60 .23 .48 .23 11.56" 22.14
Appearance SSES 2.51 .08 2.51 .08 .00 .00
Social SSES 1.89 .07 1.69 .07 456* .74
Performance SSES 2.48 .05 2.42 .07 .84 .07
Note. * p<.05

** p<.001

df =1, 72

95

Table 8 .

Means and Standard Errors of Mocmjor Variables (Associations Between
Weight and Lifestyle and Intemalization of Thinness Standards) by Photogaapil
on Mood

 

 

 

 

Photograph: Associations: Intemalization:
Low High Low High
Thin-ideal -.56 -.68 -. 19 -1.11
female (.31) (.40) (.34) (.33)
Running .43 .55 .93 -.04
Shoes (.35) (.33) (.31) (.34)

 

 

 

 

 

96

Table 9

Means and Standard Errors of Moderator Vaflbles (Associations Between

Weight and Lifestyle and Intemalization of Thinness Stan—dards) by Photogpam
on Social State Self-Esteem

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photograph: Associations: Intemalization:
Low High Low High
Thin-ideal 1.90 1.87 1.78 -2.02
female (.09) (.11) (.09) (.09)
Running 1.68 .55 1.53 1.92
Shoes (.10) (.10) (.09) (.10)

 

 

 

 

97

Table 10

Means and Standard Defltions for Dependent Variables by Associations
Between Weight and Lifestyle

 

Weaker Associations Stronger Associations

 

 

M S_D a M 52 .11
Good Life Outcomes 6.49 .77 40 6.41 1.17 35
(Current Self)
Good Life Outcomes 7.03 .91 40 6.89 1.19 35
(Thin Self)
Good Life Outcomes 5.04 1.17 39 4.33 1.44 35
(Heavy Self)
Bad Life Outcomes 2.84 .88 40 3.00 1.15 34
(Current Self)
Bad Life Outcomes 2.40 .85 40 2.50 .95 34
(Thin Self)
Bad Life Outcomes 3.92 1.37 40 4.47 1.39 34
(Heavy Self)
Mood -. 12 1.32 40 -.04 1.83 34
Appearance SSES 2.51 .51 40 2.48 .52 35
Social SSES 1.80 .39 40 1.79 .48 3 5
Performance SSES 2.46 .27 40 2.42 .33 34

 

98

T able] 1

Means and Standard Deviations for Dependent Vafibles by Intemalization of

Thinness Standards

 

 

Less Intemalization

More Intemalization

 

M SD n M SD 9
Good Life Outcomes 6.36 .97 39 6.55 .99 34
(Current Self)
Good Life Outcomes 6.71 1.11 39 7.27 .91 34
(Thin Self)
Good Life Outcomes 4.90 1.34 39 4.50 1.34 34
(Heavy Self)
Bad Life Outcomes 2.71 .97 38 3.12 1.03 35
(Current Self)
Bad Life Outcomes 2.43 .97 38 2.46 .84 35
(Thin Self)
Bad Life Outcomes 3.86 1.36 38 4.51 1.40 35
(Heavy Self)
Mood .43 1.31 38 -.61 1.69 36
Appearance SSES 2.65 .41 39 2.32 .56 36
Social SSES 1.64 .41 39 1.97 .40 36
Performance SSES 2.50 .25 38 2.39 .34 36

 

99

REFERENCES

100

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