SOCIOCULTURAL INFLUENCE AND APPEARANCE-BASED REJECTION SENSITIVITY AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS

The present research examined the influence of parents, peers, and the media in predicting college students' Appearance-based Rejection Sensitivity (Appearance-RS)—the degree to which individuals anxiously expect to be rejected based on their physical appearance. Given that women are socialized to be more appearance-focused than men, women were hypothesized to show greater Appearance-RS in response to sociocultural influences than men. A survey was administered to 220 students at a large public university in the United States. Overall, women showed greater sensitivity to appearance rejection than men. Specifically, perceptions of peer conditional acceptance based on appearance were associated with Appearance-RS among women. In addition, the more women and men internalized media ideals and felt media pressure to look attractive, the more sensitive they were to appearance rejection. No significant effects of parental influence were found. Thus, peer conditional acceptance predicted Appearance-RS among women, and media influence predicted Appearance-RS among women and men.     

Predicting interest in cosmetic surgery: Interactive effects of appearance-based rejection sensitivity and negative appearance comments

This study investigated effects of appearance-based rejection sensitivity (Appearance-RS) – the dispositional tendency to anxiously expect rejection based on one's appearance – in a sample of 133 American college students. Participants were randomly assigned to write an essay about either a negative or positive appearance comment they had received in the past. Compared to participants with lower Appearance-RS, those with higher Appearance-RS felt more rejected and expressed greater interest in cosmetic surgery after recalling a negative versus positive appearance comment. Content analysis of the essays revealed that negative appearance comments were most often made in reference to one's body weight/shape/size; positive appearance comments were most often made in reference to one's overall appearance. Peers/friends/romantic partners were the most frequently cited source of both positive and negative appearance comments. Overall, this research suggests that the interaction between the person and the situation is important to consider when predicting cosmetic surgery interest.     

Fiction, Fashion, and Function Revisited: An Introduction to the Special Issue on Gendered Body Image, Part II

Continuing the theme of our special issue (Calogero and Tylka, Sex Roles, 63, 1-5. 2010), we present a collection of novel studies that detail how gendered experiences of the body constrain and impact body image. Specifically, Part II of the special issue explores gendered body image from vantage points of intersectionality and diversity—importantly recognizing that culturally-prescribed appearance ideals for women and men combine with multiple individual variables and identities (e.g., gender role identification, developmental stage, culture and cultural identification, family environment, sexual orientation, and personality) to mold body image. Each study advances our understanding of how individual difference and identity variables, such as the above, shape the experience of gendered body messages in western societies. To facilitate the presentation of the studies, we organized this research into three streams. The first stream explores how gendered messages are inscribed onto the body in childhood and speaks to the stability of gendered body image throughout adolescence and adulthood. The second stream investigates macro- (culture) and micro- (family environment) level body and appearance ideals that tend to shape body-related self-perceptions. The third stream illustrates the complex connection between gendered body ideals, the adoption of these ideals as a personal standard, and behaviors geared toward altering the body to become more consistent with these ideals. Part II concludes with a discussion of how these papers may be used to promote positive body image for girls/women and boys/men.     

Mafia Perception in Relation to Sicilian Teenagers' Moral Disengagement and Value Orientation the Role of Educational and Family Contexts

This article aims at providing a critical review of the main studies about Mafia in a theoretical psychological and socio-anthropological framework, and investigating the perception of the phenomenon in relation to moral disengagement and values orientation in two groups of Sicilian teenagers, living in contexts with different Mafia density. Today Mafia is represented as a socio-psychological phenomenon, which has managed to make culture, community, family, and individuals coincide; it is founded on an individualistic social conception according to which violence is the strongest form of self-achievement.     

The Sociocultural Attitudes Toward Appearance Questionnaire (SATAQ-3): reliability and normative comparisons of eating disordered patients

The Sociocultural Attitudes Toward Appearance Questionnaire-3 (SATAQ-3) is a measure of one’s endorsement of societal appearance ideals. The measure has received extensive evaluation in normative samples, but only minimal evaluation in clinical groups. In this study, 440 patients with eating disorders completed the SATAQ-3. Internal consistencies were excellent for the four SATAQ-3 subscales. Groups did not differ by diagnosis on the Information subscale, however, individuals with bulimia nervosa scored higher than individuals with both subtypes of anorexia nervosa (restricting and binge eating/purging) on levels of Internalization-General and Internalization-Athlete. The findings provide informative normative data, along with preliminary results indicative of the potentially greater role of media messages and images in the formation and/or maintenance of bulimia nervosa than anorexia nervosa.     

Measurement of Feminist Identity and Attitudes Over the Past Half Century: A Critical Review and Call for Further Research

Sex Roles - The study of feminism has had a long and complicated history in psychological research over the past half century. Although a number of instruments have been designed to assess...     

A social psychological study of ethnonyms: cognitive representation of the in-group and intergroup hostility

Ethnonyms (M. G. Levin & L. P. Potapov, 1964; from the Greek roots meaning "a national group" and "name") are the names an in-group uses to distinguish itself from out-groups. There has been no social psychological research to date exploring the effects of ethnonyms. The authors report the results of 3 studies examining the potential effects of various features of ethnonyms on intergroup behavior. Analyses of archival data indicate that among indigenous African cultures (Study 1), indigenous Native American cultures (Study 2), and African Americans (Study 3), intergroup hostility was greater among in-groups characterized by less complex ethnonyms. Discussion considers the implications of these results and suggests new directions for research in the social psychological study of ethnonyms.     

Body Size Stereotyping and Internalization of the Thin Ideal in Preschool Girls

Despite the multitude of negative outcomes associated with thin-ideal internalization for girls and women living in westernized societies, we know very little about how early in development thin-ideal internalization occurs or how it might manifest in very young children. This cross-sectional investigation assessed body size stereotyping and thin-ideal internalization in 55 preschool girls (ages 3–5 years) from the Southwestern U.S. using a new method of assessment that is more sensitive to the cognitive developmental stage of this age group. Results suggest that girls as young as 3 years old are already emotionally invested in the thin ideal. Discussion considers moving beyond the demonstration of fat stigmatization per se to measure how personally invested preschool children may be in beauty ideals.     

The role of stranger harassment experiences in college women's perceived possibility of gender crimes happening to them

The present study examined the relation between stranger harassment experiences and college women's perceived possibility of gender and nongender crimes happening to them. Undergraduate women attending a British university completed self‐report measures of stranger harassment and self‐objectification (i.e., self‐surveillance and body shame), and then evaluated four vignettes of various crimes on the severity of the crime and the likelihood of the crime happening to them. Results indicated that stranger harassment is a common experience for these British university women. Serial mediation analyses revealed a direct effect of stranger harassment on perceived likelihood of rape and perceived likelihood of intimate partner violence, and an indirect effect of stranger harassment on rape through self‐surveillance, whereas stranger harassment and indices of self‐objectification were unrelated to perceived likelihood of human trafficking and burglary. Discussion is centered on the role of objectifying experiences in perceptions of gender crimes where sexual and physical harm to women's bodies is emphasized, and the potential impact for those women on the receiving end of unwanted sexual objectification.