The protective role of general self-determination against ‘thin ideal’ media exposure on women’s body image and eating-related concerns

Abstract

Women’s responses to ‘thin ideal’ media pending their level of general self-determination (GSD) were examined. High and low GSD women (N = 99) viewed a ‘thin physique salient’ (TPS) video or a ‘thin physique non-salient’ (TPNS) video. Following exposure to the TPS video, perceptions of pressure from the media to be thin, body dissatisfaction, and concerns over quantity of food were greater for low but not high GSD women. However, high GSD women reported greater concerns over the quality of food they eat following exposure to the TPNS video. Prevention efforts aimed at enhancing GSD are discussed.

Keywords

media body image self-determination

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Amiot CE , Blanchard CM , and Gaudreau P. ( 2008) The Self in Change: A Longitudinal Investigation of Coping and Self-Determination Processes. Self and Identity 7(2): 204-224.

Blanchard CM , Tremblay MA , Mask L. , and Perras MGM ( 2009) A Combination of Work Environment Factors and Individual Difference Variables in Work Interfering with Family. International Journal of Workplace Health Management 2(1): 63-90.

Boyer H. ( 1993) Vers un modèle socio-cognitif de la boulimie: Developpement et mise à l’épreuve au moyen d’analyses d’équations structurales [Toward a Socio-Cognitive Model of Bulimia: Development and Validity by Means of Analysis of Structural Equations]. Doctoral dissertation, University of Ottawa. Dissertation Abstracts International 53(9-B): 224.

Cash TF ( 2005) The Influence of Sociocultural Factors on Body Image: Searching for Constructs. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice 12(4): 438-442.

Deci EL and Ryan RM ( 1985a) The General Causality Orientations Scale: Self-Determination in Personality. Journal of Research in Personality 19(2): 109-134.

Deci EL and Ryan RM ( 1985b) Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination in Human Behavior. New York: Plenum Publishing Co.

Deci EL and Ryan RM ( 2002) Handbook of Self-Determination Research. Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press.

Dittmar H. and Howard S. ( 2004) Thin-Ideal Internalization and Social Comparison Tendency as Moderators of Media Models’ Impact on Women’s Body-Focused Anxiety. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology 23(6): 768-791.

Fingeret MC and Gleaves DH ( 2004) Sociocultural, Feminist, and Psychological Influences on Women’s Body Satisfaction: A Structural Modeling Analysis. Psychology of Women Quarterly 28(4): 370-380.

10.

Garner DM , Olmstead MP , and Polivy J. ( 1983) Development and Validation of a Multidimensional Eating Disorder Inventory for Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia. International Journal of Eating Disorders 2(2): 15-34.

11.

Hargreaves D. and Tiggemann M. ( 2002) The Effect of Television Commercials on Mood and Body Dissatisfaction: The Role of Appearance-Schema Activation. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology 21(3): 287-308.

12.

Hawkins N. , Richards PS , Granley HM , and Stein DM ( 2004) The Impact of Exposure to the Thin-Ideal Media Image on Women. Eating Disorders 12(1): 35-50.

13.

Hesse-Biber S. , Leavy P. , Quinn CE , and Zoino J. ( 2006) The Mass Marketing of Disordered Eating and Eating Disorders: The Social Psychology of Women, Thinness and Culture. Women’s Studies International Forum 29(2): 208-224.

14.

Keel PK , Baxter MG , Heatherton TF , and Joiner TE ( 2007) A 20-year Longitudinal Study of Body Weight, Dieting, and Eating Disorder Symptoms. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 116(2): 422-432.

15.

Knee CR and Zuckerman M. ( 1998) A Nondefensive Personality: Autonomy and Control as Moderators of Defensive Coping and Self-Handicapping. Journal of Research in Personality 32(2): 115-130.

16.

Levine MP and Murnen SK ( 2009) ‘Everybody Knows That Mass Media Are/Are Not [Pick One] a Cause of Eating Disorders’: A Critical Review of Evidence for a Causal Link between Media, Negative Body Image, and Disordered Eating in Females. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology 28(1): 9-42.

17.

Lewis MA and Neighbors C. ( 2005) Self-Determination and the Use of Self-Presentation Strategies . Journal of Social Psychology 145(4): 469-489.

18.

Monro F. and Huon G. ( 2005) Media-Portrayed Idealized Images, Body Shame, and Appearance Anxiety. International Journal of Eating Disorders 38(1): 85-90.

19.

Murnen S. and Smolak L. ( 2009) Are Feminist Women Protected from Body Image Problems? A Meta-Analytic Review of Relevant Research. Sex Roles 60(3-4): 186-197.

20.

Neighbors C. , Lewis MA , Bergstrom RL , and Larimer ME ( 2006) Being Controlled by Normative Influences: Self-Determination as a Moderator of a Normative Feedback Alcohol Intervention. Health Psychology 25(5): 571-579.

21.

Otis N. and Pelletier LG ( 2008) Women’s Regulation Styles for Eating Behaviors and Outcomes: The Mediating Role of Approach and Avoidance Food Planning. Motivation and Emotion 32(1): 55-67.

22.

Pelletier LG and Dion SC ( 2007) An Examination of General and Specific Motivational Mechanisms for the Relations between Body Dissatisfaction and Eating Behaviors . Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology 26(3): 303-333.

23.

Pelletier LG , Dion SC , and Levesque C. ( 2004a) Can Self-Determination Help Protect Women against Sociocultural Influences about Body Image and Reduce Their Risk of Experiencing Bulimic Symptoms? Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology 23(1): 61-88.

24.

Pelletier LG , Dion SC , Slovenic-D’Angelo M. , and Reid R. ( 2004b) Why Do You Regulate What You Eat? Relationships between Forms of Regulation, Eating Behaviors, Sustained Dietary Behavior Change, and Psychological Adjustment. Motivation and Emotion 28(3): 245-277.

25.

Pelletier LG , Blanchard CM , Sharp EC , Otis N. , Vallerand RJ , and Guay F. ( 2005) The general Motivation Scale: A Dispositional Measure of Intrinsic, Extrinsic, and Amotivation for Different Life Activities. Manuscript in preparation, University of Ottawa.

26.

Polivy J. and Herman P. ( 2007) Is the Body the Self? Women and Body Image. Collegium Antropologicum 31(1): 63-67.

27.

Ratelle CF , Vallerand RJ , Chantal Y. , and Provencher P. ( 2004) Cognitive Adaptation and Mental Health: A Motivational Analysis. European Journal of Social Psychology 34(4): 459-476.

28.

Ryan RM ( 1993) Agency and Organization: Intrinsic Motivation, Autonomy and the Self in Psychological Development. In: Jacobs J (ed.) Nebraska Symposium on Motivation: Developmental Perspectives on Motivation, Vol. 40. Lincoln, NE: University Of Nebraska Press, 1-56.

29.

Ryan RM and Connell JP ( 1989) Perceived Locus of Causality and Internalization: Examining Reasons for Acting in Two Domains. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 57(5): 749-761.

30.

Steck EL , Abrams LM , and Phelps L. ( 2004) Positive Psychology in the Prevention of Eating Disorders . Psychology in the Schools 41(1): 111-117.

31.

Stein KF and Corte C. ( 2003) Reconceptualizing Causative Factors and Intervention Strategies in the Eating Disorders: A Shift from Body Image to Self-Concept Impairments . Archives of Psychiatric Nursing 17(2): 57-66.

32.

Stice E. ( 1994) Review of the Evidence for a Sociocultural Model of Bulimia-Nervosa and an Exploration of the Mechanisms of Action. Clinical Psychology Review 14(7): 633-661.

33.

Stice E. ( 2001) A Prospective Test of the Dual-Pathway Model of Bulimic Pathology: Mediating Effects of Dieting and Negative Affect. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 110(1): 124-135.

34.

Stice E. ( 2002) Risk and Maintenance Factors for Eating Pathology: A Meta-Analytic Review. Psychological Bulletin 128(5): 825-848.

35.

Stice E. and Agras WS ( 1998) Predicting Onset and Cessation of Bulimic Behaviors during Adolescence: A Longitudinal Grouping Analysis. Behavior Therapy 29(2): 257-276.

36.

Stice E. and Shaw HE ( 1994) Adverse Effects of the Media Portrayed Thin-Ideal on Women and Linkages to Bulimic Symptomatology. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology 13(3): 288-308.

37.

Stice E. and Shaw HE ( 2002) Role of Body Dissatisfaction in the Onset and Maintenance of Eating Pathology: A Synthesis of Research Findings. Journal of Psychosomatic Research 53(5): 985-993.

38.

Stice E. , Spangler D. , and Agras WS ( 2001) Exposure to Media-Portrayed Thin-Ideal Images Adversely Affects Vulnerable Girls: A Longitudinal Experiment. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology 20(3): 270-288.

39.

Stice E. , Schupak-Neuberg E. , Shaw HE , and Stein RI ( 1994) Relation of Media Exposure to Eating Disorder Symptomatology: An Examination of Mediating Mechanisms. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 103(4): 836-840.

40.

Thompson ER ( 2007) Development and Validation of an Internationally Reliable Short-Form of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology 38(2): 227-242.

41.

Twamley EW and Davis MC ( 1999) The Sociocultural Model of Eating Disturbance in Young Women: The Effects of Personal Attributes and Family Environment. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology 18(4): 467-489.

42.

Vallerand RJ , Rousseau FL , Grouzet FME , Dumais A. , Grenier S. , and Blanchard CM ( 2006) Passion in Sport: A Look at Determinants and Affective Experiences. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology 28(4): 454-478.

43.

Vartanian LR (2009) When the Body Defines the Self: Self-Concept Clarity, Internalization, and Body Image. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology 28(1): 94-126.

44.

Want SC ( 2009) Meta-Analytic Moderators of Experimental Exposure to Media Portrayals of Women on Female Appearance Satisfaction: Social Comparisons as Automatic Processes. Body Image 6(4): 257-269.

45.

Weinstein N. and Hodgins HS (2009) The Moderating Role of Autonomy and Control on the Benefits of Written Emotion Expression. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 35(3): 351-364.