What About Men? Social Comparison and the Effects of Media Images on Body and Self-Esteem

Abstract

Research has consistently shown that exposure to ideal female images negatively influences women's self-evaluations (e.g., Brown, Novick, Lord, & Richards, 1992; Henderson-King, Henderson-King, & Hoffman, 2001). However, minimal research has examined the effects of media-portrayed male images on men's self-evaluations. This article presents an exploratory investigation into the impact of media on men's views of themselves and their bodies. It was hypothesized that compared to men who viewed neutral images, men who viewed ideal physical images of other men or images depicting status and wealth would report lower levels of body esteem and self-esteem. Analysis revealed significant group differences on the Physical Condition and Physical Attractiveness subscales of the Body Esteem Scale (BES; Franzoi & Shields, 1984); however, no significant differences in group scores emerged on the State Self-Esteem Scale (SSES; Heatherton & Polivy, 1991). In general, these findings fit with current literature regarding media effects on men. Limitations, applications, and future research considerations are discussed.

Full text

What About Men? Social Comparison and the Effects of Media
Images on Body and Self-Esteem
Cody L. Hobza
The University of Texas-Austin
Karen E. Walker
Wayne State College
Oksana Yakushko and James L. Peugh
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Research has consistently shown that exposure to ideal female images negatively
influences women’s self-evaluations (e.g., Brown, Novick, Lord, & Richards, 1992;
Henderson-King, Henderson-King, & Hoffman, 2001). However, minimal research has
examined the effects of media-portrayed male images on men’s self-evaluations. This
article presents an exploratory investigation into the impact of media on men’s views
of themselves and their bodies. It was hypothesized that compared to men who viewed
neutral images, men who viewed ideal physical images of other men or images
depicting status and wealth would report lower levels of body esteem and self-esteem.
Analysis revealed significant group differences on the Physical Condition and Physical
Attractiveness subscales of the Body Esteem Scale (BES; Franzoi & Shields, 1984);
however, no significant differences in group scores emerged on the State Self-Esteem
Scale (SSES; Heatherton & Polivy, 1991). In general, these findings fit with current
literature regarding media effects on men. Limitations, applications, and future research
considerations are discussed.
Keywords: media, men, body image, body esteem, self-esteem, gender, muscularity
The average person in the United States is
exposed to hundreds, if not thousands of media
advertisements each day. Whether thumbing
through magazines at a local business, watching
TV, surfing the Internet, or even driving down
the street, advertising in American culture is
pervasive and difficult to avoid. While many of
the human images in these advertisements por-
tray thin, ideally attractive women, magazines
such as GQ, Men’s Health, and Fortune often
portray the ideal man as muscular, wealthy, and
prestigious. Quite frequently, these ideally at-
tractive men and women are featured together,
potentially sending the message that men and
women may obtain ideal partners if they are
willing to work toward society’s expectations.
Indeed, men have reported wanting to build
bigger chests and leaner abs in order to impress
women (Ridgeway & Tylka, 2005), and men
with muscular upper bodies (Singh, 1995) and
lean stomachs (Bjorntorp, 1993) have been con-
sidered by women to be more attractive.
Trends in the Characteristics of Male
Media Models
Research has indicated that media portrayals
of the ideal man have changed over time and are
being marketed to men in increasingly exagger-
ated forms through magazines and TV. Specif-
ically, Spitzer, Henderson, and Zivian (1999)
suggested ideal same-sex images in the media
(e.g., Playgirl centerfolds; Leit, Pope, & Gray,
Cody L. Hobza, Department of Educational Psychology,
University of Texas-Austin; Karen E. Walker, Department
of Sociology, Psychology, and Criminal Justice, Wayne
State College; Oksana Yakushko, Department of Educa-
tional Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; James
L. Peugh, Department of Psychology, University of Nebras-
ka-Lincoln.
We are grateful to Tina Hoffman and Ryan McKelley for
providing thoughtful feedback on earlier versions of this
article.
Correspondence concerning this article should be ad-
dressed to Cody L. Hobza, Department of Educational Psy-
chology, Counseling Psychology Program, The University
of Texas-Austin, 1 University Station D5800, Austin, TX
78712. E-mail: chobza@mail.utexas.edu
Psychology of Men & Masculinity Copyright 2007 by the American Psychological Association
2007, Vol. 8, No. 3, 161–172 1524-9220/07/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/1524-9220.8.3.161
161

2001) have become increasingly more muscu-
lar, and it was recently shown that the ideal
male body marketed to men is more muscular
than the ideal male body marketed to women
(Frederick, Fessler, & Haselton, 2005). Even in
1996, Petrie et al. reported the prevalence of
messages in men’s fashion magazines geared
toward being healthy and physically fit had in-
creased, and they suggested an ideal male body
was emerging in the media.
Similar changes in body ideals over the last
three decades can be seen not only in the media,
but also in toy action figures. According to
scholars (Baghurst, Hollander, Nardell, & Haff,
2006; Pope, Olivardia, Gruber, & Borowiecki,
1999), G. I. Joe, Batman, and Superman action
figures are all much more muscular than they
were 25 years ago. Not surprisingly, the han-
dling of these overly muscular figures has re-
sulted in decreased body esteem in young men
(Bartlett, Harris, Smith, & Bonds-Raacke,
2005).
Social Comparison Theory and the
Media’s Persuasive Effects
Recent empirical attention has focused on
other potential physical and psychological ef-
fects of media portrayals, and research suggests
women and men alike are increasingly feeling
pressure to conform to the standards set by
their same-sex counterparts in the media. For
instance, in a recent qualitative study by
Ridgeway and Tylka (2005), male participants
reported feeling pressured by the media to look
muscular and built, especially from the waist
up. Wiseman, Sunday, and Becker (2005) pos-
ited that such media influences on self-
evaluations may be due in part to what Festinger
(1954) termed “Social Comparison Theory”
(SCT). According to SCT, individuals gain in-
formation about themselves through personal
comparisons to those they perceive as better
than themselves. This “upward comparison,”
coupled with conformity to group pressure, may
partially explain the influence of media on self-
evaluations. In fact, Tiggemann and McGill
(2004) found the actual amount of comparison in
which women engaged to be an important predic-
tor of the media’s negative effects.
Although much research has been directed to-
ward establishing the importance of social com-
parison, in his original conception, Festinger
suggested social comparison was far less impor-
tant than comparisons to objective standards.
He asserted that if an objective standard was
available, little interest existed in social com-
parison. On the contrary, research evidence sug-
gests that social comparison data is just as or
perhaps even more important in certain situa-
tions. For example, Foddy and Crundall (1993)
found that when students had received their
graded assignments, about half were interested
in social comparison information (i.e., how they
did compared to other students) even when they
already had objective information (i.e., a grade
of 90%). Thus, with regards to social compari-
son to media models, even though an individual
is aware of healthy height/weight standards,
media social comparison information may still
be relevant to them. Several researchers concluded
that social comparison may actually provide in-
formation and meaning to objective standards
(Foddy & Crundall, 1993; Wood & Wilson,
2003).
Surprisingly however, participants generally
self-report little use of social comparison infor-
mation. Wood and Wilson (2003) suggested
individual motives such as social desirability
pressures may prevent participants from report-
ing their use of this information. They also
suggested that research methods (i.e., question-
naires) employed to study social comparison
may not fit its attributes. For example, they cite
that a lack of awareness (i.e., internalization)
may exist with regards to the use of social
comparison information; thus, respondents may
not even be able to report they are engaged in
this process.
Media Impacts on Men’s Mental and
Physical Health
To the extent that viewing ideal images is
detrimental to self-evaluations, researchers have
almost exclusively examined the impact of me-
dia images on women (e.g., Brown, Novick,
Lord, & Richards, 1992; Birkeland et al., 2005;
Groesz, Levine, & Murnen, 2002; Hawkins,
Richards, Granley, & Stein, 2004; Henderson-
King, Henderson-King, & Hoffman, 2001;
Monro & Huon, 2005; Stice, Schupak-Neuberg,
Shaw, & Stein, 1994; Tiggemann, 2003); re-
search investigating the effects of ideal male
images on men has been minimal. Further, al-
most all of the limited existing literature on
162 HOBZA, WALKER, YAKUSHKO, AND PEUGH

men’s body image and esteem is premised on
White heterosexual men.
In one of the few articles that examines the
effects of media images on men, Grogan,
Williams, and Conner (1996) indicated that
body-esteem scores for both men and women
decreased after viewing same-gender photo-
graphic models. In another study, men with high
body dissatisfaction reported less pleasure
while viewing slide images of themselves than
when viewing ideal images of same-sex others
(Hausenblas, Janelle, Gardner & Hagan, 2002).
A more recent study found that men who
viewed ideal male images in TV advertisements
reported higher levels of muscle dissatisfaction
and depression following image exposure than
men who viewed nonappearance related adver-
tisements (Agliata & Tantleff-Dunn, 2004).
Leit, Gray, and Pope (2002) also found measur-
able body dissatisfaction in men who were ex-
posed to advertisements featuring muscular
men. This dissatisfaction was revealed in the
form of large discrepancies between self-
perceived muscularity and ideal levels of mus-
cularity following participant exposure to ideal
images of muscular men.
The impact of ideal media images may also
be seen in the increasing prevalence of eating
disorder symptomatology, body dysmorphia,
excessive exercise, and steroid use among men.
In terms of eating pathology, Harrison and
Cantor (1997) discovered that media images
had a significant impact on men’s dieting atti-
tudes, and O’Dea and Abraham (2002) found
that 20% of the college men surveyed displayed
eating attitudes and behaviors characteristic of
eating disorders and disordered eating. Simi-
larly, recent attention has been given to body
(muscle) dysmorphia, or “reverse anorexia.”
This disorder involves a pathological preoccu-
pation with one’s body, obsessive– compulsive
involvement with dieting, weightlifting, and re-
lated activities, and severe impairment of social
and occupational functioning (Pope, Gruber,
Choi, Olivardia, & Phillips, 1997).
Indeed, trends have indicated an increase in
men’s health and fitness activities (Nemeroff,
Stein, Diehl, & Smilack, 1994), and Rash
(2004) found almost 25% of men surveyed were
excessive exercisers. Further, Smolak, Murnen,
and Thompson (2005) found 9% of adolescent
boys surveyed “often” or “always” used food
supplements to build muscle and discovered
that boys who reported being influenced by the
media ideal of muscularity were more likely to
engage in muscle-building behaviors. Regard-
ing steroid use, an increase has been found
among adolescent men and adult bodybuilders
(Johnson, Jay, Shoup, & Rickert, 1989; Wright,
Crogan, & Hunter, 2000), and according to
Wright et al. (2000), this increase may be
largely due to rising concerns with body image.
At the same time, it has been observed that a
growing epidemic of obesity is occurring in the
United States. Some would argue that increased
attention to one’s physique might have positive
consequences in terms of overall health and
longevity. Overwhelmingly, research suggests
quite the opposite. For women the resulting
body image disturbance and internalization of
the thin ideal (Thompson & Stice, 2001) has
been associated with excessive dieting (Stice,
Mazotti, Krebs, & Martin, 1998) and the emer-
gence of eating disorders (Lokken, Worthy, &
Trautmann, 2004; Thompson, Coovert, Richards,
Johnson, & Cattarin, 1995). Thus, it appears that
individuals who attempt to measure up to soci-
ety’s ideals through increased focus on their bod-
ies may be setting themselves up for mental, phys-
ical, and behavioral health problems.
Body Esteem Versus Self-Esteem
Although it is challenging to directly link
ideal media portrayals with physical and psy-
chological concerns such as eating disorders
and steroid use, constructs such as body esteem
and self-esteem can be easily measured in rela-
tion to media exposure. However, it is important
to note distinctions and similarities between the
two. According to Franzoi and Shields (1984),
body esteem is “an important dimension of gen-
eral self-esteem” (p. 173) that is comprised
solely of feelings about one’s body. Self-esteem
is a more general measure of feelings about
oneself that, depending on the scale used to
measure it, may or may not include appearance-
related items. Wade (2000) indicated that men’s
self-esteem was predicted by facial features,
body features, status, and resource flow, and
men who view media images may be especially
susceptible to changes in state self-esteem. State
self-esteem is a level of momentary self-esteem
and differs from what Rosenberg (1986) noted
as a more enduring state of general self-esteem.
163EFFECTS OF MEDIA ON MEN

Current Research Objectives
The current exploratory study sought to find
discrepancies between one control group and
two experimental groups on participant scores
for both body esteem and self-esteem. To this
end, it partially incorporated the experimental
design of Henderson-King, Henderson-King,
and Hoffman (2001). These authors measured
body esteem and self-esteem for women follow-
ing participation in either a physical-image
group (i.e., viewing images of women who fit a
thin ideal) or an image-neutral group (i.e., view-
ing images of common household items). They
also considered the impact of social context
(i.e., having men present vs. not having men
present) while viewing ideal images on wom-
en’s self evaluations. Although the current
study does not include social context as a vari-
able, based on limitations of this study, re-
searchers may wish to investigate its impact in
future studies.
This study adds to the current literature in
three important ways. First, it utilizes an ex-
perimental design to investigate the impact of
ideal media images on men’s self-evaluations.
Aside from several of the studies already dis-
cussed, as well as a recent study by Johnson,
McCreary, and Mills (2007), much research
on this topic has been correlational in nature.
Second, it examines the impact of physically
ideal male images on both body esteem and
self-esteem. Prior research examining the ef-
fects of ideal male images on men has not
investigated levels of self-esteem following
image exposure. Third, only a single study
has examined the outcome effects of viewing
media-portrayed high-class, wealthy men on
men’s self-evaluations (Gulas & McKeage,
2000). These scholars found that viewing im-
ages of financially successful men resulted in
significantly lower self-esteem than viewing
images of inanimate objects. Scores for male
participants who viewed these financial suc-
cess images were even lower than scores for
male participants who viewed physically at-
tractive men. Thus, our two hypotheses were
as follows:
Hypothesis 1: Participants exposed to the
physical-image condition will report lower
levels of both body esteem and state self-
esteem than participants exposed to the
image-neutral condition.
Hypothesis 2: Participants exposed to a
resource-image condition will report lower
levels of self-esteem than participants ex-
posed to the image-neutral condition.
Method
Participants
Participants were 94 undergraduate students
from various psychology, sociology, business
and statistics courses at a Midwestern state col-
lege who earned extra credit for their participa-
tion. However, only data from the 46 male
participants were analyzed for the purposes of
this study. Female participants completed ques-
tionnaires along with the men only to help con-
ceal the nature of the study. Ages ranged
from 18 to 23 years, with a mean age of 20
(SD ⫽ 1.75). Participants were primarily Cau-
casian (n ⫽ 45), entirely heterosexual (n ⫽ 46),
and varied widely across year in school (fresh-
man, n ⫽ 9; sophomore, n ⫽ 4; junior, n ⫽ 14;
senior, n ⫽ 19). The majority of participants
identified as either Catholic (n ⫽ 21) or Prot-
estant (n ⫽ 11); the remaining 14 participants
reported “none” or “other” for religious affilia-
tion.
Materials
Images. All images presented to partici-
pants were pilot tested by 15 independent raters.
Six of the raters were men and nine were
women. All were Caucasian except for one Af-
rican American man and one Latino woman.
They were asked to rate each slide on a five-
point Likert scale to determine how well it
represented the specified image condition
(i.e., 1 [least representative]to5[most repre-
sentative]). The purpose of this pilot rating was
to obtain consensus on whether each image
significantly represented the physical, resource,
or image-neutral condition. Only images receiv-
ing a mean rating of 3.5 or higher to their
respective conditions were considered, and
the 25 images rating the highest in each cate-
gory were presented in the final study.
In the image-neutral condition, slides con-
tained only a limited number of human images,
164 HOBZA, WALKER, YAKUSHKO, AND PEUGH

and images depicting high-cost commodities
were avoided. These slides contained advertise-
ments for household items such as detergent,
toothpaste, and electronic devices (derived from
Good Housekeeping magazine). In both the
physical and resource-image conditions, five
slides from the image-neutral condition were
randomly placed throughout the slide presenta-
tions. Participants in the physical-image condi-
tion viewed slides depicting men with broad
chins, large muscles, tone physiques, and lean
stomachs (obtained from Men’s Health, GQ,
and Abercrombie & Fitch magazines). Partici-
pants in the resource-image condition viewed
slides depicting men of status, earning potential,
and resource possession (obtained from Fortune
and GQ magazines). Most of these men were
dressed in fine suits and were positioned next to
expensive automobiles or among well-dressed
women. Most of the men featured in both the
physical and resource-image conditions were
White (partly due to the high prevalence of
White men in magazines and the composition of
our sample); however, two slides in the physi-
cal-image condition featured Black men and
two slides featured Latino men. In the resource-
image condition, one slide featured a Black man
and one slide featured a Latino man. One slide
in each of the physical-image and resource-
image conditions portrayed the man on display
with a thin, ideally attractive woman.
Presentation format. Slideshows were pre-
sented on PowerPoint software. College com-
puters, projectors, and screens were used for the
presentations.
Measures
The Body Esteem Scale (BES; Franzoi &
Shields, 1984) is a 35-item inventory that mea-
sures body esteem (i.e., feelings about one’s
body). Items are rated on a five-point scale
from 1 (have strong negative feelings)to5
(have strong positive feelings). Factor analysis
revealed the BES can be divided into three
distinct subscales for both men and women,
thus allowing for a distinction to be made across
separate domains. For men, these subscales are
Physical Attractiveness, Upper Body Strength,
and Physical Condition. The Physical Attrac-
tiveness subscale includes items such as nose,
lips and face; the Upper Body Strength subscale
includes items such as biceps, body build, and
arms; and the Physical Condition subscale in-
cludes items such as reflexes, waist, and thighs.
In their initial sample, Franzoi and Shields re-
ported Cronbach’s alphas for Physical Attrac-
tiveness (.81), Upper Body Strength (.85), and
Physical Condition (.86). They also reported
strong convergent and discriminant validity.
Researchers later found additional support for
the validity of this measure (Franzoi & Herzog,
1986) as well as test–retest reliability (Franzoi,
1994). In the current sample, Cronbach’s alphas
for Physical Attractiveness, Upper Body
Strength, and Physical Condition were .73, .85,
and .86, respectively.
The State Self-Esteem Scale (SSES;
Heatherton & Polivy, 1991) is a 20-item inven-
tory that measures momentary self-esteem.
Items are rated on a five-point scale from 1 (not
at all)to5(extremely). Factor analysis revealed
three independent subscales for this measure:
Social, Appearance, and Performance. The So-
cial subscale includes statements such as “I feel
self-conscious” and “I feel displeased with my-
self.” Appearance subscale items include, “I am
dissatisfied with my weight” and “I feel good
about myself.” Performance subscale items in-
clude, “I feel confident about my abilities” and
“I feel as smart as others.” The SSES has been
demonstrated as psychometrically sound with
an overall Cronbach’s alpha of .92, and high
degrees of discriminant and construct validity.
In the current sample, Cronbach’s alphas for the
Social, Appearance, and Performance subscales
were .79, .66, and .69, respectively.
Procedure
Sessions were run in groups of 12 or more
participants. At the beginning of each session, a
male experimenter informed participants that
the purpose of the study was to examine the
extent to which certain advertisements are more
likable and memorable to viewers. Participants
were then asked to read and sign an informed
consent, complete the demographic form, and
assign themselves a four-digit identification
number for use on all questionnaires. This num-
ber was used to link various forms and ques-
tionnaires while maintaining confidentiality and
anonymity. The experimenter explained to par-
ticipants that after first viewing a series of 25
slides of magazine advertisements, they would
complete a “filler task” to discourage rehearsal
165EFFECTS OF MEDIA ON MEN

of what they saw. This filler task was described
as a measuring device for another student’s
study (It was actually the BES and SSES). Par-
ticipants were informed that following the filler
task, they would be given two minutes to recall
as many of the advertisements as possible. Next,
participants received the BES and SSES, and
were instructed to leave them face down until
after the slides had been presented. The room
was then darkened and slides were presented for
approximately eight seconds each.
After viewing the slides, participants were
directed to complete the BES and SSES, being
reminded that the purpose in completing this
filler task was to discourage rehearsal of the
images. Participants were then given approxi-
mately two minutes to list as many of the ad-
vertisements as they could recall. At the con-
clusion of each session, the experimenter asked
participants if they had knowledge about the
true nature of the study (none confirmed), and
then fully debriefed participants.
Results
Table 1 shows dependent variable descriptive
statistics across independent variable groups.
Our first hypothesis that participants in the
physical-image condition would report lower
levels of body and self-esteem than participants
in the image-neutral condition was evaluated
using two separate one-way multivariate analy-
ses of variance (MANOVAs) to examine inde-
pendent variable group differences in: (a) BES
subscale scores and (b) SSES subscale scores.
In a single MANOVA, dependent variables
should be significantly correlated with each
other. However, other than the Appearance sub-
scale of the SSES, we found that SSES sub-
scales were not significantly correlated with
BES subscales (see Table 2). Thus, by conduct-
ing separate MANOVAs, we were able to see
the unique contributions of each scale (i.e.,
SSES and BES). Results revealed statistically
significant group differences in BES subscales,
F(6, 84) ⫽ 2.70, p ⬍ .05. A notable effect size
(partial ␩
2
⫽ 0.17) was also observed. How
-
ever, no significant group differences in SSES
subscales were observed.
To evaluate our second hypothesis that par-
ticipants in the resource-image condition would
report lower levels of state self-esteem than
participants in the image-neutral condition, we
again utilized the MANOVA that examined
group differences in SSES subscale scores. As
previously noted, this MANOVA did not yield
significant results and no further action was
taken.
To follow up on the significant BES
MANOVA results and investigate BES sub-
scale score differences between specific groups,
a discriminant function analysis was conducted.
As shown in the upper portion of Table 3,
Physical Condition and Physical Attraction
scores show the largest discriminant function
coefficients and structure coefficients. Thus, the
three independent variable groups (i.e., physi-
cal-image, resource-image, and image-neutral)
can be separated by scores on the Physical Con-
dition and Physical Attraction subscales. Spe-
cifically, from the group centroids in the lower
portion of Table 3, it can be seen that the
resource-image and image-neutral groups have
significantly higher Physical Condition and
Physical Attraction scores compared to the
physical-image group. The Upper Body
Table 1
Descriptive Statistics for BES and SSES Subscales by Condition
INC (n ⫽ 13) PIC (n ⫽ 16) RIC (n ⫽ 17)
M (SD) M (SD) M (SD)
BES subscales
Physical attractiveness 39.74 (3.82) 36.06 (4.64) 40.82 (5.87)
Physical condition 50.54 (6.68) 42.31 (7.80) 48.18 (8.85)
Upper body strength 35.77 (5.54) 30.00 (5.99) 31.76 (6.27)
SSES subscales
Appearance 23.15 (3.39) 20.25 (3.13) 21.94 (4.19)
Performance 26.85 (3.67) 26.94 (3.62) 27.06 (4.89)
Social 24.69 (4.27) 23.94 (5.32) 24.94 (4.19)
Note. INC ⫽ image-neutral condition; PIC ⫽ physical-image condition; RIC ⫽ resource-image condition.
166 HOBZA, WALKER, YAKUSHKO, AND PEUGH

Strength subscale did not contribute to group
differences.
Discussion
Based on these results, our first hypothesis
was partially supported; group condition differ-
entiated Body Esteem Scale (BES) scores but
did not differentiate State Self-Esteem Scale
(SSES) scores. Although participants in the
physical-image condition scored significantly
lower on the Physical Condition and Physical
Attractiveness subscales of the BES, it remains
unclear why the Upper Body Strength subscale
did not also contribute to group differences,
especially considering the fairly large differ-
ences in mean scores between the image-neutral
and psychical-image groups. In developing the
BES, Franzoi and Shields (1984) noted that the
Upper Body Strength subscale differed from
the Physical Attractiveness and Physical Con-
dition subscales in that it consists of body parts
and functions that can be changed through ex-
ercise. Based on the findings of this study, it is
possible that ideal physical images in the media
may only negatively affect men’s feelings about
those physical characteristics that are enduring
and unchangeable. However, it is also possible
that the small sample size simply made detec-
tion of group differences for this subscale dif-
ficult. In general, these findings substantiate
current knowledge in the field regarding the
negative effects of ideal physical images on
men’s body image, and it seems plausible
(based on these findings and other research) that
changes in body esteem and the internalization
of media portrayals could contribute to prob-
lematic dieting, exercise, and steroid use in
men.
Regarding state self-esteem, no differences
among groups were found. However, according
to Hatoum and Belle (2004), this would not be
surprising. These scholars found self-esteem to
be unrelated to men’s degree of media expo-
sure, even though a relationship existed be-
tween self-esteem and body weight concerns.
Our second hypothesis was not supported.
Men in the resource-image condition reported
similar SSES scores as men in the other two
groups. Thus, there may be no relationship be-
tween viewing resource images and self-esteem.
It is also possible that the images in the re-
source-image condition were not well-represen-
tative of the construct, or, perhaps the scales
used in this study were not appropriate for mea-
suring the desired effect. However, because
three of the six subscales revealed downward
esteem trends in the resource-image condition
when compared to the image-neutral condition,
the impact of wealth and resource accrual im-
ages should be an area of further investigation.
While it is typically not recommended that re-
searchers report data trends, especially with a
small sample size, we wanted to highlight this
point because the impact of resource images is
Table 2
Correlation Matrix of BES and SSES Subscales
Physical
attractiveness
Upper body
strength
Physical
condition Performance Social Appearance
Physical attractiveness 1
Upper body strength .368
*
1
Physical condition .431
**
.703
**
1
Performance .287 .197 .282 1
Social .102 .275 .268 .554
**
1
Appearance .407
**
.511
**
.679
**
.424
**
.587
**
1
*
p ⬍ .05.
**
p ⬍ .01.
Table 3
Discriminant Function Analysis of Group
Differences in Body Esteem Subscale Scores
Variable
Discriminant
coefficients
Structure
coefficients
Group
centroids
Physical condition .696 .815 —
Physical attractiveness .625 .818 —
Upper body ⫺.148 .533 —
Resource — — .389
Image neutral — — .335
Physical — — ⫺.685
167EFFECTS OF MEDIA ON MEN

an understudied area (this is only the second
study to consider it). We believe this trend
provides promise for future research.
On the other hand, it is possible that re-
source accrual is no longer a top priority for
men, especially since women may not place
as much emphasis on this factor in a potential
mate as they did in previous years. According
to Oppenheimer (1997), women have been
less likely to seek marriage due to their ever-
increasing economic status since World War
II. Because resources may no longer be a
primary reason to form permanent relation-
ships (Cherlin, 1992; Wells & Zinn, 2004),
women instead may place more importance
on physical attributes in a potential mate.
Hence, men also may place more importance
on their own physical attributes than on re-
source accrual.
Limitations and Future Considerations
As we reported at the beginning of this arti-
cle, current research on the topic of media ef-
fects has focused almost exclusively on hetero-
sexual White men. Our study did not serve to
close this gap in the literature. In the future it
would be important for researchers to investi-
gate the effects of media on gay and non-White
men’s self-evaluations. It may be that results
would be different for these participants and
that effects would depend on the racial or ethnic
identity of the men represented in the media
portrayals. In regard to the age range used in our
sample, younger or older men might also be
affected differently by media images.
Because our study was designed as an explor-
atory pilot investigation, data was collected
from a limited sample of participants. Due to
this small number, results of this study are not
entirely conclusive and will be further explored
in a larger study. Since the SSES was completed
after the BES, fatigue may have played a factor
in the high ratings. A longer time period lapsed
between actually viewing the images and com-
pleting the SSES, possibly allowing too much
time between the manipulation and completion
of the SSES. In a follow-up study, half of the
participants will complete the SSES first and the
other half will complete the BES first.
Also noteworthy, the images displayed in the
slideshows (e.g., the physical-image condition)
were taken from only one magazine genre.
Men’s Health and GQ both focus primarily on
men’s bodies and send very overt messages
about what men should look like. Therefore, it
may be very easy for men who read these mag-
azines to feel as though they do not measure up.
However, Schooler and Ward (2006) found that
viewing other types of magazines (e.g., porno-
graphic) related positively to body esteem, con-
cluding that these magazines do not focus as
much on men’s bodies. Schooler and Ward also
discussed the possibility that while portrayals of
men and women are both restrictive in nature,
portrayals of men are often more flexible (i.e.,
heavier-set men are sometimes paired with slen-
der women in TV shows); thus, different types
of media may impact men differently.
The social context may have indirectly influ-
enced results through the inclusion of women.
Henderson-King et al. (2001) found opposite
sex presence to be a crucial influence on wom-
en’s self-evaluations. In their study, women
who viewed ideal female images with men
present reported much lower self-evaluations
than those with no men present. In much the
same way, men in the current study may have
reported lower levels of esteem due to the pres-
ence of women. Although we would argue the
presence of women provides ecological validity
to the results of this study (because it is likely
that men occasionally view ideal images in the
presence of women), future studies should in-
clude male-only experimental groups in order to
further investigate the impact of social context.
During one of the physical-image experimen-
tal sessions, several women immediately made
vocal comments such as “whoa!” and “all
right!” when the physical-image slides were
displayed. Henderson-King et al. (2001) found
that similar comments by men caused women to
internally oppose the societal norm of attrac-
tiveness in order to maintain their sense of per-
sonal freedom (psychological reactance).
Hence, those women did not report much dif-
ferent on self-evaluations than women who had
no men present. Relative to the current study,
the significance between the physical-image
and neutral-image conditions may have been
even greater if women in the room had not made
such comments. Thus, future researchers are
advised to request silence during experimental
sessions if they wish to control for this phenom-
enon.
168 HOBZA, WALKER, YAKUSHKO, AND PEUGH

Participants’ self-evaluations should be con-
ducted prior to any future study, as well as after
manipulation, in order to gauge changes in body
and self-esteem resulting directly from the in-
tervention. Further, it would be interesting to
investigate changes in men’s drive for muscu-
larity using an instrument like the Drive for
Muscularity Scale (DMS; McCreary & Sasse,
2000) as a result of similar interventions.
Johnson, McCreary, and Mills (2007) recently
assessed men’s drive for muscularity and psy-
chological well-being following exposure to ei-
ther: (1) a male ad condition (i.e., featuring
objectified images of men), (2) a female ad
condition (featuring objectified images of
women), or 3) a neutral ad condition (featuring
automobiles or household items). Although men
in the three conditions did not differ on DMS
scores following ad exposure, men in the female
ad condition reported increased anxiety and
hostility following exposure.
To date, the exploration of moderating and in-
dividual difference factors that influence the
media’s negative effects on women have in-
cluded: (a) social comparison processing (Gulas &
McKeage, 2000), (b) weight (Henderson-King &
Henderson-King, 1997), (c) trait body dissatisfac-
tion (Posavac, Posavac, & Posavac, 1998), (d)
internalization levels (Yamamiya, Cash, Melnyk,
Posavac, & Posavac, 2005), and even (e) experi-
mental instructions (Cattarin, Thompson, Thomas,
& Williams, 2000). These constructs will be im-
portant future considerations in research that ex-
amines the effects of media on men.
Additionally, there has been a surge of liter-
ature in the last two decades pertaining to male
gender role conflict. According to O’Neil,
Helms, Gable, David, and Wrightsman (1986),
gender role conflict is “a psychological state
where gender roles have negative consequences
or impact on a person or others” (p. 336). Good
and Sherrod (2001) refer to masculine role con-
flict as the amount of strain men encounter
while attempting to live up to society’s stan-
dards. Therefore, gender role conflict may be an
important factor to consider when examining
media’s negative effects on men. Elevated lev-
els of gender role conflict may directly impact
men’s susceptibility to media images. In other
words, because they are trying harder to live up
to society’s expectations, men who score higher
on the Gender Role Conflict Scale (GRCS;
O’Neil et al., 1986) may report lower levels of
body and self-esteem following image exposure
than men who score lower on the GRCS.
Clinical Applications
Understanding men’s body image concerns is
especially essential for psychologists and men-
tal health counselors. Unique issues in therapy
with men such as gender socialization, emo-
tional restrictiveness, and depression are begin-
ning to receive the attention of mainstream psy-
chological literature (Cochran, 2001; Englar-
Carlson, 2006). However, men’s body image
has been addressed to a much lesser degree
(Braun, Sunday, Huang, & Halmi, 1999). This
study suggests that men’s esteem may be influ-
enced, even if to a small degree, by their per-
ceptions of men presented in the media. Coun-
selors working with men may wish to attend to
men’s self-image and the sources of men’s ex-
pectations for their bodies, especially if this
seems to be of concern for particular clients.
However, mental health practitioners should be
aware that gender role socialization could impede
such processes because men are socialized not to
discuss their body image concerns in a direct
face-to-face manner (Pope, Phillips, & Olivardia,
2000). Finding ways to ease into such a discussion
would be important, and the prior establishment of
trust and rapport would be critical. Since this
research highlights the gap in our knowledge
about how men’s body image and self-esteem are
affected by media images, counselors working
with men can also begin to increase their aware-
ness and the awareness of their clients through
media-literacy psychoeducation (Yamamiya et al.,
2005) to increasingly stereotyped images of men
presented by popular media.
In a society such as ours that is consistently
dominated by TV, magazines and other media,
social influence will likely remain a significant
factor in men’s self-evaluations. It is hoped the
research presented may help pave the road for
much deeper investigation into the realm of male
esteem. Ongoing research in this area may help
investigators better understand the relationships
among social influence, self-regard, and behavior.
References
Agliata, D., & Tantleff-Dunn, S. (2004). The impact
of media exposure on males’ body image. Journal
of Social and Clinical Psychology, 23, 7–22.
169EFFECTS OF MEDIA ON MEN

Baghurst, T., Hollander, D. B., Nardella, B., & Haff,
G. G. (2006). Change in sociocultural ideal male
physique: An examination of past and present ac-
tion figures. Body Image, 3, 87–91.
Bartlett, C., Harris, R., Smith, S., & Bonds-Raacke, J.
(2005). Action figures and men. Sex Roles, 53,
877– 885.
Birkeland, R., Thompson, J. K., Herbozo, S., Roeh-
rig, M., Cafri, G., & Van Den Berg, P. (2005).
Media exposure, mood, and body image dissatis-
faction: An experimental test of person versus
product priming. Body Image, 2, 53– 61.
Bjorntorp, P. (1993). Visceral obesity: A “civiliza-
tion syndrome.” Obesity Research, 1, 206 –222.
Braun, D. L., Sunday, S. R., Huang, A., & Halmi,
K. A. (1999). More males seek treatment for eating
disorders. International Journal of Eating Disor-
ders, 25, 415– 424.
Brown, J., Novick, N., Lord, K., & Richards, J.
(1992). When gulliver travels: Social context, psy-
chological closeness, and self-appraisals. Journal
of Personality and Social Psychology, 62, 717–
727.
Cattarin, J. A., Thompson, J. K., Thomas, C., &
Williams, R. (2000). Body image, mood, and tele-
vised images of attractiveness: The role of social
comparison. Journal of Social and Clinical Psy-
chology, 19, 220 –239.
Cherlin, A. (1992). Marriage, divorce, remarriage.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Cochran, S. V. (2001). Assessing and treating depres-
sion in men. In G. R. Brooks & G. E. Good (Eds.),
The new handbook of psychotherapy and counsel-
ing with men: A comprehensive guide to settings,
problems, and treatment approaches (pp. 444 –
463). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer.
Englar-Carlson, M. (2006). Masculine norms and the
therapy process. In M. Englar-Carlson & M. A.
Stevens (Eds.), In the room with men: A casebook
of therapeutic change (pp. 13– 47). Washington,
DC: American Psychological Association.
Festinger, L. A. (1954). A theory of social compari-
son processes. Human Relations, 7, 117–140.
Foddy, M., & Crundall, I. (1993). A field study of
social comparison processes in ability evaluation.
British Journal of Social Psychology, 32, 287–305.
Franzoi, S., & Shields, S. (1984). The body esteem
scale: Multidimensional structure and sex differ-
ences in a college population. Journal of Person-
ality Assessment, 48, 173–178.
Franzoi, S. L. (1994). Further evidence of the reli-
ability and validity of the Body Esteem Scale.
Journal of Clinical Psychology, 50, 237–239.
Franzoi, S. L., & Herzog, M. E. (1996). The Body
Esteem Scale: A convergent and discriminant va-
lidity study. Journal of Personality Assess-
ment, 50, 24 –31.
Frederick, D. A., Fessler, D. M. T., & Haselton,
M. G. (2005). Do representations of male muscu-
larity differ in men’s and women’s magazines?
Body Image, 2, 81– 86.
Good, G. E., & Sherrod, N. B. (2001). Men’s prob-
lems and effective treatments: Theory and empir-
ical support. In G. R. Brooks & G. E. Good (Eds.),
The new handbook of psychotherapy and counsel-
ing with men (Vol. 1, pp. 22–40). San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass.
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, 3, 1–16.
Grogan, S., Williams, Z., & Conner, M. (1996). The
effects of viewing same-gender photographic mod-
els on body-esteem. Psychology of Women Quar-
terly, 20, 569 –575.
Gulas, C. S., & McKeage, K. (2000). Extending
social comparison: An examination of the unin-
tended consequences of idealized advertising im-
agery. Journal of Advertising, 29, 17–28.
Harrison, K., & Cantor, J. (1997). The relationship
between media consumption and eating disorders.
Journal of Communication, 47, 40 – 67.
Hatoum, I. J., & Belle, D. (2004). Mags and abs:
Media consumption and bodily concerns in men.
Sex Roles, 51, 397– 407.
Hausenblas, H. A., Janelle, C. M., Gardner, R. E., &
Hagan, A. L. (2002). Effects of exposure to phy-
sique slides on the emotional responses of men and
women. Sex Roles, 47, 569 –575.
Hawkins, J., Richards, P., Granley, H. M., & Hagan,
A. L. (2004). The impact of exposure to the thin
ideal image on women. Eating Disorders: The
Journal of Treatment and Prevention, 12, 35–50.
Heatherton, T., & Polivy, J. (1991). Development
and validation of a scale for measuring state self-
esteem. Journal of Personality and Social Psy-
chology, 60, 895–910.
Henderson-King, D., Henderson-King, E., &
Hoffman, L. (2001). Media images and women’s
self-evaluations: Social context and importance of
attractiveness as moderators. Society for Personal-
ity and Social Psychology, 27, 1407–1416.
Henderson-King, E., & Henderson-King, D. (1997).
Media effects on women’s body esteem: Social
and individual difference factors. Journal of Ap-
plied Social Psychology, 27, 399 – 417.
Johnson, M., Jay, S., Shoup, B., & Rickert, V.
(1989). Anabolic steroid use by male adolescents.
Pediatrics, 83, 921–924.
Johnson, P. J., McCreary, D. R., & Mills, J. S.
(2007). Effects of exposure to objectified media
images on men’s psychological well-being. Psy-
chology of Men & Masculinity, 8, 95–102.
170 HOBZA, WALKER, YAKUSHKO, AND PEUGH

Leit, R. A., Gray, J. J., & Pope., H. G. (2002). The
media’s representation of the ideal male body: A
cause for muscle dysmorphia? The International
Journal of Eating Disorders, 31, 335–338.
Leit, R. A., Pope, H. G., & Gray, J. J. (2001). Cul-
tural expectations of muscularity in men: The evo-
lution of Playgirl centerfolds. International Jour-
nal of Eating Disorders, 29, 90 –93.
Lokken, K. L., Worthy, S. L., & Trautmann, J.
(2004). Examining the links among magazine pref-
erence, levels of awareness and internalization of
sociocultural appearance standards, and presence
of eating-disordered symptoms in college women.
Family & Consumer Sciences Research Jour-
nal, 32, 361–381.
McCreary, D. R., & Sasse, D. K. (2000). An explo-
ration of the drive for muscularity in adolescent
boys and girls. Journal of American College
Health, 48, 297–304.
Monro, F., & Huon, G. (2005). Media portrayed
idealized images, body shame, and appearance
anxiety. International Journal of Eating Disor-
ders, 38, 85–90.
Nemeroff, C. J., Stein, R., Diehl, N., & Smilack, K.
(1994). From the Cleavers to the Clintons: Role
choices and body orientation as reflected in mag-
azine article content. International Journal of Eat-
ing Disorders, 16, 167–176.
O’Dea, J., & Abraham, S. (2002). Eating and exer-
cise disorders in young college men. Journal of
American College Health, 50, 273–278.
O’Neil, J. M., Helms, B. J., Gable, R. K., David, L.,
& Wrightsman, L. S. (1986). Gender-role conflict
scale: College men’s fear of femininity. Sex
Roles, 14, 335–350.
Oppenheimer, V. (1997). Women’s employment and
the gain to marriage: The specialization and trad-
ing model. Annual Review of Sociology, 23, 431–
453.
Petrie, T. A., Austin, L. J., Crowley, B. J., Helm-
camp, A., Johnson, C. E., Lester. R. et al. (1996).
Sociocultural expectations of attractiveness for
males. Sex Roles, 35, 581– 602.
Pope, H. G., Gruber, A. J., Choi, P., Olivardia, R., &
Phillips, K. A. (1997). Muscle dysmorphia: An
underrecognized form of body dysmorphic disor-
der. Psychosomatics, 38, 548 –557.
Pope, H. G., Olivardia, R., Gruber, A., &
Borowiecki, J. (1999). Evolving ideals of male
body image as seen through action toys. Interna-
tional Journal of Eating Disorders, 26, 65–72.
Pope, H. G., Phillips, K. A., & Olivardia, R. (2000).
The Adonis complex: How to identify, treat, and
prevent body obsession in men and boys. New
York: Touchstone Books.
Posavac, H. D., Posavac, S. S., & Posavac, E. J.
(1998). Exposure to media images of female at-
tractiveness and concern with body weight among
young women. Sex Roles, 38, 187–201.
Rash, P. D. (2004). Male body satisfaction, physical
self-concept, and the use of nutritional supple-
ments, anabolic steroids and compulsive exercise.
Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B:
The Sciences & Engineering, 65, 3139.
Ridgeway, R. T., & Tylka, T. L. (2005). College
men’s perceptions of ideal body composition and
shape. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 6, 209 –
220.
Rosenberg, M. (1986). Self-concept from middle
childhood through adolescence. In J. Suls & A. G.
Greenwald (Eds.), Psychological perspectives on
the self (Vol. 3, pp. 107–135). Hillsdale, NJ: Erl-
baum.
Schooler, D., & Ward, L. M. (2006). Average Joes:
Men’s relationships with media, real bodies, and
sexuality. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 7,
27– 41.
Singh, D. (1995). Female judgment of male attrac-
tiveness and desirability for relationships: Role of
waist-to-hip ratio and financial status. Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 1089–
1101.
Smolak, L., Murnen, S. K., & Thompson, J. K.
(2005). Sociocultural influences and muscle build-
ing in adolescent boys. Psychology of Men & Mas-
culinity, 6, 227–239.
Spitzer, B. A., Henderson, K. A., & Zivian, M. T.
(1999). Gender differences in population versus
media body sizes: A comparison over four de-
cades. Sex Roles, 40, 545–565.
Stice, E., Mazotti, L., Krebs, M., & Martin, S. (1998).
Predictors of adolescent dieting behaviors: A lon-
gitudinal study. Psychology of Addictive Behav-
iors, 12, 195–205.
Stice, E., Schupak-Neuberg, E., Shaw, H., & Stein,
R. (1994). Relation of media exposure to eating
disorder symptomatology: An examination of me-
diating mechanisms. Journal of Abnormal Psy-
chology, 103, 836 – 840.
Thompson, J. K., Coovert, M. D., Richards, K. J.,
Johnson, S., & Cattarin, J. (1995). Development of
body image, eating disturbance, and general psy-
chological functioning in female adolescents: Co-
variance structure modeling and longitudinal in-
vestigations. International Journal of Eating Dis-
orders, 18, 221–236.
Thompson, J. K., & Stice, E. (2001). Thin-ideal in-
ternalization: Mounting evidence for a new risk
factor for body-image disturbance and eating pa-
thology. Current Directions in Psychological Sci-
ence, 10, 181–183.
Tiggemann, M. (2003). Media exposure, body dissat-
isfaction and disordered eating: Television and
Magazines are not the same! European Eating
Disorders Review, 11, 418 – 430.
171EFFECTS OF MEDIA ON MEN

Tiggemann, M., & McGill, B. (2004). The role of
social comparison in the effect of magazine adver-
tisements on women’s mood and body dissatisfac-
tion. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychol-
ogy, 23, 23– 44.
Wade, J. T. (2000). Evolutionary theory and self-
perception: Sex differences in body esteem predic-
tors of self-perceived physical and sexual attrac-
tiveness and self-esteem. International Journal of
Psychology, 35, 36 – 45.
Wells, B., & Zinn, M. B. (2004). The benefits of
marriage reconsidered. Journal of Sociology &
Social Welfare, 31, 59 – 80.
Wiseman, C. V., Sunday, S. R., & Becker, A. E.
(2005). Impact of the media on adolescent body
image. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of
North America, 14, 453– 471.
Wood, J. V., & Wilson, A. E., (2003). How important
is social comparison? In M. R. Leary & J. P.
Tangney (Eds.), Handbook of self and identity (pp.
344 –366). New York: The Guilford Press.
Wright, S., Grogan, S., & Hunter, G. (2000). Moti-
vations for anabolic steroid use among bodybuild-
ers. Journal of Health Psychology, 5, 566 –571.
Yamamiya, Y., Cash, T. F., Melnyk, S. E., Posavac,
H. D., & Posavac, S. S. (2005). Women’s exposure
to thin-and-beautiful media images: Body image
effects of media-ideal internalization and impact-
reduction interventions. Body Image, 2, 74 – 80.
Received January 29, 2005
Revision received January 19, 2007
Accepted January 22, 2007 䡲
172 HOBZA, WALKER, YAKUSHKO, AND PEUGH