Loker et. al. initiated a call for research investigating how third dimension (3-D) affects one’s perceptions of their own body by raising the following questions: Will the ability to see ourselves in 3-D increase body acceptance of normal variations and counteract the popular media images of what constitutes a beautiful body? Or will 3-D views increase dissatisfaction with our real bodies? In response, the researcher guided by self-discrepancy theory, investigated the unique experience of viewing one’s body in 3-D on participants’ self-reported levels of body satisfaction, mood, and appearance management. Results indicated that viewing one’s avatar in 3-D magnifies individuals’ actual–ideal (AI) self-discrepancies regardless of gender. The researcher observed decreased body satisfaction and mood when the magnitude of participants’ AI discrepancies increased. Both men and women indicated wanting to engage in greater appearance management behaviors postavatar viewing compared to baseline reports. The theoretical and applied implications are discussed.
BarnettM.MooreJ.HarpA. (2017). Who we are and how we feel: Self-discrepancy theory and specific affective states. Personality and Individual Difference, 111, 232–237.
2.
BessenoffG.SnowD. (2006). Absorbing society’s influence: Body image self-discrepancy and internalized shame. Sex Roles, 54, 727–731.
3.
BrownT. A.CashT. F.MikulkaP. J. (1990). Attitudinal body-image assessment: Factor analysis of the body-self relations questionnaire. Journal of Personality Assessment, 55, 135–144.
4.
CashT. F.FlemingE. C.AlindoganJ.SteadmanL.WhiteheadA. (2002). Beyond body image as a trait: The development and validation of the body image states scale. Eating Disorders, 10, 103–113.
5.
ClaytonR. B.RidgwayJ. L.HendrickseJ. (2017). Is plus size equal? The positive impact of average and plus-sized media fashion models on women’s cognitive resource allocation, social comparisons, and body satisfaction. Communication Monographs, 84, 406–422.
6.
FaulF.ErdfelderE.LangA. G.BuchnerA. (2007). G* Power 3: A flexible statistical power analysis program for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 39, 175–191.
7.
FeingoldA.MazzellaR. (1998). Gender differences in body image are increasing. Psychological Science, 9, 190–195.
8.
FisherS. (1986). Development and structure of the body image. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
FredricksonB. L.RobertsT. A. (1997). Objectification theory: Toward understanding women’s lived experiences and mental health risks. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21, 173–206.
11.
FredricksonB. L.RobertsT. A.NollS. M.QuinnD. M.TwengeJ. M. (1998). That swimsuit becomes you: Sex differences in self-objectification, restrained eating, and math performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 269.
12.
FrithH. (2012). Appearance and society. In RumseyN.HarcourtD. (Eds.), Oxford handbook of the psychology of appearance (pp. 10–23). Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
13.
GardnerR. M.JappeL. M.GardnerL. (2009). Development and validation of a new figural drawing scale for body-image assessment: The BIAS-BD. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 65, 113–122.
14.
GroganS.GillS.BrownbridgeK.WarnockD.ArmitageC. J. (2016). Women’s long-term reactions to whole-body scanning: A mixed methods approach. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 34, 61–73.
15.
HalliwellE.DittmarH. (2006). Associations between appearance-related self-discrepancies and young women’s and men’s affect, body satisfaction, and emotional eating: A comparison of fixed-item and participant-generated self-discrepancies. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 32, 447–458.
16.
HendrickseJ.ArpanL. M.ClaytonR. B.RidgwayJ. L. (2017). Instagram and college women’s body image: Investigating the roles of appearance-related comparisons and intrasexual competition. Computers in Human Behavior, 74, 92–100.
17.
HigginsE. T. (1987). Self-discrepancy: A theory relating self and affect. Psychological Review, 94, 319.
18.
IstookC. L. (2000). Rapid prototyping in the textile and apparel industry: A pilot project. Journal of Textile and Apparel, Technology and Management, 1, 1–14.
19.
JohnsonK. K. P.KimE.LeeJ. Y.KimA. J. (2014). Identifying antecedents of risky appearance management behaviors. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 32, 107–123.
20.
JohnsonT. W.FrancisS. K.BurnsL. D. (2007). Appearance management behavior and the five factor model of personality. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 25, 230–243.
21.
JungJ.LennonS. J.RuddN. A. (2001). Self-schema or self-discrepancy? Which best explains body image?Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 19, 171–184.
22.
KaiserS. B. (1996). The social psychology of clothing: Symbolic appearances in context (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Fairchild Books.
23.
LeeJ.JohnsonK. K. (2009). Factors related to engagement in risky appearance management behaviors. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 27, 163–178.
24.
LennonS. J.RuddN. A. (1994). Linkages between attitudes toward gender roles, body satisfaction, self-esteem, and appearance management behaviors in women. Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal, 23, 94–117.
25.
LokerS.AshdownS.CarnriteE. (2008). Dress in the third dimension online interactivity and its new horizons. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 26, 164–176.
26.
López-GuimeràG.LevineM. P.Sánchez-CarracedoD.FauquetJ. (2010). Influence of mass media on body image and eating disordered attitudes and behaviors in females: A review of effects and processes. Media Psychology, 13, 387–416.
27.
MayerJ. D.GaschkeY. N. (1988). The experience and meta-experience of mood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 55, 102.
28.
McKinleyN. M. (1998). Gender differences in undergraduates’ body esteem: The mediating effect of objectified body consciousness and actual/ideal weight discrepancy. Sex Roles, 39, 113–123.
29.
MuthJ. L.CashT. F. (1997). Body-image attitudes: What difference does gender make?Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 27, 1438–1452.
30.
MyersP. N.BioccaF. A. (1992). The elastic body image: The effect of television advertising and programming on body image distortions in young women. Journal of Communication, 42, 108–133.
31.
Neumark-SztainerD.EisenbergM. E. (2014). Body image concerns, muscle-enhancing behaviors, and eating disorders in males. Journal of the American Medical Association, 312, 2156–2157.
32.
RidgwayJ. L.ClaytonR. B. (2016). Instagram unfiltered: Exploring associations of body image satisfaction, Instagram #selfie posting, and negative romantic relationship outcomes. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 19, 2–7.
33.
RidgwayJ. L.ParsonsJ.SohnM. (2017). Creating a more ideal self through the use of clothing: An exploratory study of women’s perceptions of optical illusion garments. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 35, 111–127.
34.
RuddN. A. (1997). Cosmetics consumption and use among women: Ritualized activities that construct and transform the self. Journal of Ritual Studies, 11, 59–77.
35.
SchilderP. (1935). The image and appearance of the human body. Oxford, England: Kegan Paul.
36.
ShinE.BaytarF. (2014). Apparel fit and size concerns and intentions to use virtual try-on: Impacts of body satisfaction and images of models’ bodies. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 32, 20–33.
SuhK. S.KimH.SuhE. K. (2011). What if your avatar looks like you? Dual-congruity perspectives for avatar use. MIs Quarterly, 35, 711–729.
39.
ThompsonJ. K.HeinbergL. J.AltabeM.Tantleff-DunnS. (1999). Exacting beauty: Theory, assessment, and treatment of body image disturbance. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
40.
TiggemannM.AndrewR. (2012). Clothing choices, weight, and trait self-objectification. Body Image, 9, 409–412.
41.
WeinbergerN. A.KerstingA.Riedel-HellerS. G.Luck-SikorskiC. (2016). Body dissatisfaction in individuals with obesity compared to normal-weight individuals: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Obesity Facts, 9, 424–441.
