Assignment 2: Final Project: Introduction, Literature Review, and Methods Section Turn in the proposed methods section for your research paper as well as your introduction and literature review.

Influence of the Media on Body Image

Tiffany King

Argosy University

February 10, 2016

Influence of the Media on Body Image

Abstract

Media images of the ideal body are prevalent in the contemporary society. These images are seen in ads, commercials, billboards, and magazines. For the longest time, there has been a continued interest in women’s body image. Their eating habits, self-esteem and how these two aspects are affected by what a female sees in the media have been researched. Such a line of research is essential because discovering the link between the media’s portrayal and poor image could allow for successful interventions to be implemented and evaluated (Harper & Tiggemann, 2008). In this regards, an intervention might lead to fewer cases of bulimia and anorexia and could also increase self-esteem and a sense of a more positive body image among females.

Majorly, this study aimed at substantiating the media’s influence on body image. Forty-three Argosy University undergraduate students participated in the study voluntarily. The control subjects participated through filling out the BISS (Body Image States Scales). The experimental subjects showed 120-second power point presentation revealing media images of women followed by completing the BISS. The BISS included six questions that were rated on a Likert scale type, which inquired about the subject’s feelings concerning their physical appearance. The study used data analysis from independent sample t-tests.

The analysis revealed that people who viewed the media images of females felt less physically attractive than those who were not exposed to the media presentation. Additionally, individuals who saw the media presentation felt worse regarding their looks compared with those that did not view the presentation. Additional findings suggested that attractiveness, satisfaction with their body and looks were not found to be significantly different. The questions that never revealed significant findings addressed more specific aspects of the body. For instance, body weight, shape and size.

Introduction

TV advertisements, magazines, and movies have always revealed the unattainable images of women’s body. Many studies have indicated that the ways in which a female’s eating habits, body image, and self-esteem are affected negatively by what they see and hear from the media. According to Spitzer, Henderson & Zivian (1999), social endorsements in the media portraying an ideal body have escalated image disturbances among women and influenced the development of eating disorders. Moreover, Kasey (n.d) found that women who are exposed to appearance-related media seem less satisfied with their shapes compared with those exposed to non-appearance related media.

Many magazines tend to advise women to concentrate on their physical, outside attributes but fail to mention the significance of having other positive attributes. According to Szymanski, Moffitt & Carr (2010), media presentation of the thin ideal is connected to the predominance of dieting problems and body image dissatisfaction. We should implement interventions to minimize the number of women dying because of body image disturbance disorders. Discovering the connection between media images and body images might be the start to finding a successful intervention.

This research sought to ascertain if female’s exposure to media images of the thin ideal has negative effects on body image perception. Philippa (2014) stated that the mass media might be one of the important transmitters of the pressure to look like the thin ideal. It is hypothesized that the more images of the thin ideal body a female gets exposed through the media, the more it affects her body negatively.

Statement of the Problem

This study sought to substantiate the influence of the media on the body image of Argosy University women. Data was collected through BISS that included six questions regarding satisfaction/dissatisfaction with their body size and shape. The subjects were categorized into experimental and control groups. The control group was given the BISS whereas the experimental group viewed a 120-second presentation that showed media images of females followed by the BISS.

Hypotheses

The study had five null hypotheses. They are as follows:

Ho 1: There was no importance statistical difference in the sample scores on BISS in the two groups, experimental and control.

Ho 2: There wasn’t any difference between the experimental and control group’s feelings concerning physical appearance.

Ho 3: There wasn’t any difference between both groups regarding their size and shape.

Ho 4: There wasn’t any difference regarding their looks.

Ho 5: There wasn’t any difference regarding their physical attractiveness.

Definition of Terms

Body image- This involves people’s emotions, perceptions and physical sensations of and about their bodies.

Media- This is a way of communicating with or to the larger public.

Sociocultural Theory- This is a societal standard for beauty, which emphasizes on desirability for thin bodies and that thinness is accepted by many females, although it is unattainable for many.

Bulimia Nervosa- This is a recurrent episode of binge eating and is characterized by eating in discrete patterns.

Anorexia Nervosa- This is the body’s refusal to maintain weight at or above a minimally normal standard for height and age.

Literature Review

Body Image

Waller, Hamilton & Shaw (1992) defined body image as an individual’s feelings, thoughts, and perceptions about their body, including sexuality, age, functions, and race. He discussed body image as being multidimensional, comprising of an emotional and cognitive dimension. Julie (2003) mentioned that body image is psychological in nature, and is greatly centered on a person’s self-esteem and less about physical attractiveness.

The Media

For decades now, the media has been influencing the society in different ways. It decides what the public sees as well as how it is portrayed. Women are portrayed in the media as thin and without imperfections. Cho (2003) mentions that the media portrays the thin women as successful and happy. Many women are negatively affected by continually being bombarded with such thin ideal image. Drastic dieting, low self-esteem, and plastic surgery are all part of what happens to females following the tales the thin ideal. It seems that the thin ideal is widespread; however, they are images of the media that the society can never attain. Indeed, they are models with make-up and hair stylists, and are airbrushed to rid any imperfections; they are just media images. The media portrays them in an unrealistic manner (Dittmar & Howard, 2004).

These images encourage many to focus on their body shape and appearance. In most cases, the media accepts negative opinions on heavier people, especially women. It never shows them leading normal, multifaceted, social livelihoods. The contemporary society values beauty, and the thin ideal is what is regarded as beauty. The media presentation of beauty negatively affects women’s mood and body satisfaction. The sociocultural theory also affects impacts body image. In the Western culture, women grow knowing that being thin is beautiful (Altabe & Thompson, 1996).

Methodology

In this study, the subjects were part-time or full-time female students at the Argosy University. All the subjects were undergraduate level students. They were randomly assigned to either the experimental or control groups. Those in the control group were given the BISS to complete together with directions and informed consent. Conversely, the experimental group were given the consent form, instructions and viewed a 120-second presentation of media images of females, and this was followed by administering the BISS. Data was gathered from the university’s female students. The subjects were categorized into two groups through counting off by two. One group became the experimental group as the other became the control group. The BISS was availed to the control subjects and directions read aloud.

An introduction and an informed consent to the study were explained to the experimental group. A 120-second presentation was shown that displayed the thin ideal as demonstrated by the mainstream media. Advertisements from the presentation were picked from popular women magazines. Photos were taken and shown to the subjects. Finally, the BISS was handed out, and directions read aloud. The data collected from the study was analyzed using independent test samples. The t-tests were applied to ascertain if there were any statistically relevant variances between the experimental and the control groups BISS scores and on the tests scores. A t-test was conducted on all six BISS questions, which dealt with how the subjects perceived their body weight, shape, and physical attractiveness.

Results

The research questions on the experimental and control groups feelings on body image were analyzed.

Ho 1: There was no statistically significant difference between the sample scores on BISS in the two groups, experimental and control.

The control group was given the BISS only while the experimental group completed the BISS after viewing the presentation. Data analysis did not reveal any significant difference between the two groups score. Therefore, the null hypothesis was not rejected.

Ho 2: There wasn’t any difference between the experimental and control group’s feelings concerning physical appearance.

It involved conducting a test for independent variables to assess the variances between the two groups. The control group had a mean of 4.84 whereas that for the experimental group was 4.83. Data analysis did not find any differences in the groups rating on the dissatisfaction/satisfaction physical appearance. Thus, hypothesis two wasn’t rejected.

Ho 3: There wasn’t any difference between both groups concerning their size and shape.

Data analysis never found any significant differences in the two groups about their gratification with their body size and shape. A t-test was used to conduct this analysis, and it revealed that the experimental group had a mean of 4.33 whereas that of the control group was 5.42. Therefore, the null hypothesis was not rejected.

Ho 4: There wasn’t any difference regarding their looks

The t-test analysis revealed a significant difference in the groups about their looks. Thus, the null hypothesis was rejected. The average response of the control group towards their feelings was that they were just the same as on a typical day. Conversely, the experimental group felt a bit worse than on normal circumstances.

Ho 5: There wasn’t any difference regarding their physical attractiveness

A t-test performed on physical attractiveness revealed a significant difference between the two groups. The control group rated their feelings on physical attractiveness as moderately attractive while the experimental group felt neither unattractive nor attractive. 10 out of the 24 experimental group subtexts felt they were slightly unattractive. 2 out of 19 in the control group felt that they were slightly unattractive. In regards to this, the null hypothesis was rejected.

Conclusion

For decades now, media images of the ideal body image have been displayed to females. The research revealed that the experimental group’s image slightly changed in two of the six fields addressed after viewing the media images. This finding is important because it suggests that women are already exposed to the images portrayed by the media and have become more resilient towards such images. Further, it could imply that women’s body image has declined in response to the media images due to their anonymity. There was a significant difference in the two groups on how physically attractive they felt. Firstly, the experimental group felt slightly unattractive whereas their counterparts felt neither attractive nor unattractive. This might suggest that they never feel self-conscious regarding anything about their bodies.

References

Altabe, M., & Thompson, J. K. (1996). Body image: A cognitive self-schema construct? Cognitive Therapy and Research, 20(2), 171-193.

The topic being investigated in the article is about how the image of a body has been a valuable hypothesis for accepting eating ailments. The articled revealed that body image can be well-defined in several methods: One notion of body image is as an adopted outlook of individual form that gives influences and behavior processing of information. The intellectual plan of body image was established in chains of studies. Further current researches have explored perceptive methods with the information of body image, but have paid attention on weight-related image of the body. A grouping of Markus' self-schema concept and the theory of Higgins’ self-discrepancy were utilized to designate a current body image interpretation as a coopted self-representation. The theories predict certain consequences of information processing of an organized intellectual representation. The results confirm the actuality of the representation. Different studies were carried out to test a particular schema-like outlook of the image of body. In the first study, body image plan variables were correlated with outdated body image measures. In the second study, themes exposed to outline relevant subjects displayed information processing concerns consistent with the theory of self-representation. Lastly, instructional set was revealed to adjust the schema activation effect. The influences give body image schema and yield inadequate information evidence concerning the nature of the representation.

Cho, C. H. (2003). The effectiveness of banner advertisements: Involvement and click-through. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 80(3), 623-645.

The study in the article shows that individuals who are extremely tangled with an artifact are highly expected to connect a banner advertisement than the individuals with low product association. The research establish an interface influence of peripheral signals; ad animation and size), and product involvement level on ticking of banner advertisements. However, the optimistic association between banner clicking and peripheral cues is highly prominent amid the ones with low, instead of high, product engrossment. Banner advertisements are method of advertisement found on the Internet. Investigators have planned the efficiency of banner advertisements by reviewing the rates of click-through rates that is occasionally the basis for the pricing of the advertisements. The level of efficiency of the banner advertisement is related to the product association consumer level. Individuals with a level of low-involvement are less likely to connect on the advertisement, conflicting to the ones with a high-product engrossment, and product knowledge.

Dittmar, H., & Howard, S. (2004). Professional hazards? The impact of models' body size on advertising effectiveness and women's body-focused anxiety in professions that do and do not emphasize the cultural ideal of thinness. British Journal of Social Psychology, 43(4), 477-497.

This article analyzes different types of careers and their requirements for securing job placements. Majorly, it focuses on the modeling career. It explains how the media has influenced many young models to think that beauty is being thin. Regarding them as professional hazards, the article advices on the adverse effects of extreme dieting to achieve such lean bodies.

Harper, B., & Tiggemann, M. (2008). The effect of thin ideal media images on women’s self-objectification, mood, and body image. Sex Roles, 58(9-10), 649-657.

The article is based on the objectification of women. The article explored different forms of objectification. The study was conducted by the women in the society. The results revealed that most of the women in the society are influenced by the media. The research focused of the research was to bring awareness of the possible influences that objectification might cause females. The authors wrote about the media and how objectification could occur even in an environment. Several researchers approve that the society of western has generated a thin best body image. The image is linked in the mass media. The body image of thin ideal is found in fashion and beauty television, magazines, programming and on Internet sites. The research wanted to control the correlation between body dissatisfaction and media consumption, also the motivation to transform the body of an individual. A study was carried out in college age women to collect information. Generally, the research found adequate correlations amid the factors.