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BRIEF REPORT
Predictors of Media Effects on Body Dissatisfaction
in European American Women
Emily A. Hamilton &Laurie Mintz &
Susan Kashubeck-West
#Springer Science + Business Media, LLC 2007
Abstract This study involved a sample of 81 European
American women viewing either appearance-related or non-
appearance-related magazine advertisements. Participants
completed measures of demographics and objectified body
consciousness prior to viewing these images and a measure of
body dissatisfaction prior to and after viewing the images.
Body dissatisfaction scores worsened after viewing images of
women who exemplified cultural standards of the thin beauty
ideal. Neither objectified body consciousness nor body mass
index predicted degree of change in body dissatisfaction after
viewing the images. In other words, the impact of viewing the
images was the same for all women, despite varying body
mass index levels and varied degrees of objectified body
consciousness. Implications are discussed.
Keywords Body image .Body consciousness .
Media images
The mass media are the most available sources of
information in the United States today (Thompson &
Heinberg, 1999). Women’s magazines, one popular medi-
um, have been criticized for furthering women’s unrealis-
tically thin ideal body type. Harrison (2003) reported that
the standard of female beauty is a woman who wears a size
4 in the hips, size 2 in the waist, and a size 10 in the bust.
This body type is one that is both thinner than the average
woman and genetically impossible for most women to
attain (Wiseman, Gray, Mosimann, & Agrens, 1992).
Recent research has linked such unrealistic media
images to poor body image among women. In a meta-
analysis of the effect of experimental manipulations of the
thin beauty ideal, Groesz, Levine, and Murnen (2002)
reported that women’s body image was significantly more
negative after viewing slender media images than it was
after viewing images of average-sized models, houses or
cars, or plus-sized models. The overall effect size (d) was
−.31, a small to medium effect. Several moderating effects
were examined, and the findings indicated that the effect of
viewing thin models was stronger for participants who were
younger than 19 years old, who reported greater body
dissatisfaction prior to the manipulation, and in between-
subjects designs.
Although these meta-analytic results support the socio-
cultural perspective that the mass media promulgate a
slender ideal that elicits body dissatisfaction, more studies
are needed. Stice (2001) noted that the deleterious effects of
media exposure seem to be stronger for at-risk individuals.
Groesz et al. (2002) recommended research on “how
images of slender beauty affect ... some females in
particular”(p. 12). Although past research “strongly
suggests that the negative effect of media images is
enhanced when the females exposed to them are vulnerable
because they have already internalized the slender beauty
ideal”(pg. 12), Groesz et al. called for more experimental
research with participants with various pre-existing levels
of pertinent constructs. For example, the meta-analysis by
Groesz et al. indicated that women who already had a high
level of body dissatisfaction were more prone to the
negative effects of viewing thin media images. Such a
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DOI 10.1007/s11199-006-9178-9
E. A. Hamilton :L. Mintz
Department of Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology,
University of Missouri-Columbia,
Columbia, USA
S. Kashubeck-West (*)
Division of Counseling & Family Therapy, College of Education,
University of Missouri-St. Louis,
One University Blvd.,
St. Louis, MO 63121-4400, USA
e-mail: SusanKW@umsl.edu
finding suggests that these women are more cognitively
prepared to think of themselves in regard to shape, weight,
and beauty, and, therefore, they suffer more negative effects
of exposure.
One relevant construct is self-objectification. Objectifi-
cation theory (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997) posits that
because women are socialized to see themselves as objects
to be looked at and evaluated, they are likely to feel shame
and anxiety for not meeting cultural standards. Whereas
objectification theory (Fredrickson & Roberts; McKinley &
Hyde) posits that exposure to unrealistic images of
women’s beauty is a cause of women objectifying
themselves (i.e., viewing themselves as an object, having
shame about their bodies) and whereas this theorizing has
been supported by previous research (Morry & Staska,
2002), no researchers have examined whether such self-
objectification puts women in a state of readiness to further
react to media images. Such a study would be a clear step
in addressing the need in the literature noted by Groesz et
al. (2002) for continued study of which women may be
most vulnerable to media images.
Numerous studies have shown that the heavier women
are, the more dissatisfied they are with their bodies (e.g.,
Cattarin & Thompson, 1994). Much as self-objectification
might prime women to react negatively to the thin media
ideal, it is possible that women who are heavier may react
more strongly to media images of thin women than women
who are thinner because heavier women are subjected to
more oppression in the form of weightism and to more
pressure to be thinner. On the other hand, it is possible that
women who are heavier are less likely to react to media
images, as they know they do not come close to meeting
these ideals. Women who are closer to the media images
might feel worse for not actually meeting them. Thus, in the
present study we also investigated whether body mass
index predicted changes in body dissatisfaction after
viewing attractive, thin, media models.
In sum, the purpose of the present study was to examine
self-objectification and weight as predictors of changes in
body image that resulted from media exposure in a sample
of European American women. Specifically, we sought to
answer the following question: Does degree of self-
objectification predict change in body esteem upon expo-
sure to media images of slender, attractive women? Three
aspects of self-objectification were studied: (1) the degree
to which a woman experiences her body from an observer’s
perspective; (2) the degree to which a woman feels shame
for not fulfilling cultural standards; and (3) the degree to
which a woman believes that she can control her weight
with enough effort. Self-objectification was selected be-
cause it seemed clearly related to Groesz et al.’s (2002)
suggestion that some women are cognitively prepared to
think about themselves in terms of the cultural standards of
beauty. Such cognitive preparation would seem to encom-
pass the self-objectification concepts of the experience of
objectification, body shame, and control. In addition, we
examined whether a woman’s body mass index predicted
change in body dissatisfaction after exposure to thin media
ideals. European American women were selected for
participation because the proportion of ethnic minority
students at our university was too small to provide a
meaningful comparison group. Further, some research (e.g.,
Milkie, 1999) suggests that ethnic minority women react
differently to media images that feature women from the
dominant culture. Rather than include a small number of
ethnic minority women in the study (and ignore the
possibility that they might respond differently to the stimuli
than the European American participants), we chose to
focus on European American women, with a clear
statement that similar research needs to be conducted with
ethnic minority women.
Method
Participants
The initial sample was composed of 93 European American
female undergraduates who were attending a large public
midwestern university and were enrolled in one of three
psychology classes. Forty-eight participants were in the
experimental condition (viewed the appearance-related
images) and 45 participants constituted the control group
(viewed neutral images). Due to missing data, seven cases
from the experimental group and one case from the control
group were deleted. Outliers were identified by using SPSS
GLM to generate and plot values for Cook’sDfor the
repeated measure (BES score). Four outlier cases were
identified by this procedure and these cases were removed
from the analysis, which resulted in a final sample of 37
participants in the experimental group and 44 participants
in the control group. The average age of the participants
was 20.27 years (SD=1.98), and the majority of the sample
self-identified as single (84%). Mean weight for the sample
was 141.23 lbs (SD=32.54), mean height was 65.69 in.
(SD=2.63), and mean body mass index (BMI) was 22.99
(SD=4.77), which is within the normal range (20.1–25) for
female college students (National Heart Lung and Blood
Institute, 1998).
Instruments
Objectified body consciousness scale (OBC; McKinley &
Hyde, 1996)The OBC is a 24-item scale that was based
upon social constructionism. The OBC has three factors
(eight items per factor): (a) Surveillance represents the
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degree to which someone watches her body or experiences
her body from an observer’s perspective; (b) Body Shame
reflects the degree to which someone feels shame for not
fulfilling internalized cultural standards for body size and
shape; and (c) Control Beliefs reflects the degree to which a
person believes she can control her weight and appearance
if she tries hard enough. Participants respond on a 7-point
scale that ranges from 1 (strongly agree) to 7 (strongly
disagree) to statements such as “During the day, I think
about how I look many times”(Surveillance), “I feel like I
must be a bad person when I don’t look as good as I could”
(Body Shame), and “I think a person can look pretty much
how they want to if they are willing to work at it”(Control
Beliefs). Average scores on the three subscales can range
from 1 to 7; higher scores indicate higher levels of each
construct (e.g., higher body surveillance, greater shame,
greater control beliefs).
McKinley and Hyde (1996) reported psychometric data
across three studies. Specifically, internal consistencies
were: Surveillance, .76–.89; Body Shame, .70–.84; Control
Beliefs, .68–.72. Two-week test–retest reliability for Sur-
veillance, Body Shame, and Control Beliefs were .79, .79,
and .73, respectively. Validity evidence included findings
that both surveillance and body shame were negatively
related to body esteem (r=−.26 and −.46, respectively), and
that surveillance correlated strongly with public self-
consciousness (r=.46) but had no relationship with private
self-consciousness or social anxiety (evidence of discrim-
inant validity). Surveillance also correlated with appearance
orientation and public body consciousness (r= .64 and .46,
respectively). Control beliefs correlated positively with
dieting, restricted eating, exercising to control weight, and
wearing clothes to make oneself look thinner. Cronbach’s
alphas obtained for the participants in the present study
were .83, .66, and .76 for Surveillance, Body Shame, and
Control Beliefs, respectively.
Body esteem scale (BES; Franzoi & Shields, 1984)The
BES measures an individual’s body esteem across three
empirically-derived dimensions. For women, these factors
include attitudes toward sexual attractiveness, weight
concern, and physical condition. Both factor scores and an
overall score can be calculated; the overall score was used
in the present study. The BES contains 35 body-related
items that participants are asked to rate on a 5-point scale
that ranges from 1 (have strong negative feelings) to 5
(have strong positive feelings). The overall body esteem
score can thus range from 35–175; higher scores indicate
more positive body esteem. Cronbach’s alphas from .78 to .87
have been reported for the BES, which indicates adequate
internal consistency (Franzoi & Shields, 1984). Significant
correlations between the BES and the Rosenberg Self-
Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965) provide evidence for
convergent validity (Franzoi & Herzog, 1986). High test–
retest correlations have been found; coefficients range from
.75 to .87 (Franzoi, 1994). However, in previous research,
scores on the BES have proven to be somewhat changeable
and reactive to stimuli, and, thus, it has been suggested that
the BES can best be conceptualized as a state scale
(Tiggemann, 2001). For the purposes of the present study,
the BES was used to measure body satisfaction as a state,
rather than as a stable trait. A Cronbach’s alpha of .89 was
obtained with the BES for the present sample.
Demographics Participants were asked to complete a short
demographics questionnaire in which information about
age, race and ethnicity, height and weight, relationship
status, and education level was requested. Height and
weight information were used to calculate each partic-
ipant’s body-mass index (BMI).
Procedure
Undergraduate psychology students were approached in
classes and invited to take part in a study on how
advertising affects people. Of approximately 150 women
solicited, 100 agreed to participate. Of those, seven
participants’data were not analyzed due to self-identifica-
tion as a racial/ethnic minority. Participants were assigned
to a group through random distribution of the question-
naires in class. Extra credit was provided and students who
did not wish to participate were given other alternatives for
extra credit.
Participants were given two packets and instructed to
complete the first packet without looking ahead at the
second. The initial packet contained the informed consent
form, a demographic questionnaire, the OBC, the BES, and
several distracter measures. After they completed the first
packet, participants were instructed to begin looking at the
second packet, which contained the images used as visual
stimuli and a second copy of the BES. The participants
were instructed first to look at the images for 1–3 min (self-
estimated) and then to complete the measures without going
back to the first packet. Finally, participants were debriefed.
The stimuli consisted of ten magazine advertisements
per group. The experimental group received five appear-
ance-related images and five neutral images and the control
group received ten neutral images (including the same five
neutral images viewed by the experimental group). The
appearance-related stimuli were advertisements that pic-
tured European American women who exemplify cultural
ideals of thinness and attractiveness. Faces were visible in
all of these stimuli, with some showing women as whole
body images and others showing partial body images. The
neutral stimuli did not include people but instead marketed
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cars, toilet paper, jewelry, lotion, make-up, a retail store,
gum, nail polish and liquor. All of the images were initially
chosen by the first author and then rated by three experts in
research design and media psychology to assure that the
images portrayed what was intended (i.e., cultural standards
of the thin beauty ideal or neutral images). All of the
advertisements were from magazines that targeted a
youthful, female, European American audience.
Results
Preliminary analyses
Means, standard deviations, and correlations between the
primary variables in the present study are presented in
Table 1. Preliminary analyses were conducted to determine
whether differences existed between the experimental and
control group members on demographic variables, OBC
scales, and on the BES given prior to viewing the images
(i.e., pre-intervention scores). There were no differences
between these groups with regard to: age, t(81) = 1.51, p> .14;
height, t(81)=−.47, p>.64; weight t(81) = .51, p> .61; or
BMI, t(81)=.75, p>.46. Also, pre-intervention scores did
not differ significantly between the experimental and the
control groups on the BES, t(81)= −.12, p> .91, or on the
three OBC scales of Surveillance, t(81) = 1.50, p> .14, Body
Shame, t(81)=.18, p>.86, and Control Beliefs, t(81) = 1.25,
p>.22. A power analysis indicated that the power for the
time X condition analysis was .55 to detect a small effect
size; this level was judged to be adequate.
Main analyses
To examine our research questions concerning the effect on
body esteem of viewing thin media images and whether this
effect was predicted by level of self-objectification and
body mass index, we conducted a repeated measures
ANCOVA with BES score as the dependent variable,
condition (experimental versus control) and time (pretest
versus posttest) as the blocking variables, and BMI and the
three self-objectification variables as covariates. By includ-
ing the three self-objectification variables and BMI as
covariates, we could examine whether these variables
played a role in the effect of the experimental manipulation.
The analysis showed that the effect of time X condition was
significant, F(1, 75)=4.14, p< .04, η
2
=.06. Thus, the
experimental manipulation of viewing images of thin
women had an effect.
1
Post hoc t-tests indicated that the
experimental group showed a significant decline in body
satisfaction from the pre-intervention measurement (M=
111.76, SD=18.61) to the post-intervention measurement
(M=109.00, SD=19.83), t(37) = 3.17, p< .003. Examination
of the BES scores for the control group found no significant
change from the pre-intervention level (M=112.20, SD=
16.46) to the post-intervention level (M=111.93, SD=
17.25), t(44)=.36, p>.72.
To assess whether self-objectification and body mass
index predicted the degree of change in body dissatisfaction
experienced after viewing cultural images of thinness and
attractiveness or neutral control images, the strength of the
effect of the OBC and BMI covariates in the ANCOVA was
examined. None of the time X OBC scale effects were
significant: Surveillance, F(1, 75)= .31, p> .58, η
2
=.00;
Body Shame, F(1, 75)=.11, p>.74, η
2
=.00; and Control
Beliefs, F(1, 75)=.07, p>.79, η
2
=.00. Thus, self-objecti-
fication did not have an effect on the results of the
manipulation, as women with both high and low levels of
self-objectification were equally affected by viewing the
images of thin women. In a similar vein, the effect of time
X BMI was not significant, F(1, 75) = .01, p> .91, η
2
=.00,
which indicates that both heavy and thin women were
equally affected by viewing the pictures of thin women. In
sum, the manipulation of viewing pictures of thin women
was powerful and the manipulation’s effects were not
affected by body mass index or self-objectification.
Discussion
The findings of the current study are consistent with
previous research as summarized in a recent meta-analysis
of the effects of experimental manipulations of the thin
beauty ideal (Groesz et al., 2002). Specifically, women’s
body image was significantly more negative after viewing
thin media images than after viewing images of neutral
objects. Our study further confirms the conclusions reached
by Groesz et al.: media images of attractive, thin women
can have deleterious effects on the women who view them.
In addition to confirming such findings, our study
addressed an important question raised by Groesz et al. at
the conclusion of their meta-analysis: What makes some
women more vulnerable than others to media images?
We investigated two constructs (i.e., objectified body
consciousness and weight) that we thought might relate to
an increased vulnerability to media images of thin,
attractive women. Although objectification theory suggests
that exposure to unrealistic images of women’s beauty
results in women seeing themselves as objects and feeling
shame about their bodies, no researchers to date had
examined whether such self-objectification then primes
women to react more negatively to these unrealistic images.
1
The same analysis was also conducted as an ANOVA, without the
covariates. The results of the ANOVA (including post-hoc tests) were
very similar to those of the ANCOVA.
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The results of the present study indicate that objectified
body consciousness is not a factor that increases women’s
vulnerability to the deleterious effects of seeing media
images that reflect the cultural thin ideal. The women in our
study showed increased body dissatisfaction after viewing
appearance-related images, regardless of their prior levels
of self-objectification. In other words, the effect of viewing
such media images is not more powerful for women with
higher levels of objectified body consciousness.
In addition, the results also showed that women who were
heavier (had larger body mass indexes) were not prone to
more negative body dissatisfaction after viewing images of
thin women than participants who were thinner. Numerous
studies indicate that women who are heavier report greater
body dissatisfaction than other women do, and it makes
sense to think that if a woman is heavier and sees pictures of
thin women, she might feel even worse than a thin woman
who is exposed to the same images. Nevertheless, the results
of our study do not support such conjecture.
The overall purpose of the present study was to
investigate constructs that might explain why some women
in particular are affected by the mass media’s promulgation
of the thin ideal. Based on our data, we conclude that
exposure to media images of thin women has a significant
impact and that objectified body consciousness and body
mass index do not enhance or detract from this effect. Thus,
there is a continued need for research to identify factors that
might make some women more vulnerable to the impact of
media images that depict thin women. Alternatively, such
research may find that, because these media images are so
pervasive and so powerful, few other factors may impact
women’s reactions; in other words, just being a woman in
our culture may be the primary vulnerability factor. After
all, the women in our study were exposed to just five
images of thin women (mixed in with five neutral images)
for only 1–3 min yet they reported less body satisfaction
than women not exposed to those images. When one thinks
about how such a brief exposure had an effect, it seems
clear that the impact of these images is very powerful.
Future researchers should also examine the effects of
media on ethnic minority women. In the present study, we
included only European American women based on
findings that ethnic minority individuals do not identify
with White media images at the same level as European
American women do (Milkie, 1999) and the related notion
that social comparison processes underlie the media’s
impact on women (Groesz et al., 2002; H. Posavac, S.
Posavac, & Weigel, 2001). As far as we can tell, researchers
have yet to examine how media images of ethnic minority
women affect ethnic minority or White women. Such future
research is critical, as are examinations of media effects on
lesbian women, women of diverse ages, and women with
disabilities.
Our current results suggest that interventions specific to
groups of women based on their level of objectified body
consciousness or body mass index are not needed. Past
interventions have focused on interrupting the social
comparison process (Posavac et al., 2001) and on reducing
acceptance of media images (Shaw & Waller, 1996); our
findings suggest that these interventions should be helpful
to women regardless of their objectified body conscious-
ness or body mass index.
Our research has several limitations. First, we examined
the effects of only one type of media (magazine advertise-
ments). Clearly, additional research with various forms of
media is needed to examine whether objectified body
consciousness or weight would have predictive power.
Second, the amount of time images were viewed was not
strictly controlled, although each participant was asked to
examine the pictures for 1–3 min. However, most studies
suggest that the impact of viewing such images is achieved
with very brief exposure times, and we simply wanted to
ensure that participants had more than just a brief exposure
to the images. Third, the sample size was small, which
resulted in decreased power. Nevertheless, this power level
was consistent with a number of other published studies in
this area, and it was high enough to find an effect of
viewing media images on women in general, which
suggests that, if there were effects of objectified body
consciousness and body mass index, they would have been
found. Fourth, it is possible that by using a pretest that
asked about height, weight, objectified body consciousness.
and body dissatisfaction, we may have primed participants
to be more sensitive to the media images, especially those
participants in the experimental condition. However, it
seems likely that the use of several distracter measures in
Table 1 Means, standard
deviations (SD) and correla-
tions for the main study
variables.
Note. BMI=body mass index;
BES= Body Esteem Scale
score.
*p<.05. **p< .01.
Variables Mean(SD) 1 2 3 4 5 6
1. Surveillance 38.30 (8.11) –
2. Body shame 27.72 (8.08) .55** –
3. Control beliefs 37.47 (7.28) −.07 .01 –
4. BMI 22.99 (4.79) .01 .22 .13 –
5. BES—time 1 112.00 (17.37) −.33** −.38** .24* −.25* –
6. BES—time 2 110.59 (18.41) −.30** −.36** .21 −.24* .96** –
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the pretest reduced the possibility of this priming effect.
Future researchers should consider asking for that informa-
tion after the completion of the study tasks.
In conclusion, the media are one of the most direct routes
for information travel, and young women spend a significant
amount of time viewing media images. The results of the
present study confirm past conclusions that the visual media
unfortunately are very effective at causing European Amer-
ican women to feel less positively about their bodies. Our
data also suggest that all European American women, not
just those who are heavy or who have internalized cultural
messages that women’s bodies are to be viewed as objects,
are vulnerable to the effect of media messages. Additional
research to investigate which women are most vulnerable to
the media’s effect is needed. Although it is an admittedly
idealistic and more grandiose goal, we also hope that our
findings can help to influence the culture as a whole to
examine the detrimental impact of unrealistic images in
advertisements on women’s body image.
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