Internalization of Appearance Ideals and Cosmetic Surgery Attitudes: A Test of the Tripartite Influence Model of Body Image

The Tripartite Influence Model of Body Image was adapted to examine the role of body satisfaction, perceived pressure to have cosmetic surgery, and internalization of societal appearance ideals in understanding cosmetic surgery attitudes. Participants were 2,048 men (N?=?445) and women (N?=?1,603) American college students from Florida who completed a range of measures that assessed levels of body satisfaction, perceived appearance pressures, internalization of appearance standards, and cosmetic surgery attitudes. A structural equation model was used to test hypothesized relations independently for men and women. Results indicated a moderate-good fit to the data, with both internalization and body satisfaction mediating the effect of perceived pressures on cosmetic surgery attitudes. Invariance testing revealed significant differences in pathway estimates between samples of men and women. The findings offer further support for the Tripartite Influence Model of Body Image and indicate potential factors that may influence cosmetic surgery attitudes.     

Mechanisms for enhancing the credibility of an adviser: prepayment and aligned incentives

We tested the effectiveness of prepayment for advice and aligned incentives as mechanisms for enhancing trust in unfamiliar advisers in decision‐making under uncertainty. Participants were low‐income Zimbabweans who played two rounds of the Monty Hall three‐door game. In round 1, participants who purchased advice were significantly more likely to follow advice for how to win the game than were participants who received free advice. In round 2, the apparent effectiveness of advisers' suggestions in round 1 moderated participants' propensity to follow advice. If the round 1 advice appeared wrong, the credibility enhancing benefits of prepayment diminished. If the advice appeared right, the benefits of prepayment maintained. Hypotheses with regard to the benefits of aligned incentives received only weak support. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Day-to-day body-image states: prospective predictors of intra-individual level and variability

Most body-image research has focused on the trait level of body-image evaluation, often neglecting the momentary fluctuations many people experience in everyday life. The present prospective study investigated whether theory-relevant body-image measures, perfectionistic self-presentation, and eating attitudes would predict average day-to-day body-image levels and their intra-individual variability. A convenience sample consisted of 121 women from two universities. In Phase 1 of the study, participants completed an online battery of selected body-image and personality questionnaires. In Phase 2, participants went online to complete the dependent measure, the Body Image States Scale, once per evening over 10 days. As hypothesized, more favorable body-image state levels were associated with less investment in appearance for self-worth, less body-image disturbance, fewer body-image cognitive distortions, less disturbed eating attitudes, and lower body mass. Moreover, greater day-to-day body-image variability was predicted by greater psychological investment in appearance, more body-image cognitive distortions, and higher perfectionistic self-presentation. Implications and future directions for research are discussed.     

Body weight and body image among college women: perception, cognition, and affect

This study examined the relations between body weight and multiple parameters of body image in a nonclinical sample. Thirty-six female undergraduate students with stable body weights served as subjects; 12 were underweight, 12 were normal weight, and 12 were overweight, as determined using recent normative tables. Each subject responded to a general weight information questionnaire and to the Body-Self Relations Questionnaire, a standardized instrument assessing affective, cognitive, and behavioral components of appearance-related body image. A newly developed apparatus and procedure for estimating body size, the Body Image Detection Device, was utilized for perceptual and cognitive measures of body image. Each subject estimated and also subjectively appraised the width of her own body at five points and that of a realistic female mannequin. A caliper was used to record actual widths, and a standard laboratory scale and rule measured weight and height. The general finding of the study was that the perceptual, affective, and cognitive components of body image differed as a function of body weight, but the nature of the differences varied with the measure employed. The pattern of results for the perceptual measure suggest a cautious view of its reliability and validity. The multidimensional approach of our study, in marked contrast to earlier fractionated studies, offers a more integrated perspective on body image and provides new directions for future research.     

Losing Hair,Losing Points?: The Effects of Male Pattern Baldness on Social Impression Formation1

In the voluminous research on the psychology of physical appearance, the psychosocial effects of common male pattern baldness (MPB) have been largely neglected. The present experiment examined the influence of MPB on the initial social perceptions of men by both sexes. Eighteen pairs of photographic slides of balding and nonbalding control men were matched on the actual age, race, and other physical attributes of the men. In a first-impressions context, 54 men and 54 women rated these stimulus persons on seven dimensions of social perception. MPB caused generally less favorable initial impressions, including lower ratings of physical attractiveness, judgments of less desirable personal and interpersonal characteristics, and misperceptions of age. The moderating effects of perceivers' sex and age and stimulus persons' age were examined, mostly without consequence. The baldness stereotype was substantially attenuated when physical attractiveness was statistically controlled.     

Current and vestigial effects of overweight among women: Fear of fat,attitudinal body image,and eating behaviors

College females completed multiple, standardized measures of their fear of fat, attitudinal body image, and binge eating and dieting. Situational weigh-in measures were taken, including latency to get on the scale and anxiety while being weighed. Based on current weight and a structured weight history questionnaire, three groups were constructed: normal-weight subjects without an overweight history (NW; n=24), normal-weight subjects who were formerly overweight (FOW; n=16), and those currently overweight (OW; n=24). Group comparisons revealed, as expected, that OW females, relative to their NW peers, had more weight-related anxieties, more negative body experiences, and more frequent past-year dieting. Consistent with Stunkard's original proposition, the FOW group regarded their bodies as fatter and less affectively satisfying and expressed more weigh-in anxiety than NW participants. Currently normal-weight FOW subjects seldom differed from the currently OW individuals. Clinical and research implications are considered, particularly with regard to the psychological sequelae of weight loss.     

Body-image thought processes: The development and initial validation of the Assessment of Body-Image Cognitive Distortions

No measures exist that specifically assess cognitive distortions related to body image per se, despite their theoretical and clinical significance. Most cognitive-distortion scales pertain to depression, anxiety, or eating disorders. Accordingly, the 37-item Assessment of Body-Image Cognitive Distortions (ABCD) was developed and validated in this study with a sample of 263 college women. The ABCD samples eight types of distorted thinking related to how persons process information about their physical appearance. Two 18-item parallel forms of the unidimensional measure were also constructed. All forms were highly internally consistent and relatively free from socially desirable responding. Convergent validity for all ABCD forms was established using several standardized measures of body image and eating attitudes. Multiple regression analysis showed that the ABCD was predictable from body-image evaluation, investment, and overweight preoccupation. The ABCD uniquely predicted body-image quality of life and disturbed eating attitudes above and beyond other body-image predictors. Heavier women and White women were more prone to body-image cognitive distortions than were thinner women and Black women. Finally, limitations of this preliminary study, directions for future research, and clinical implications are discussed.