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Women and Media. The paradox of fashion and beauty magazines. “Women don’t want to see what they look like. They want to see fantasy.”. Alice Ansfield Publisher of Radiance Magazine .
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“Women don’t want to see what they look like. They want to see fantasy.” Alice Ansfield Publisher of Radiance Magazine
Exploding the Myths of DietingMills, McCabe, & Polivy (1999)McCabe, Mills, & Polivy (1999a)McCabe, Mills, & Polivy (1999b)
Dieting and Food Intake • Overall, dieters typically eat the same or more than do nondieters • Numerous triggers of overeating • Dieting and binge eating
Dieting and Weight • Overwhelming evidence that diets don’t work • Dieting disrupts natural weight regulation, leading to slowed metabolism and increased efficiency at energy storage
Dieting and Health • Benefits of weight loss based on short-term data • Health benefits diminish over time • Weight fluctuations and increased risk of heart disease • Binge eating and chronic disease
Dieting and Well-Being • Early stages of diet bring reinforcement • Over time, inconvenience and social anxiety may emerge • Psychological effects of restriction: inability to concentrate, anxiety, dysphoria, apathy, hostility • Inevitable diet failures contribute to feelings of inadequacy
Media Influences on Eating Behaviour • Naturalistic vs. experimental studies • Studying eating behaviour in the laboratory • Restrained versus unrestrained eaters
Overall Purpose To examine experimentally the effects of viewing thin media images on eating, mood, and self-evaluation in female dieters and nondieters
Social Comparison and Self-Evaluation • Social Comparison Theory: Negative contrast effect and attractive target persons • Self-Evaluation Maintenance Model: Upward comparisons and self-enhancement
Study 1 • N = 72 (mean age = 19.50, SD = 1.13) • “Market research” study • Magazine advertisements: thin bodies vs. attractive faces vs. products only • Mood, state self-esteem, and self-image were assessed following ad exposure
Study 1 Conclusions • Evidence of self-enhancement in women overall • Females had higher appearance state self-esteem after viewing thin media images
Study 2 • N = 98 (mean age = 19.72, SD = 1.13) • Restrained vs. unrestrained eaters • Magazine advertisements: thin bodies vs. heavier bodies vs. products-only • Food intake, mood, self-esteem, and current and ideal body size perception were assessed following ad exposure
Study 2 Conclusions • Restrained eaters demonstrated media-induced disinhibition • Restrained eaters reported wanting to be and feeling thinner following exposure to thin media images
“Don’t read beauty magazines. They’ll only make you feel ugly.” Baz Luhrmann Everybody’s Free (to Wear Sunscreen)
Study 3 • N = 105 (mean age = 19.55, SD = 1.20) • Restrained vs. unrestrained eaters • Magazine advertisements: thin bodies vs. products-only • Demand characteristics: explicit; implied vs. minimized • Mood was assessed following ad exposure
Study 3 Conclusions • Demand characteristics moderate the effects of exposure to thin media images • Explicit demand characteristics operate on all women and implicit demand characteristics operate on restrained eaters, resulting in worse self-reported mood following exposure to thin media images
Study 4 • N = 61 (mean age = 19.34, SD = 1.05) • Only restrained eaters • Thinness attainability articles: high-attainability vs. low-attainability vs. neutral attainability • Magazine ads: thin bodies vs. products • Mood, state self-esteem, and current and ideal body size perception were assessed following ad exposure
Study 4 Conclusions • Among restrained eaters, thinness attainability beliefs moderate media-induced self-enhancement • Strengthening perceived thinness attainability produces improved mood following exposure to thin media images • Diminishing thinness attainability beliefs extinguishes the self-enhancement effect
Conclusions • Restrained eaters show evidence of thin fantasy after looking at thin media images • Demand characteristics moderate the effects of such exposure • Thinness attainability beliefs also moderate this effect