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

Volumn 43, Issue 4, 2004, Pages 477-497

  Dittmar, Helga ^a   Howard, Sarah ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ADULT; ADVERTIZING; ANXIETY; ARTICLE; BODY IMAGE; BODY SIZE; BODY WEIGHT; CLINICAL TRIAL; CLOTHING; COMMERCIAL PHENOMENA; COMPARATIVE STUDY; CONTROL; DECISION MAKING; EVALUATION; FEMALE; HUMAN; MASS MEDIUM; OCCUPATIONAL DISEASE; PERSONALITY TEST; PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECT; PSYCHOMETRY; SELF CONCEPT; SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY; STATISTICS; TEACHING;

ADULT; ADVERTISING; ANXIETY; BODY IMAGE; BODY SIZE; CAREER CHOICE; CLOTHING; COMMERCE; EVALUATION STUDIES; FEMALE; HUMANS; INTERNAL-EXTERNAL CONTROL; MASS MEDIA; OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES; PERSONALITY INVENTORY; PSYCHOMETRICS; SELF CONCEPT; SOCIAL VALUES; TEACHING; THINNESS;

EID: 10844255710     PISSN: 01446665     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1348/0144666042565407     Document Type: Article

References (49)

1. American Psychiatric Association (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual for mental disorders (4th ed. text rev.). Washington, DC: Author.
2. Banana Republic (2001). Size guide [on-line]. Available at http://www.bananarepublic.com
3. Bower, A. B. (2001). Highly attractive models in advertising and the women who loathe them: The implications of negative affect for spokesperson effectiveness. Journal of Advertising, 30, 51-63.
4. Brehm, J. W. (1966). A theory of psychological reactance. New York: Academic Press.
5. British Medical Association (2000). BMA takes part in body image summit [on-line]. Previously available at http://web.bma.org.uk/pressrel.nsf
6. Brown, J. D., Novick, N. J., Lord, K. A., & Richards, J. M. (1992). When Gulliver travels: Social context, psychological closeness, and self-appraisals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 62, 717-727.
7. Caballero, M. J., & Solomon, P. J. (1984). Effects of model attractiveness on sales response. Journal of Advertising, 13, 17-23.
8. Cattarin, J., Williams, R., Thomas, C. M. & Thompson, J. K. (2000). The impact of televised images of thinness and attractiveness on body image: The role of social comparison. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 19, 220-239.
9. Collins, R. L. (1996). For better or worse: The impact of upward social comparison on self-evaluations. Psychological Bulletin, 119, 51-69.
10. Cusumano, D. L., & Thompson, J. K. (1997). Body image and body shape ideals in magazines: Exposure, awareness, and internalization. Sex Roles, 37, 701-721.
11. Debenhams (2001). Size guide [on-line]. Available at http://www.debenhams.com
12. Dittmar, H. (2004). Are you what you have? Consumer society and our sense of identity. The Psychologist, 17(4), 206-210.
13. Dittmar, H., & Bond, R. (2004). I want it and I want it now: Materialism and self-discrepancies as predictors of ordinary and 'compulsive' consumers' temporal discounting of consumer goods. Manuscript submitted for publication.
14. Dittmar, H., & Howard, S. (in press). Ideal-body internalization and social comparison tendency as moderators of thin media models' impact on women's body-focused anxiety. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology.
15. Frederickson, B. L., & Roberts, T. A. (1997). Objectification theory: Toward understanding women's lived experiences and mental health risks. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21, 173-206.
16. Garner, D. M. & Garfinkel, P. E. (1980). Socio-cultural factors in the development of anorexia nervosa. Psychological Medicine, 10(4), 647-656.
17. Gillian, A. (2000, May 31). Skinny models 'send unhealthy message'. The Guardian, p. 7.
18. Groesz, L. M., Levine, M. P., & Murnen, S. K. (2002). The effect of experimental presentation of thin media images on body satisfaction: A meta-analytic review. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 31, 1-16.
19. Grogan, S. (1998). Understanding body image. London: Routledge.
20. Grogan, S., Williams, Z., & Conner, M. (1996). The effects of viewing same-gender photographic models on body-esteem? Psychology of Women Quarterly, 20, 569-575.
21. Halliwell, E., & Dittmar, H. (2003). A qualitative investigation of women's and men's body image concerns and their attitudes toward aging. Sex Roles, 49(11-12), 675-684.
22. Halliwell, E., & Dittmar, H. (2004). Does size matter? The impact of model's body size on women's body-focused anxiety and advertising effectiveness. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 23(1), 104-122.
23. Harrison, K. (2001). Ourselves, our bodies: Thin-ideal media, self-discrepancies, and eating disorder symptomatology in adolescents. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 20, 289-323.
24. Heinberg, L. J., & Thompson, J. K. (1995). Body image and televised images of thinness and attractiveness: A controlled laboratory investigation. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 14, 324-338.
25. Heinberg, L. J., Thompson, J. K., & Stormer, S. (1995). Development and validation of the sociocultural attitudes towards appearance questionnaire. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 17, 81-89.
26. Henderson-King, D., Henderson-King, E., & Hoffman, L. (2001). Media images and women's self-evaluations: Social context and importance of attractiveness as moderators. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 1407-1416.
27. Higgins, E. T. (1987). Self-discrepancy: A theory relating self to affect. Psychological Review, 94, 319-340.
28. Irving, L. M., (1990). Mirror images: Effects of the beauty standard on the shelf- and body-esteem of women exhibiting varying levels of bulimic symptoms. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 9, 230-242.
29. Irving, L. M., & Berel, S. R. (2001). Comparison of media-literacy programs to strengthen college women's resistance to media images. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 25, 103-111.
30. Irving, L. M., DuPen, J., & Berel, S. (1998). A media literacy program for high school females. Eating Disorders: The Journal of Treatment and Prevention, 6, 119-131.
31. Kahle, L. R., & Homer, P. M. (1985). Physical attractiveness of the celebrity endorser: A social adaptation perspective. Journal of Consumer Research, 11, 954-961.
32. Kilbourne, J. (1999). Deadly persuasion: Why women and girls must fight the addictive power of advertising. New York: Free Press.
33. Ogden, J., & Mundray, K. (1996). The effect of the media on body satisfaction: The role of gender and size. European Eating Disorders Review, 4, 171-182.
34. Posavac, H. D., Posavac, S. S., & Posavac, E. J. (1998). Exposure to media images of female attractiveness and concern with body weight among young women. Sex Roles, 38, 187-201.
35. Posavac, H. D., Posavac, S. S., & Weigel, R. G. (2001). Reducing the impact of media images on women at risk for body image disturbance: Three targeted interventions. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 20, 324-340.
36. Reed, D. L., Thomson, J. K., Brannick, M. T., & Sacco, W. P. (1991). Development and validation of the physical appearance state and trait anxiety scale (PASTAS). Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 5, 323-332.
37. Richins, M. (1991). Social comparison and the idealized images of advertising. Journal of Consumer Research, 18, 71-83.
38. Richins, M. L. (1995). Social comparison, advertising, and consumer discontent. American Behavioral Scientist, 38, 593-607.
39. Rodin, J., Silberstein, L. R., & Striegel-Moore, R. H. (1985). Women and weight: A normative discontent. In T. B. Sonderegger (Ed.), 1985 Nebraska Symposium on Motivation (Vol. 32, pp. 267-307). Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press.
40. Shaw, S. M., & Kemeny, L. (1989). Fitness promotion for adolescent girls: The impact and effectiveness of promotional material which emphasizes the slim ideal. Adolescence, 24, 677-687.
41. Spitzer, B. L., Henderson, K. A., & Zivian, M. T. (1999). Gender differences in population versus media body sizes: A comparison over four decades. Sex Roles, 40, 545-565.
42. Stapel, D. A., & Tesser, A. (2001). Self-activation increases social comparison. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81, 742-750.
43. Stice, E. (1994). Review of the evidence for a sociocultural model of bulimia nervosa and an exploration of the mechanisms of action. Clinical Psychology Review, 14, 633-661.
44. Stice, E., Spangler, D., & Agras, W. S. (2001). Exposure to media-portrayed thin-ideal images adversely affects vulnerable girls: A longitudinal experiment. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 20, 270-288.
45. Stormer, S. M. & Thompson, K. J. (1996). Explanations of body image disturbance: A test of maturational status, negative verbal commentary, social comparison, and sociocultural hypothesis. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 19, 193-202.
46. Thompson, J. K., Heinberg, L. J., Altabe, M., & Tantleff-Dunn, S. (1999). Exacting beauty: Theory, assessment and treatment of body image disturbance. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
47. Wells, W. D. (Ed.) (1997). Measuring advertising effectiveness. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
48. Wiseman, C. V., Gray, J. J., Mosimann, J. E., & Ahrens, A. H. (1992). Cultural expectations of thinness in women: An update. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 11, 85-89.
49. Wood, J. (1989). Theory and research concerning social comparisons of personal attributes. Psychological Bulletin, 106, 231-248.