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RESEARCHPOSTER PRESENTATION DESIGN © 2012 www. PosterPresentations.com Purpose and Hypotheses This study examined the effect of idealized media images on the participants’ self-esteem and body image. It was predicted that a reduction in reported self-esteem scores would occur due to exposure to images of idealized (compared with a neutral control) female and male models. The research evaluated levels of self-esteem and perceptions about physical appearance in relation to their reported levels post image viewing. A third hypothesis predicted an inverse relationship between these two survey measurements. Previous Literature Several studies have been conducted to research the effect of the common media portrayal of the idealized, perfect body on self consciousness. The ubiquitous portrayal of the “almighty” male physique and the “Barbi- esque” female body have changed the way we view each other and compare ourselves (London & Rattan et al., 2012). Negative effects of these extreme images of femininity and masculinity have been found (Downs & Smith, 2010). METHOD IN TRODUCTION Participants 49 undergraduate students from PSY 302W Research Methods classes at Northern Arizona University. Participants included 33 females and 16 males, ranging in age from 18-38 years old (M = 21.82, SD = 4.10). Materials • Two slideshows: one depicting idealized images of men and women within the media (models, etc.) mixed with neutral images (animals etc.) and the other depicting only neutral images. • One survey, combining the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and Image Fixation Questionnaire. • A memory recall test as deception. Procedure Participants were shown either a slideshow depicting neutral images or idealized images. As a deceptive strategy, participants were told that they were participating in a memory recall experiment in which they would be shown a variety of advertisements and then given a filler task before a recall test. After being shown the slideshows, they completed the filler task followed by the memory recall test. The idealized conditions viewed the respective slideshows then participants were given ten minutes to complete the surveys given. Participants were then given the memory recall assessment. Lastly, participants were given a manipulation check and debriefed. F IGURES AND TABLES Idealized Female ADVERTISEMENT EXAMPLES R ESULTS Hypothesis 1 and 2: Exposure to idealized media images would result in lower mean self-esteem scores and higher mean body-consciousness scores. Findings: A one-way ANOVArevealed non-significance, F(2,46) = .162, p = .851 (self-esteem); F(2,46) = .603, p = .552 (image fixation). Group means between conditions do not appear to have been affected by exposure to idealized images. Hypothesis 3: A predicted relationship existed between lowered mean scores on the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and increased mean scores on the Image Fixation Questionnaire. Findings: A medium-strength correlation, r(47) = -.44, p = .002. As predicted, lower mean scores on the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale were associated with higher mean scores on the Image Fixation Questionnaire. DISCUS SION This research predicted that participants would have lower self-esteem and higher body self-consciousness after being exposed to uncommonly beautiful media images. The results showed insignificant findings, thus the hypotheses were not supported. There are some limitations within this study, such as exposure time and the sample used. The sample used were predominantly Psychology majors. Psychology examines the issue of such social comparisons and could therefore produce sample biases. Future studies should conduct longitudinal studies including participants exposed to the images for longer, more than once and over a period of time. REF ERENCES Davies, S. (2007). Images of sexual stereotypes in rap videos and the health of African American female adolescents. Journal of Women's Health (15409996), 16(8), 1157-1164. doi:10.1089/jwh.2007.0429 Downs, E., & Smith, S. (2010). Keeping abreast of hypersexuality:A video game character content analysis. Sex Roles, 62(11), 721-733. doi: 10.1007/s11199-009-9637-1 London, B., Rattan,A., Downey, G., Romero-Canyas, R., & Tyson, D. (2012). Gender-based rejection sensitivity and academic self- silencing in women. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 102(5), 961-979. doi:10.1037/a0026615 Peterson, S. H., Wingood, G. M., DiClemente, R. J., Harrington, K., & Richmond, V .P ., & McCroskey, J.C. (2004). Nonverbal behavior in interpersonal relations (5 th Ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Smiler,A. P . (2006). Living the image: A quantitative approach to delineating masculinities. Sex Roles, 55(9), 621-632. doi:10.1007/ s11199- 006-9118-8 Sara Byerrum, Rebecca Grafstrom, Matthew Moroson & Alexandra Vlachos Department of Psychological Sciences, Northern Arizona University Effects of Idealized Media Images on Self-Esteem and Body Fixation Idealized Males Neutral Image Figure 1. Image Fixation Questionnaire and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale Mean Total Scores Comparison (depict minimal differences in mean scores). 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 Rosenberg IFQ TOTAL SCALE SCORE Idealized Neutral Control Table 1 Means, standard deviations, and confidence intervals of all measures from Image Fixation Questionnaire Scale n M SD 95% CI Sig. Survey only 18 8.67 5.10 [6.13, 11.20] .552 Neutral images 20 10.90 7.34 [7.46, 14.34] Idealized Images Total 11 10.36 6.53 [5.98, 14.75] 49 9.96 6.36 [8.13, 11.79] Table 2 Means, standard deviations, and confidence intervals for all measures from Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Scale n M SD 95% CI Sig. Survey only 18 22.44 5.34 [19.79, 25.10] .851 Neutral images 20 23.10 4.45 [21.02, 25.18] Idealized images 11 23.45 5.05 [20.06, 26.85] T otal 49 22.94 4.84 [21.55, 24.33]
