Does Size Matter? The Impact of Body Perfect Ideals in the Media. Helga Dittmar

Transcription

1 Does Size Matter? The Impact of Body Perfect Ideals in the Media Helga Dittmar

2 Why worry? Media models body size versus reality Gap between body ideal actual body Exposure unavoidable (3,000+ ads a day) Media models construct reality real Unhealthy and abnormal body ideal Biologically inappropriate Artificial

3 Healthy and unhealthy Underweight Normal Overweight Obese Media model Average woman BMI Weight relative to height Body Mass Index (BMI)

4 Body Image & Well-Being Body dissatisfaction Physical Health Unhealthy body-shaping behaviours Extreme dieting, disordered eating Cosmetic surgery Abuse of medication & drugs Extreme exercising Mental Health Negative affect, clinical disorders Negative self-evaluation Depression Eating disorders Body Dysmorphic Disorder

5 Meta analyses 25 experiments Women Body dissatisfaction: d = -.31 (Groesz, Murnen, & Levine, IJED, 2002) 49 experiments, 28 corr. studies Body dissatisfaction: d = -.28 Eating behaviors: d = -.30 (Grabe, Ward, & Hyde, Psych Bull, 2008) 10 experiments, 15 corr. studies Negative body image: d = -.22 exp ; d = -.19 corr (Barlett, Vowels, & Saucier, JSCP, 2008) 15 experiments Men Body dissatisfaction: d = -.43 (Blond, Body Image, 2008)

6 Positive Body Image No harm 0 The big picture Women (2005) Women (2008) Men (2008) Men (2008) Negative Body Image Effect size Body Dissatisfaction Eating

7 State of the art? Plenty of evidence that body perfect exposure makes individuals feel bad about their bodies Negative exposure effects may be stronger in adolescents than adults What about children?

8 Media Exposure Model Psychological Mechanism (mediator) Self-Discrepancy Theory (Higgins, 1987) Gaps between actual and ideal self as cause of negative affect Chronic self-beliefs vs. acute activation* Specific SDs related to body perfect ideal Activation of ideal-body SDs leads to negative body-focused affect (body dissatisfaction) *Dittmar & Halliwell, 2005, 2008

9 Process Model Media Exposure Body Perfect Ideals Mediator Activation of ideal-body self-discrepancies Outcome Body-focused Negative affect

10 Experiment 1 Dolls embody female body perfect ideal Exposure experiment with images of dolls 5-8-year-old girls First exposure experiment with such young girls Dittmar, Halliwell, & Ive (2006) Developmental Psych Does exposure to images of dolls cause actual-ideal body-size SDs?

11 Experiment 1 Girls heard story about Mira Picture book featuring images of Thin dolls (Barbie) OR Average-size dolls (Emme) OR No dolls (control baseline)

12 Picture book with thin doll

13 Picture book average-size doll Taken from Dittmar (2007), image reproduced with kind permission of Tonner Inc. & Emme Model Agency

14 Picture book without doll

15 Experiment 1 Girls heard story about Mira Picture book featuring images of Thin dolls (Barbie) OR Average-size dolls (Emme) OR No dolls (control baseline) After exposure, measures of Actual body size Ideal body size

16 Actual vs. Ideal Body = 1

17 Body-size discrepancy years 6 years Girls actual-ideal body-size discrepancy significantly higher after thin dolls than other images Neutral Emme Barbie 7 year-olds no effect

18 Process Model in Adults Cover story. Advertising effectiveness Stimuli. Sets of advertisements identical in background, product, slogan, except Presence of idealised media model OR absence of model (control) Measures (a) Self-Discrepancy Index (SDI) Dittmar et al., 1996, Acta Psych; Halliwell & Dittmar, 2006, PSPB (b) Body-Focused Negative Affect (BFNA) adaptation of PASTAS, cf. Dittmar, 2008, Book

19 Ad with thin model* *research supported by ESRC, see Dittmar & Halliwell (2005)

20 Ad without model (control)

21 Experiment 2 Exposure to ultra-thin models significantly stronger BFNA (β =.21; p <.05) Exposure to ultra-thin models.21* Body-focused Negative affect Dittmar & Halliwell, 2007, APS

22 Experiment 2 Exposure to ultra-thin models significantly stronger BFNA (β =.21; p <.05) Body-related self-discrepancy activation mediates this link (reduced to β =.09; ns) Full mediation Exposure to ultra-thin models Activation of weight-related self-discrepancies.30*.52*** Body-focused Negative affect Dittmar & Halliwell, 2007, APS

23 Ad with muscular model

24 Ad without model (control)

25 Experiment 3 Exposure to muscular models significantly stronger BFNA (β =.27; p <.05) Ideal-body self-discrepancy activation fully mediates this link (β =.14; ns) Exposure to muscular models Activation of muscularity-related self-discrepancies.36***.39** Body-focused Negative affect Dittmar, Phillips, & Halliwell (in preparation), Study 3

26 Process Model Media Exposure Body Perfect Ideals Mediator Activation of ideal-body self-discrepancies Outcome Body-focused Negative affect Model applicable to both women & men Good support for process (full mediation) Individual differences in vulnerability

27 New Media & Adolescence Magazine advertisements (typically studied) Media consumption changed Music videos* Computer games** Teenage drama TV*** Exposure to Body Perfect Ideals causes greater body dissatisfaction Important addition: Direct effect on eating behaviour *Bell, Lawton, & Dittmar (2007), Dittmar, Barker, & Bond (2010) Moorehouse, & Rees (2010) ***Stonebridge & Dittmar (2010) **Dittmar, Bond,

28 Do we need perfect models? Advertisers claim thin models sell Evidence? Our research = first systematic studies to examine claim Experiments assessed advertising effectiveness

29 Advertising effectiveness Thin models Average models

30 Advertising effectiveness Thin models Average models Average-size models = Thin models True for different products personal care make-up diet foods

31 Therefore Perceived advertising effectiveness not compromised by average-size models No need for advertisers to use thin models Average-size models no negative impact on body image (Dittmar & Howard, 2004) Use alternative models!

32 Don t need thin models to sell moisturiser

33 What can we do? Intervention (e.g., in schools) Critical media analysis Increase body confidence Other sources of self-worth Advertising and media policy Use of models with an average body size Diversity of body shapes Kitemark airbrushed models (clear labels)

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37 Publications. Bell, B. T., Lawson, R., & Dittmar, H. (2007). The impact of thin models in music videos on adolescent girls body dissatisfaction. Body Image, 4, Dittmar, H. (2005). Vulnerability Factors and Processes Linking Sociocultural Pressures and Body Dissatisfaction: An Introduction to the Second Special Issue on Body Image. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 24, Dittmar, H. (2008). Consumer culture, identity, and well-being: The search for the good life and body perfect. European Monographs in Social Psychology (Series editor: Rupert Brown). London: Psychology Press. Dittmar, H. (2009). Do Body Perfect Ideals in the Media have a Negative Impact on Body Image and Behaviors? Factors and Processes Related to Self and Identity. Editorial note for Special Issue on Media, Body Image and Eating Behaviors, Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology. Dittmar, H. Barker, L. & Bond, R. (2010). Who is taking the rap? The impact of body ideals and Rap and Indie music videos on adolescent boys body dissatisfaction. Paper presented at Appearance Matters, Bristol, June. Dittmar, H., Bond, R., & Moorehouse, A., & Rees, J. (2010). Computer games increase adolescent boys body dissatisfaction. Manuscript in preparation. Dittmar, H. & Halliwell, E. (2005). The role of self-beliefs in women s responses to idealised media images. ESRC report at Dittmar, H., Halliwell, E., & Ive, S. (2006). Does Barbie make girls want to be thin? The effect of experimental exposure to images of dolls on the body image of 5-8- year-old girls. Developmental Psychology, 42, Dittmar, H. & Howard, S. (2004a). Ideal-body internalization and social comparison tendency as moderators of thin media models impact on women s bodyfocused anxiety. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 23, Dittmar, H. & Howard, S. (2004b). Professional hazards? The impact of model s 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, Grabe, S., Ward, L. M., & Hyde, J. S. (2008). The role of the media in body image concerns among women: A meta-analysis of experimental and correlational studies. Psychological Bulletin, 134, 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, Grogan, S. (2007). Body image: Understanding body dissatisfaction in men, women and children, 2nd Edition. London: Routledge. Halliwell, E., Dittmar, H., & Orsborn, A. (2007). The effects of exposure to muscular male models amongst men: Exploring the moderating role of gym use and exercise motivation. Body Image, 4, Halliwell, E. & Dittmar, H. (2004). Does size matter? The impact of model s body size on advertising effectiveness and women s body-focused anxiety. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 23, Special issue on Media and Body Image. Halliwell, E., Dittmar, H. & Howe, J. (2005). The impact of ideal media images on advertising effectiveness and body-focused anxiety in women with an eating disorder history. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 15, Halliwell, E. & Dittmar, H. (2005). The role of self-improvement and self-evaluation motives in social comparisons with idealised female bodies in the media. Body Image, 2, Stonebridge, J. & Dittmar, H. (2010). The impact of realistic and fictional teenage TV drama on adolescents body image and eating. Unpublished final year dissertation, University of Sussex. h.e.dittmar@sussex.ac.uk

38 Thank you!