Beauty in the "I" of the Beholder: Effects of Idealized Media Portrayals on Implicit Self-Image

Abstract

To explore whether implicit self-evaluations (ISEs) and explicit self-evaluations (ESEs) are differentially susceptible to influence, both were measured after exposure to images of beauty in magazine advertisements or to control advertisements containing no body images. As predicted, female participants' ESEs and body-images were unaffected by idealized images of beauty. However, exposure to such images (as compared to control ads) led to a reduction in the association between beauty and the 3 primed identities (self, in-group, and gender) as well as a reduction in the quantity of snack food consumed while awaiting completion of the study. Together, these findings support the hypothesis that women may not as easily correct for, or protect against, inappropriate social comparisons and other threats to the self on the implicit level, at least in the domain of attractiveness. Moreover, previous research suggesting small effects of advertising's portrayal of women may have underestimated such effects by relying primarily on explicit, self-report measures of body image.