Consequences of idealized images in advertising:

The relationship among social comparison, self-discrepancy, and body dissatisfaction.

Karyn N. Lewis

Quantitative Research Methods

Professor B. Austin

Rochester Institute of Technology

Fall 2007
K. LEWIS 2

Abstract:

The proposed study will explore body image self-discrepancy and social comparison processes in their

effect on women after exposure to thin-ideal images in the media. Female undergraduates with varying levels of

body image self-discrepancy will be exposed to one of two series of print advertisements that either portray thin

women (thin-ideal) or no women at all (control) to determine whether thin-ideal exposure contributes to increased

body dissatisfaction and lowered self-esteem. In addition, social comparison processes will be analyzed in the

relationship among exposure to thin-ideal advertisements, lowered self-esteem, and body dissatisfaction. It is

predicted that women with high levels of body image self-discrepancy will be more likely to engage in social

comparison from exposure to thin-ideal advertisements, as well as more likely to have those comparison processes

induce lowered self-esteem. This research may provide evidence for a possible correlation between body

dissatisfaction and proneness to social comparison effects from exposure to thin-ideal media.

Consequences of idealized images in advertising:

The relationship among social comparison, self-discrepancy, and body dissatisfaction.

When looking at objects in a formal, aesthetic manner, beauty is based on balance, harmony, and

juxtaposition of corresponding shapes and forms (e.g., cones, circles, squares, and rectangles). A human body

viewed as a formal, aesthetic object, for example, does not have an arm, chest, and stomach—it has one rounded

shape against another. In today's society, however, the human form is assessed on the basis of individual

perception—one that is greatly affected by the media world around us (Spitzer, Henderson, & Zivian, 1999). As the

foundation and economic lifeblood of the U.S. mass media, advertising sells a great deal more than products and

services. Advertising sells values, images, and concepts of success and worth, love and sexuality, and popularity and

normalcy, telling us who we are and who we should be. In effect, advertising across all platforms tends to create an

idealistic world in which people are rarely ugly, overweight, poor, struggling or disabled (Lasch, 1978). The mass

media, due to their pervasiveness and reach, is probably the most powerful transmitter of sociocultural ideals known

today. It is apparent there is a strong cultural ideal of female beauty, and that ideal has become synonymous with

thinness (Dittmar & Howard, 1994; Freedman, 1984).

 IDEALIZED IMAGES, SELF-DISCREPANCY, AND SOCIAL COMPARISON 3

The omnipresent ultra-thin female body image commonly presented in media and offered as the ideal sets

an impossible-to-achieve standard for most women. Current societal standards for beauty inordinately emphasize the

desirability of thinness, resulting in a mismatch between the ideal media image and an individual's actual body

image. Nevertheless, the ideal is accepted and internalized by many women. Sociological and psychological

literature on media effects has shown that exposure to media depictions of the thin ideal can have damaging effects

for women (Groesz, Levine, & Murnen, 2002). Research suggests that exposure to these images can affect the way

women evaluate themselves, leading to weight concerns (Posavac, Posavac, & Posavac, 1998), body dissatisfaction

(Harrison & Cantor, 1997; Heinberg, Thompson, & Stormer, 1995; Richins, 1991), as well as depression (Heinberg

& Thompson, 1995). In line with Festinger’s (1954) social comparison theory, many researchers believe that such

exposures instigate social comparison processes that typically have negative effects on self-evaluation (Irving, 2001;

Stice, Schupak-Neuberg, Shaw, & Stein, 1994; Thompson, Heinberg, Altabe, & Tantleff-Dunn, 1999). If women

internalize and strive for a beauty ideal that is rare and essentially unattainable, it stands to reason they are likely to

experience body dissatisfaction and low self-esteem (Dittmar & Howard, 1994).

The subject of body image is ideal for a theoretical investigation of social comparison effects because the

self is deeply entwined with other body image variables. Social comparison theory suggests tendencies to compare

ourselves to others we believe are similar to ourselves, particularly to determine our own levels of ability and

success (Festinger, 1954; Wood, 1989). Furthermore, self-discrepancy theory may provide an explanation for social

comparison effects caused by the media. Self-discrepancy theory proposes that different types of chronic

discrepancies between the self-concept and different self-guides are associated with different motivational

predispositions (Higgins, 1987). In other words, individuals possessing a body image self-discrepancy are likely to

associate failure to reach their body ideals with their self-concept. High levels of self-discrepancy have been linked

to various types of emotional distress, including disappointment and dissatisfaction (Strauman & Higgins, 1988),

and low self-esteem (Moretti & Higgins, 1990). Previous research suggests a causal relationship between long-term

exposure to media idealism and developing self-discrepancies. This relationship suggests that possession of a self-

discrepancy may moderate the likelihood of making social comparisons to media idealism (Bessenoff, 2006). The

present study examines the role of body self-discrepancy in social comparison processes from exposure to thin-ideal

media, as well as in the negative effects of such comparisons, to determine the relationship between exposure to

thin-ideal advertisements and self-esteem.

K. LEWIS 4

Hypotheses:

H1: Women with high levels of body image self-discrepancy exposed to idealistic advertisements will

report higher levels of body dissatisfaction and lower self-esteem compared to lower self-discrepant

women.

H2: Women exposed to idealistic advertisements will report being more likely to engage in social

comparison and experience greater body dissatisfaction and low self-esteem than women not exposed

to idealistic advertisements.

H3: Higher levels of self-reported body image self-discrepancy increase the likelihood for social

comparison effects and low self-esteem after exposure to idealistic advertisements.

Rationale:

Although there is some evidence that media play a critical role in shaping perceptions of body image,

knowledge about the cognitive processes underlying media effects on body image is only beginning to emerge.

Research suggests that advertising affects consumers’ tendency to implicitly or explicitly compare themselves with

the idealized images portrayed in ads. However, despite the number of studies that support this view, it is still

unclear why some women are susceptible to these media effects while others remain relatively unaffected. Although

most observers concur that advertising images are not realistic, there is no consensus on the implications of this. A

solid, theory-based explanation of why some women are more vulnerable to the negative self-evaluative effects of

the thin female ideal is still lacking. Why does exposure to physically attractive female body shapes affect some

women so strongly, whereas for others, these images seem to have a negligible effect? What moderates the

relationship between viewing idealized body images and making a negative self-evaluation? These questions have

not been thoroughly considered in a systematic, theory-based manner. Thus, further research is needed to investigate

the role of determinants in the occurrence of social comparison effects.

This study is a test of the hypotheses supporting the idea that idealized advertising images engender

comparison—and in so doing create body dissatisfaction. The self-perception theory was chosen because of its

recognized importance in social interactions; self-esteem arises via the interactions people have with each other.

Circumstances that might increase or improve, or decrease or worsen, those individual interactions can raise or
 IDEALIZED IMAGES, SELF-DISCREPANCY, AND SOCIAL COMPARISON 5

lower an individual's self-esteem. (It is intuitively plausible that a majority of women may find images of the

idealized female figure threatening.) Social outcomes depend heavily on perceived attractiveness among others

(Striegel-Moore, Silberstein, & Rodin, 1986; Posavac, et al., 1998), and accordingly a perceived discrepancy is

likely to be quite threatening to a woman’s self-esteem. Research indicates that public attitudes toward advertising

have been worsening over time (Richins, 1991), though despite the extensive criticism of the use of ultra-thin

models in advertising, the advertising industry seems reluctant to change its approach.

Compared to the actual population of adult women, thin female models are drastically over-represented in

magazines and television, so that only a small minority of women have the body size shown in virtually all

advertising (Fouts & Burggraf, 1999; Spitzer, et al., 1999). Women’s ideal body weight as depicted in magazines

has decreased over the last 40 years, so that the average model now is more than 20 percent underweight (Wiseman,

Gray, Mosimann, & Ahrens, 1992). Furthermore, parallels are frequently drawn between the afore-mentioned

decreasing size of the female body ideal and both escalating levels of women’s body dissatisfaction and increases in

the incidence of eating disorders (Stice, et al., 1994). By addressing the relationship between body dissatisfaction

and the cognitive processes of the self, this study is my attempt to expose a possible correlation between body

dissatisfaction and proneness to social comparison effects, and better understand the extent to which an individual

accepts the thin societal standard of attractiveness as her own personal standard.

Review of Related Literature:

Initial documentation of the link between media and body dissatisfaction comes from studies where

researchers examine or analyze popular media over time to study the trends in body weight of the ideal standard of

female beauty. In an attempt to explain the development and maintenance of body image disturbance, the most

empirically supported approach is a sociocultural model—one that identifies social pressure as the drive behind an

individual’s need to conform to body shape standards. In the classic investigation of this area of research, Garner,

Garfinkel, Shwartz, and Thompson (1980) examined the body shapes of Playboy centerfolds and Miss America

Pageant contestants and winners over a 20-year period between 1959-1978. A careful examination of the data

collected revealed the mean weight of participants was significantly lower than that of the average female for the

same period, as based on the 1959 Society of Actuaries norms used in the study. The data also indicated a decrease

in bust and hip measurements over the 20-year period—with smaller measurements occurring with increased model
K. LEWIS 6

height. Wiseman et al. (1992) later replicated and extended the research of Garner et al. (1980) with a more current

10-year span from 1979-1988. Their analysis revealed that bust and hip measurements of Miss America Contestants

and winners continued to decrease, while the average weight of Playboy centerfolds maintained the low rate

reported by Garner et al. (1980).

Although most of the research on the media’s influence on body image has taken the form of exposure

analysis, recent research has focused on the individual’s awareness of sociocultural pressures, as well as one’s

internalization of societal standards. Heinberg et al. (1995), for instance, developed the Sociocultural Attitudes

Towards Appearance Questionnaire (SATAQ) as an index of both awareness and internalization of cultural

pressures regarding appearance—finding each factor to be strongly related to multiple measures of body image.

Heinberg and Thompson (1995) further explored the role of awareness and internalization of societal standards of

appearance by examining the effect of television commercials on body image. For the study, female participants

were exposed to a 10-minute video recording of advertisements containing either images considered to promote, or

not to promote, societal standards of beauty and thinness. The women exposed to the idealized images, in

conclusion, were less satisfied with their own body shapes than were the women exposed to the non-idealized

images. Furthermore, the individuals who scored high on the SATAQ measures of awareness and internalization

experienced the most negative emotional effects of exposure to the appearance-related video, suggesting that media

images have a negative effect on body dissatisfaction.

In one of the most methodologically sophisticated studies of the subject, Stice et al. (1994) utilized

structural equation modeling to evaluate the role of media exposure on eating disturbances, while also testing the

mediating role of gender role endorsement, ideal-body stereotype internalization, and body satisfaction. The media

exposure scale used consisted of television exposure indexed as comedy, game shows, and dramas; and print media

exposure indexed as entertainment/arts, health/fitness, and fashion/beauty magazines. They found a direct effect of

exposure on eating disorder symptoms and gender role endorsement, as well as evidence that internalization of the

thin ideal partially mediates the effects of exposure to ideal body images in the media. Research on high-school level

women by Stice, Shaw, and Nemeroff (1998) further supports this view, concluding that perceived sociocultural

pressure to be thin predicts ideal-body stereotype internalization and body dissatisfaction. Thin-ideal internalization

acts as a powerful moderator of media exposure, which suggests that the experience of anxiety after seeing thin

models is conditional on the extent to which women have internalized the thin ideal.
 IDEALIZED IMAGES, SELF-DISCREPANCY, AND SOCIAL COMPARISON 7

Overall, there is overwhelming evidence for the existence of the thin ideal for women. In a series of

experiments, Posavac et al. (1998) consistently demonstrated that women who were dissatisfied with their bodies

became more concerned about their weight after exposure to slides of thin models than non-dissatisfied women

exposed to the same slides. This difference in body dissatisfaction did not appear for women exposed to realistic

images of women or to non-human control images. Furthermore, only the individuals who were dissatisfied with

their bodies reported increased weight concerns after comparison to the ideal. Continued test results suggested that

women with low body dissatisfaction were not affected by thin-ideal imagery because they either had a body similar

to the models’ or they grounded their self-worth in areas unrelated to body image. Although the pervasiveness of the

media ensures that virtually all women are exposed to a substantial dose of idealized images, not all develop extreme

preoccupation with weight or appearance. Perhaps the tendency to compare oneself to others possessing the thin

ideal is the main source of negative effects produced by exposure to thin-ideal media, and the reactions to

advertisements depicting the thin ideal differ for individuals depending on their level of self-discrepancy.

Methods:

This study will examine body image self-discrepancy as an effect of social comparison processes from

exposure to thin-ideal media, as well as an effect on self-esteem. To test the prediction that reactions to

advertisements depicting the thin ideal will differ for each individual depending on their level of self-discrepancy,

this study is designed to examine social comparison as a moderating variable in the relationship between exposure to

thin-ideal advertisements and lowered self-esteem through increased body dissatisfaction. It is predicted that thin-

ideal exposure will induce social comparison, which will then elicit lowered self-esteem. Thus, both self-

discrepancy and social comparison will be examined simultaneously as affective and self-evaluative measures from

exposure to thin-ideal advertising. Self-discrepancy as a variable will help determine whether or not the effects of

thin-ideal exposure are stronger for individuals possessing greater levels of body image self-discrepancy than for

those with lower levels of body image self-discrepancy. Social comparison as a variable will help determine the

relationship between thin-ideal exposure and various outcomes that may be explained by the presence of social

comparison processes—such that the effect of social comparison on the relationship between thin-ideal exposure

and negative outcomes may be stronger for high versus low self-discrepant women. In this way, the effect of thin-

ideal exposure on social comparison may differ by level of self-discrepancy, and social comparison may interact
K. LEWIS 8

with different levels of self-discrepancy to affect self-evaluation. For the study, women with varying levels of body

image self-discrepancy will be exposed to print advertisements depicting the thin ideal. Body image self-discrepancy

will be measured through survey questions, from which the difference in perception of one’s own body physique

and the ideal body physique will be calculated. Participants will be exposed to one of two types of advertising: one

set depicting thin women, and another set displaying no models at all. Dependent measures will include indices of

body dissatisfaction and self-esteem incorporating three sub-areas: appearance, social, and performance self-esteem.

This project proposal will be sent to the IRB for approval prior to implementation of the actual experiment.

A convenience sample of roughly 50 female college students will be recruited from the Department of

Communication at Rochester Institute of Technology in New York State for this study, in which they will engage in

a survey-based experiment consisting of two steps. The study will take place in a classroom setting with individuals

at their own seats. At the start of the study, participants will be handed a brief survey incorporating the Pictorial

Body Image Scale developed by Stunkard, Sorensen, and Schulsinger (Kety, Roland, Sigman, & Matthysse, 1983)

consisting of nine female figures that range in sizes from extremely thin to extremely overweight. (The survey that

will be used can be found in Appendix B). This survey scale will be used to determine participants' actual and ideal

body images, which will then allow for a measurement of actual-ideal discrepancy score by subtracting each

participant's ideal body image score from their actual body image score. The first question asks participants to

choose one of the figures that most closely matches their own body shape, which will provide the actual body image

for each participant. The second and third questions ask participants to choose the model that they consider most

attractive or they would most like to look like, which provides the ideal body image for each participant. The

difference between the chosen ideal and the actual body image (questions 1 and 2; then 1 and 3) will determine

participants’ levels of body image self-discrepancy. In this case, larger numbers will indicate a greater distance

between the actual and the ideal in the direction of wanting a thinner body. It is apparent that the silhouette method

is surprisingly accurate because there is a monotonic increase in percentage overweight from the first to the ninth

silhouette. Participants will have 5 minutes to complete the brief survey, which will then be collected and a packet of

4 advertisements will be handed out randomly.

In the second part of the experiment, participants will be randomly assigned to one of the two conditions—

either the set of advertisements with thin models or the control group with no models at all. This depends on the

packet of advertisements they are randomly handed after completing and handing in the survey incorporating the
 IDEALIZED IMAGES, SELF-DISCREPANCY, AND SOCIAL COMPARISON 9

Pictorial Body Image Scale. Each set of advertisements will consist of one print ad for perfume, one for jewelry, one

for clothing, and one for a cosmetics item. The test set will include a thin, attractive model in each ad (all women),

while the control set of advertisements will not have models in them at all. These advertisements will be selected

from full-page color advertisements appearing in popular women's magazines (e.g., Cosmopolitan, Glamour,

Vogue), for a total of eight print advertisements. The participants will be asked to study the advertisements for a total

of 2 minutes once everyone has received their packet. After two minutes, each participant will be handed the

experimental survey of which they will be asked to complete based on their reactions towards the print

advertisements. The 20-item questionnaire by Heatherton and Polivy (1991) will be included in the experimental

survey as a means to assess the three sub-areas of self-esteem: seven questions related to appearance self-esteem,

seven questions related to social self-esteem, and six questions related to performance self-esteem. Participants will

rate their relative extent of agreement with each item on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to

5 (strongly agree). Larger numbers will indicate higher levels of self-esteem. Thoughts relating to social comparison

will also be assessed in the survey with seven statements developed by Richins (1991) that will measure the extent

to which participants agree while looking at the advertisements. Participants will be asked to respond to the same 5-

point Likert scale mentioned above. Larger numbers for these statements will indicate having experienced the

survey statements to a greater extent while looking at the advertisements—and thus attending a higher degree of

thoughts related to social comparison. The test questions taken from all three sources will be mixed together in no

specific order throughout the survey. Participants will be given as much time as needed to complete the

experimental survey, which they will hand back along with their packet of print advertisements upon exiting the

classroom. Silence will be maintained throughout the procedure, and the results of both surveys will be analyzed for

data correlations to assess the extent accuracy of the research hypotheses of this study.

Conclusion:

I’ve hypothesized that the occurrence of social comparison effects after exposure to ideal images is

determined by both the contents of the image and the extent to which the perceiver is body-dissatisfied. One

limitation of the current study is the number of participants who can be recruited to participate in the study as a

convenience sample. A second limitation is that the participants will primarily be college-aged white females,

limiting the generalizability of findings in terms of age, educational level, race, and culture. Furthermore, this study
K. LEWIS 10

will not provide an explanation for possible results showing that not every woman feels bad about herself after

exposure to an idealistic image or why the effects of exposure to ideal images may not be equally adverse for all

women, further limiting the generalizability of the findings. However, the aim of this study is to clarify when and

why women are negatively affected by images of the thin ideal and the conditions under which social comparison

results in contrastive effects on the self. As previously mentioned, previous research has suggested that images of

physically attractive women may indeed affect some women more strongly than others. This study will help

determine the factors involved in this affect, and thus provide a theory-based explanation of why some women are

more vulnerable to these effects.

 IDEALIZED IMAGES, SELF-DISCREPANCY, AND SOCIAL COMPARISON 11

REFERENCES:

Bessenoff, G. R. (2006, September). Can the Media Affect Us? Social Comparison, Self-Discrepancy, and
the Thin Ideal. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 30(3), 239-251. Retrieved September 17, 2007, from
ABI/Inform Global via Proquest Direct.

Dittmar, H., & Howard, S. (1994, December). Thin-Ideal Internalization and Social Comparison Tendency
as Moderators of Media Models’ Impact on Women’s Body-Focused Anxiety. Journal of Social Science
and Clinical Psychology, 23(6), 768-792. Retrieved September 17, 2007, from ABI/Inform Global via
Proquest Direct.

Festinger, L. (1954). A theory of social comparison processes. Human Relations, 7, 117-140.

Fouts, G., & Burggraf, K. (1999). Television situation comedies: Female body images and verbal
reinforcements. Sex Roles, 40(5-6), 473-481. Retrieved September 20, 2007, from ABI/Inform Global via
Proquest Direct.

Freedman, Rita J. (1984). Reflections on Beauty as It Relates to Health in Adolescent Females. Women and
Health, 9, 29-45. Retrieved September 20, 2007, from ABI/Inform Global via Proquest Direct.

Garner, D.M., Garfinkel, P.E., Schwartz, D., & Thompson, M. (1980). Cultural expectations of thinness in
women. Psychological Reports, 47, 483-491.

Groesz, L.M., Levine, M.P., & Murnen, S.K. (2002). The effect of experimental presentation of thin media
images on body satisfaction: A meta-analytic review. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 31, 1-16.
Retrieved September 20, 2007, from ABI/Inform Global via Proquest Direct.

Harrison, K., & Cantor, J. (1997). The relationship between media exposure and eating disorders. Journal
of Communication, 47, 40-67.

Heatherton, T., & Polivy, J. (1991). Development and validation of a scale for measuring state self-esteem.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 97, 19-28. Retrieved October 15, 2007, from ABI/Inform
Global via Proquest Direct.

Heinberg, J.L., & Thompson, J.K. (1995). Body image and televised images of thinness and attractiveness:
A controlled laboratory investigation. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 14, 325-338.

Heinberg, J.L, Thompson, J.K., & Stormer, S. (1995). Development and validation of the Sociocultural
Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire (SATAQ). International Journal of Eating Disorders, 17,
81-89.

Higgins, E. (1987, July). Self-discrepancy: A theory relating self and affect. Psychological Review,
94(3), 319-340. Retrieved September 20, 2007, from ABI/Inform Global via Proquest Direct.

Irving, L.M. (2001). Media exposure and disordered eating: Introduction to the special section. Journal of
Social and Clinical Psychology, 20, 259-269.

Kety, S., Roland, I., Sigman, R., Matthysse, S. (Eds). (1983). Use of the Danish Adoption Register for the
study of obesity and thinness. The genetics of neurological and psychiatric disorders. New York: Raven
Press.

Lasch, C. (1978). The Culture of Narcissism: American life in an age of diminishing expectations. New
York: Norton.

Moretti, M. M., & Higgins, E.T. (1990). Relating self-discrepancy to self-esteem: The contribution of
discrepancy beyond actual-self ratings. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 26(2), 108-123.
K. LEWIS 12

Posavac, H.D., Posavac, S.S, & Posavac, E.J. (1998). Exposure to media images of female attractiveness
and concern with body weight among young women. Sex Roles, 38(3/4), 187-201. Retrieved
September 20, 2007, from ABI/Inform Global via Proquest Direct.

Richins, M. (1991). Social Comparison and the idealized images of advertising. Journal of Consumer
Research, 18(1), 7-83. Retrieved September 17, 2007, from ABI/Inform Global via Proquest Direct.

Spitzer, B.L., Henderson, K.A., & Zivian, M.T. (1999). Gender differences in population versus media
body sizes: A comparison over four decades. Sex Roles, 40(7-8), 545-565. Retrieved
September 20, 2007, from ABI/Inform Global via Proquest Direct.

Stice, E., Schupak-Neuberg, E., Shaw, H.E., & Stein, R.I. (1994, November). Relation of media exposure
to eating disorder symptomatology: An examination of mediating mechanisms. Journal of Abnormal
Psychology, 103(4), 836-840.

Stice, E., Shaw, H.E., & Nemeroff, C. (1998). Dual pathway model of bulimia nervosa: Longitudinal
support for dietary restraint and affect-regulation mechanisms. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology,
17, 129-149.

Strauman, T.J., & Higgins, E.T. (1988). Self-discrepancies as predictors of vulnerability to distinct
syndromes of chronic emotional distress. Journal of Personality, 56, 685-707.

Striegel-Moore, R., Silberstein, L.R., & Rodin, J. (1986). Toward and understanding of risk factors for
bulimia. American Psychologist, 41, 246-263.

Thompson, J.K., Heinberg, L.J., Altabe, M., & Tantleff-Dunn, S. (1999). Exacting beauty: Theory,
assessment and treatment of body image disturbance. Washington DC: American Psychological
Association.

Wiseman, C.V., Gray, J.J., Mosimann, J.E., & Ahrens, A.H. (1992). Cultural expectations of thinness in
women: An update. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 11(1), 85-89.

Wood, J. V. (1989, September). Theory and research concerning social comparisons of personal attributes.
Psychological Bulletin, 106(2), 231-248. Retrieved September 17, 2007, from EBSCOhost via Academic
Search Elite.
 IDEALIZED IMAGES, SELF-DISCREPANCY, AND SOCIAL COMPARISON 13

APPENDIX A—Search Procedures:

Keywords:
advertising; body-satisfaction; body satisfaction; body-dissatisfaction; body dissatisfaction; comparison;
comparisons; dissatisfaction; expectations; exposure; female; females; idealistic images; idealism; images;
media; perception; perceptions; satisfaction; self-discrepancy; self discrepancy; self-discrepancies; self
discrepancies; self-esteem; self esteem; self-image; self image; social-comparison; social comparison; thin-
ideal; thin ideal; thinness; women

Databases:
Proquest Direct—ABI/INFORM Complete; ABI/INFORM Dateline; ABI/INFORM Global; ABI/INFORM
Trade & Industry; American Medical Association; Dissertations & Theses; Dissertations & Theses: Full Text;
ProQuest Health Management; ProQuest Newspapers; Research Library

CSA Illumina—Sociological Abstracts; ERIC; Sociological Abstracts; PAIS Archive

EBSCO HOST—Academic Search Elite; Business Source Elite; Communication & Mass Media Complete;
Newspaper Source; PsycARTICLES; PsycINFO

References:
Materials from database research were also inspected for reference use

Time frame:
1975-2007
K. LEWIS 14

Appendix B—Instrumentation:

Body Image Survey:

(Kety, Roland, Sigman, & Matthysse, 1983)
 IDEALIZED IMAGES, SELF-DISCREPANCY, AND SOCIAL COMPARISON 15

Experimental Survey: