Being Successful and Being Thin: The Effects of Thin-Ideal Social Media Images With High Socioeconomic Status on Women's Body Image and Eating Behaviour. (14th February 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Qi, Wei; Cui, Lijuan
• Is Part Of: Journal of Pacific Rim psychology. Volume 12(2018)
• Publication Date: 2018-02-14
• Subjects: thin-ideal image, -- socioeconomic status, -- food intake, -- social media; Psychology -- Oceania -- Periodicals; Psychology -- Islands of the Pacific -- Periodicals; Psychology -- Periodicals; 150.99
• DOI: 10.1017/prp.2017.16
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1834-4909

Abstract

Abstract : Social media has outpaced traditional media to be the most popular sociocultural channel to transmit thin-ideal images, an established trigger for body image concerns and disordered eating in women. With an experimental design, the present research first demonstrated that exposure to thin images on social media threatened women's body image and increased their unhealthy food consumption (Study 1). However, given that thin images posted on social media are usually from wealthier people, the present research hypothesised that it may not be the body shape but the perceived socioeconomic status (SES) of images that indeed have negative effects on women. By manipulating the perceived SES of thin images and incorporating a baseline control group (Study 2), the present research provided causal evidence for the hypothesis by indicating that viewing thin images with parallel-perceived SES could significantly buffer undesirable thin-ideal effects on self-objectification and food intake. Therefore, future research needs to pay more attention to the role of SES in the thin media images literature.