Abstract
In Study 1 women were randomly assigned to viewing: (1) no photo of themselves, (2) an accurate, full-body photo, (3) a photo modified to make them appear thinner than usual, or (4) a photo modified to make them appear heavier than usual. Measures of mood, state self-esteem, and body dissatisfaction were completed. There were no main effects of photo condition; participants were generally poor at perceiving weight change. The heavier that participants thought they looked in their photo as compared to usual, the worse their appearance self-esteem and body dissatisfaction. Study 2 replicated these results and found that participants with higher levels of trait body checking were more likely to report that they looked heavier than usual in the photo. Study 3 replicated these results and found that the correlation between body parts checking and how participants thought they looked in the photo held true even after controlling for appearance investment.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 516-526 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Body Image |
Volume | 11 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Sep 2014 |
Keywords
- Body checking
- Body image
- Self-esteem
- Weight feedback