gradPSYCH - September 2011 - (Page 15)

Buying into ‘the good life’ leads to bad body image Ads don’t just sell products, they sell sex, glamour and fame by depicting consumers living lavish lifestyles. It’s well-known that ads featuring busty, skinny models can influence body image, but a new study in the British Journal of Social Psychology suggests that the combination of materialism and models may be especially toxic to women’s self-esteem. “Not all women are affected by images of idealized models in the same ways,” says study author Eleni-Marina Ashikali, a psychology graduate student at the University of Sussex. “I wanted to identify what other factors might make women more or less vulnerable to these media images.” Ashikali created fictional advertisements for vacations, champagne and cellphones. Some of these ads played up images of wealth and success. Others used neutral images, such as abstract art and landscapes, to promote the products. She then showed the ads to 155 young women. Some of the women viewed just the flashy ads, and some saw just the neutral. In addition, some participants also saw ads in which thin, beautiful models promoted an inexpensive product such as suntan lotion. Throughout the test, Ashikali asked the participants to decide which ads they liked best to ensure they looked closely at them. Afterward, she surveyed the women on their feelings about their own bodies. She found that women’s body images were unaffected by viewing the materialistic or nonmaterialistic ads by themselves. However, when Advertisements that combine thin models with images of wealth and success the ads were combined with pictures of models, may be particularly damaging to women’s self-esteem. the women who looked at the materialistic ads were significantly more self-conscious about and critical of their bodies than those who saw the women to feel insecure about their bodies, Ashikali says, possibly non-materialistic ads. because images of “the good life” make women think of other ways in which they feel they fall short of society’s ideals. The results suggest that materialistic media images can prime gradPSYCH • September 2011 • 15 Photos.com  http://www.Photos.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of gradPSYCH - September 2011

GradPSYCH - September 2011
Contents
Interns: Be sure to track your hours
Students often notice but only sometimes blow the whistle on peers’ ethical violations
Psychology student spearheads coming-out project
Internship application costs rise
Odd Jobs
Media Picks
Chair’s Corner
Research Roundup
Matters to a Degree
The new academic job market
Applier beware
Does TV accurately portray psychology?
Safer travels
How to handle a tough audience
Free Money for Education
Meet your new advocates
Bulletin Board
Jobs, internships, postdocs and other opportunities
The Back Page

gradPSYCH - September 2011

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