The authors proposed and tested a model specifying the pathways through which a number of psychological and socio-cultural factors multiply explain college students' intention to receive cosmetic surgery in the future. On the basis of a survey with 298 undergraduates, this study revealed exposure to the media coverage of cosmetic surgery, interpersonal experiences with cosmetic surgery, and self-esteem predicted socio-cultural attitudes toward appearance and the perceived physical and psychological risks of cosmetic surgery. The latter two constructs subsequently determined attitudes toward and future intention for the practice. Implications of the research for the effective and socially responsible promotion of cosmetic surgery are discussed.
EdgertonM.T.LangmanM.W. (1982) Psychiatric considerations. In: CourtissE.H. (ed.) Male Aesthetic Surgery. St Louis, MO: Mosby, pp. 17–38.
3.
SoestT.V.KvalemI.L.SkolleborgK.C.RoaldH.E. (2009) Cosmetic surgery and the relationship between appearance satisfaction and extraversion: Testing a transactional model of personality. Journal of Research in Personality43: 1017–1025.
4.
SarwerD.B. (2005) Female college students and cosmetic surgery: An investigation of experiences, attitudes, and body image. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery115(March): 931–938.
5.
DelinskyS.S. (2005) Cosmetic surgery: A common and accepted form of self-improvement?Journal of Applied Social Psychology35(10): 2012–2028.
6.
HarrisonK. (2003) Television viewers' ideal body proportions: The case of the curvaceously thin woman. Sex Roles48(March): 255–264.
7.
SperryS.ThompsonJ.K.SarwerD.B.CashT.F. (2009) Cosmetic surgery and reality TV viewership: Relations with cosmetic surgery attitudes, body image, and disordered eating. Annals of Plastic Surgery62(1): 7–11.
8.
SheeranP.TaylorS. (1999) Predicting intentions to use condoms: A meta analysis and comparison of the theories of reasoned action and planned behavior. Journal of Applied Social Psychology29: 1624–1675.
9.
WeilerR.M. (1997) Adolescents' perceptions of health concerns: An exploratory study among rural Midwestern youth. Health Education and Behavior24(3): 287–299.
10.
RosenbergM. (1965) Society and the Adolescent Self-Image. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
11.
HeinbergL.G.ThompsonJ.K.StormerS. (1995) Development and validation of the socio-cultural attitudes toward appearance questionnaire. International Journal of Eating Disorders17(1): 81–89.
12.
MarkeyC.N.MarkeyP.M. (2010) A correlational and experimental examination of reality television viewing and interest in cosmetic surgery. Body Image7: 165–171.
13.
HigginsE.T.RholesW.S.JonesC.R. (1977) Category accessibility and impression formation. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology13: 141–154.
14.
TaylorS.E.FiskeS.T. (1978) Salience, attention, and attribution: Top of the head phenomenon. In: BerkowitzL. (ed.) Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, Vol. 11. New York: Academic Press, pp. 249–288.
15.
TverskyA.KahnemanD. (1973) Availability: A heuristic for judging frequency and probability. Cognitive Psychology5: 207–232.
16.
AustC.F.ZillmanD. (1996) Effects of victim exemplification in television news on viewer perception of social issues. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly73: 787–803.
17.
HigginsE.T.KingG. (1981) Accessibility and applicability: Some ‘activation rules’ influencing judgment. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology31: 218–243.
18.
MarkeyC.N.MarkeyP.M. (2009) Correlates of young women's interest in obtaining cosmetic surgery. Sex Roles61: 158–166.
19.
MartinM.C.KennedyP.F. (1993) Advertising and social comparison: Consequences for female preadolescents and adolescents. Psychology and Marketing10: 513–530.
20.
MyersP.N.BioccaF.A. (1992) The elastic body-image: The effect of television advertising on body-image distortions in young women. Journal of Communication42(3): 108–133.
21.
BatraR.P.HomerM.KahleL.R. (2001) Values, susceptibility to normative influence, and attribute importance weights: A nomological analysis. Journal of Consumer Psychology11(2): 115–128.
22.
PerkinsH.W. (2002) Social norms and the prevention of alcohol misuse in collegiate contexts. Journal of Studies in Alcohol14(Supplement): 164–172.
23.
CialdiniR.B.RenoR.R.KallgrenC.A. (1990) A focus theory of normative behavior: Recycling the concept of norms to reduce littering in public places. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology58: 1015–1026.
24.
MurphyD.K.BeckstrandM.SarwerD.B. (2009) A prospective, multi-center study of psychosocial outcomes after augmentation with natrelle silicone-filled breast implants. Annals of Plastic Surgery62(2): 118–121.
25.
WirtzJ.ChewP. (2002) The effects of incentives, deal proneness, satisfaction and tie strength on word-of-mouth behavior. International Journal of Service Industry Management13(2): 141–162.
26.
WheelerL.MiyakeK. (1992) Social comparison in everyday life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology62: 760–774.
27.
TurnerS.L.HamiltonH.JacobsM.AngoodL.M.DwyerD.H. (1997) The influence of fashion magazines on the body image satisfaction of college women: An exploratory analysis. Adolescence32(127): 603–614.
28.
CashT.F.DuelL.A.PerkinsL.L. (2002) Women's psychosocial outcomes of breast augmentation with silicone gel-filled implants: A 2-year prospective study. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery109(6): 2112–2121.
29.
NapoleonA.LewisC. (1989) Psychological consideration in lipoplasty: The problematic or ‘special care’ patient. Annals of Plastic Surgery23: 430–432.
30.
WadeT.J. (2000) Evolutionary theory and self-perception: Sex differences in body-esteem predictors of self-perceived physical and sexual attractiveness and self-esteem. International Journal of Psychology35(1): 36–45.
31.
WadeT.J.CooperM. (1999) Sex differences in the links between attractiveness, self-esteem and the body. Personality and Individual Differences27: 1047–1056.
32.
LangloisJ.H.KalakanisL.RubensteinA.J.HallamM.SmootM. (2000) The maxims or myths of beauty? A meta-analytic and theoretical review. Psychological Bulletin126(3): 390–423.
33.
FishbeinM.AjzenI. (1975) Belief, Attitude, Intention, and Behavior: An Introduction to Theory and Research. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
34.
KassemN.O.LeeJ.W.ModesteN.N.JohnstonP.K. (2005) Understanding soft drink consumption among female adolescents using the theory of planned behavior. Health Education Research: Theory & Practice18(3): 278–291.
35.
Henderson-KingD.BrooksK.D. (2009) Materialism, sociocultural appearance messages, and paternal attitudes predict college women's attitudes about cosmetic surgery. Psychology of Women Quarterly33: 133–142.
36.
HeiderF. (1946) Attitudes and cognitive organization. Journal of Psychology21: 107–112.
37.
RussellC.A.SternB.B. (2006) Consumers, characters, and products: A balance model of sitcom product placement effects. Journal of Advertising35(1): 7–21.
38.
BrunerG.C.HenselP.J. (1992) Marketing Scales Handbook: A Compilation of Multi-Item Measures. Chicago, IL: American Marketing Association.
39.
ChurchillG.A. (1979) A paradigm for developing better measures of marketing constructs. Journal of Marketing Research16(February): 64–73.
40.
GerbingD.AndersonJ. (1988) An updated paradigm for scale development incorporating unidimensionality and its assessment. Journal of Marketing Research25(May): 186–192.
41.
HairJ.F.AndersonR.E.TathamR.L.BlackW.C. (1998) Multivariate Data Analysis, 5th edn.Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
42.
BentlerP.M.BonettD.G. (1980) Significance tests and goodness of fit in the analysis of covariance structures. Psychological Bulletin88(November): 588–606.
43.
HuL.BentlerP.M. (1999) Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal6: 1–55.
44.
BrownM.W.CurdeckR. (1993) Alternative ways of assessing model fit. In: BollenK.A.LongJ.S. (eds.) Testing Structural Equation Models. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
45.
PetersE.LipkusI.DiefenbachD. (2006) The functions of affect in health communications and in the construction of health preferences. Journal of Communication56: 140–162.
46.
BealeS.HambertG.LisperH.OhlsenL.PalmB. (1985) Augmentation mammography: The surgical and psychological effects of the operation and prediction of the result. Annals of Plastic Surgery14: 473–493.
47.
WellsK.E.RobertsC.DanielsS.M.KearneyR.E.CoxC.E. (1995) Psychological and rheumatic symptoms of women requesting silicone breast implant removal. Annals of Plastic Surgery34(6): 572–577.
48.
BaumeisterR.F.CampbellJ.D.KruegerJ.I.VohsK.D. (2003) Does high self-esteem cause better performance, interpersonal success, happiness, or healthier lifestyles?Psychological Science in the Public Interest4(1): 1–44.
49.
WrightM.R.WrightW.K. (1975) A psychological study of patients undergoing cosmetic surgery. Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery101(3): 145–151.
50.
CalderB.J.PhillipsL.W.TyboutA.M. (1981) Designing research for application. Journal of Consumer Research8(2): 197–207.
51.
BeltraminiR.F. (2006) Consumer believability of information in direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising of prescription drugs. Journal of Business Ethics63: 333–343.
52.
DeLormeD.E.HuhJ.ReidL.N. (2009) Direct-to-consumer advertising skepticism and the use and perceived usefulness of prescription drug information sources. Health Marketing Quarterly26: 293–314.
53.
HuhJ.DeLormeD.E.ReidL.N. (2005) Factors affecting trust in on-line prescription drug information and impact of trust on behavior following exposure to DTC advertising. Journal of Health Communication10: 711–731.
