The effect of thin and average-sized models on women's appearance and functionality satisfaction: Does pose matter?

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Media Studies
• Body Image Research

Background:

• Previous research indicates idealized fitness imagery negatively affects body satisfaction.
• Most studies have focused on thin models, leaving the impact of average-sized models and different poses under-explored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of model body size (thin vs. average) and pose (active vs. posed) on women's body satisfaction and social comparison.
• To compare the impact of idealized fitness imagery versus neutral scenery.

Main Methods:

• An online study involving 379 women (aged 17-30) exposed to one of five conditions: thin posed, thin active, average posed, average active models, or scenery.
• Pre- and post-test measures assessed appearance and functionality satisfaction, and social comparison tendencies.

Main Results:

• Exposure to thin models significantly reduced appearance and functionality satisfaction and increased upward social comparison compared to average-sized models or scenery.
• Model pose primarily influenced satisfaction when models were average-sized; active average-sized models led to lower appearance satisfaction and higher functionality-based comparison than posed average-sized models.

Conclusions:

• Model thinness is a significant factor in negative body image effects.
• The presentation style (pose) of average-sized models also plays a crucial role in viewer satisfaction and social comparison, highlighting the complex interplay between model characteristics and image context.