Publication Date

6-1-2003

Degree Type

Master of Arts

Abstract

This study examined the effect of exposure to muscular ideal bodies on body satisfaction in men to see if the effects are similar to what women experience when they are exposed to thin bodies. Participants were 104 college men attending Western Kentucky University. Age of the participants ranged from 18 to 32 years, with a mean of 20.15 years (SD = 2.64). All participants were assessed on the Body Assessment (BA), which measures degree of satisfaction with 25 various aspects of the body. Participants were assessed on this measure before and after exposure to either muscular or non-muscular advertisements. Responses to the BA were summed and then divided by 25 to create a mean score per item. This mean score per item was examined using a 2 (view muscle picture vs. view non-muscle picture) x 2 (pre-test vs. post-test) x 2 (above average participant muscularity vs. below average participant muscularity) mixed Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) to determine if there were any interactions or main effects. There were no three-way interactions found. One 2-way interaction was found between time and type of picture, F (1,100) = 3.73,p = .056. No main effects were noted. The first hypothesis under study was that men's self-rated body satisfaction would decrease after viewing images of muscular men. This hypothesis was supported. The second hypothesis under study was that men's self-rated body satisfaction would remain constant after viewing images of non-muscular men. This hypothesis was supported. The third hypothesis predicted that men categorized as below average in muscularity would show a greater decrease in body satisfaction after viewing the advertisements of muscular men than men categorized as above average in muscularity. This hypothesis was not supported. There was no difference in degree of body satisfaction found between men categorized as above average in muscularity or below average in muscularity. The results of the present study indicate that men's body satisfaction is related to muscularity, in much the same way that women's body satisfaction is related to thinness.

Disciplines

Psychology

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