Psychology

Media has become a powerful tool for disseminating information on what is socially desirable or not.  Countless hours are spent on advertisements and television programs that tell viewers how to lose weight or use cosmetic products to enhance beauty.  Reality shows featuring surgeries for aesthetic purposes are gaining in popularity.  It is not a surprise that research studies have found a strong correlation between media influence and body esteem.

In the last decade, there has been a growing interest among the academics on the topic of body image.  Mass media and diverse socio-cultural pressures are seen to cause an increased awareness of being thin as ideal and to contribute to the misperception of body weight (Ansari, Clausen, Mabhala  Stock, 2010, p. 584).  Gender and age have been associated with how one perceives ones body and ones appreciation of it.  Among socio-cultural factors, what stands out is the influence of media.  Among women, the thin ideal has been most the prominent idea espoused by fashion models and superstars.  Among men, the term leaner structure has been used to identify their ideals.

The significant effect of media on body-esteem falls in the realm of social comparison. According to Bessenoff (2006), women who are exposed to the ideal body shape (i.e. thin ideal) make serious comparisons about their own body.  This results in dissatisfaction and negative feelings towards their body and weight.  Bergrstrom, Clayton and Malheim (2009) further identifies that the single significant factor affecting the comparison is the extent of discrepancy between the ideal and ones own body image.  This is further supported in Heinberg, Stormer and Thompsons (2006) findings that comparisons of their bodies to that of others often lead to unhappiness among women.  Negative mood also increased among women who compared themselves to thin models.  These body dissatisfaction and stressors according to Soukup, Beiler,  Terrell (1990) may influence body concerns.

It appears that the adolescent population, is becoming acutely attuned to their weight and body (Ata, Ludden  Lally, 2006, 1024).  One of the negative effects of such phenomenon is the increasing number of eating disorders among adolescents.  The pressure to lose weight was highly correlated with low body-esteem and body image.  As expressed by Bassenoff (2006), the thin ideal advertisements influenced mood, self-esteem, concerns about weight and depression. In a study by Ata et al. (2006), it has been found that females are at a higher risk of eating disorders than males.  There is significance therefore, in adding to the body of existing literature that explores how media influences the creation of body image and the development of body-esteem.

As television viewers ourselves, we have varied experiences of being affected by media, and certainly in terms of our own body image.  Conversations about body weight are common among university students, especially among females who are constantly worrying whether they have reached the thin ideal.  From these, we have decided to design the current research study.  The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of viewing thinner versus full-body celebrities on body-esteem and stress in college-aged women.  It is hypothesized that exposure to images of celebrities with different body types will affect body-esteem scores, which will increase stress levels.  Furthermore, the researchers also hypothesize that participants who are exposed to larger media images will have more positive body-esteem scores, and therefore lower stress levels, than those who are exposed to pictures of thinner women.

Methodology
Sample. A total of eighty (80) female respondents were considered as subjects for this experiment. They were university students who were at least eighteen (18) years old.  The participants were expected to participate for approximately thirty (30) minutes.  In exchange, they received one PIPER credit for every half hour.  Information regarding cancellation were given so that participants who signed up but were unable to attend informed the experimenters ahead of time.

Two groups of approximately 40 participants were tested for the proposed hypotheses. Participants were randomly assigned to either the thin group or the fat group.  Participants in the thin group viewed pictures of thin celebrities while those in the fat group viewed pictures of fat or big structured celebrities.

Instrument  Participants were asked to complete a series of questionnaires with regard to the appeal of women in the images shown.  A total of eight (8) pictures of celebrities were used in the experiment.  Four (4) of the celebrities have thin frames or body structure while the rest of the four (4) have large frames or relatively bigger body structures.

The first part of the questionnaire contained a demographic sheet which gathered information about the participants age, course, college year level, and ethnic background.   The second part of the questionnaire measured body-esteem.  It used a survey derived from the Body Attitudes Questionnaire that measures the respondents degree of and reasons for satisfaction or dissatisfaction with 49 various parts or processes of the body and with the total body. The questionnaire was cut down from 49 to 12 body parts. The participants rated celebrities and themselves on a total of 12 different parts using a Likert type scale ranging from 1 to 5. An example of a body part to rate is nose. A respondent rates the nose of the celebrity in the picture and her nose on a scale of 1 (strong negative feelings) to 5 (strong positive feelings).
 
A shortened, 10 item version of the General Well-Being Schedule (Andrews  Robinson, 1991) was used to measure stress.  The questions chosen from the Schedule are directly or indirectly related to stress.  The participants responded to the questions on a 5, 6, or 10 point Likert type scale.

Procedure  An administrators instruction sheet was attached to guide the researcher who administered the experiment.  This was made to ensure that a standard operating procedure was followed.

Participants were provided with two copies of the informed consent form to review and sign. One copy was collected by the researchers, while the second copy was given to the participant.

The participants proceeded to viewing the pictures of the celebrities, depending on which group they belonged. After taking a few minutes to examine the pictures, participants were presented with a scale to rate the celebrities bodies.  Once the rating scale was accomplished, the participants rated themselves using a slightly modified version of scale used to rate the celebrities bodies. Once both Body Esteem surveys were completed, a stress measure was administered, the General Well-Being Test.

Lastly, the researchers collected the finished surveys and gave the participants two copies of the debriefing form to review and sign. One copy was collected by the researchers, while the second copy was given to the participant.

Data Analysis. Data was submitted for statistical data analysis.  For Likert type scale of survey, chi-square or the Cochran Q was used for statistical analysis.  The data will be tested based on the hypothesis stated by the researchers.