Exposure to male models in advertisements leads to a decrease in men's body satisfaction

North American Journal of Psychology , March-April, 2006 by Amy L. Baird, Frederick G. Grieve

This study was designed to examine the effect of exposure to male models in advertisements on men's body satisfaction. Participants were 173 college males that were recruited from introductory psychology courses. Participants were assessed using the Body Assessment (BA), Magazine Advertisement Questionnaire (MAQ), and one of two sets of magazine advertisements that consisted of either clothing or cologne products, or those same products featured with a male model. Participants who viewed advertisements with male models showed an increase in body dissatisfaction, while those who viewed only products demonstrated no change in body dissatisfaction. The importance of this finding is that the body dissatisfaction experienced through exposure to idealized images of men in the media is only the beginning of possible outcomes such as anabolic steroid use, eating disorders, and muscle dysmorphia. Limitations and suggestions for continued research are discussed.


It has been proposed for years that women have a normative discontent with their body shape and, especially, weight (Brownell & Rodin, 1994). Women generally want to lose between five and 10 pounds of body weight to better approximate the social ideal (Cash, Ancis, & Strachan, 1997). By approximating the social ideal, women raise their self-esteem as well as their perceived value (Crandall, 1994).


Men, on the other hand, have long been thought to be free from pressures to shape their bodies in a certain manner because they had other avenues upon which to base their self-opinion (Crandall, 1994). However, recently, the pressures on men to obtain and maintain a certain body type have been increasing. The value of having a muscular body has increased (Pope, Olivardia, Boroweicke, & Cohane, 2001). Men are beginning to report being dissatisfied with their body appearance (Drewnoski & Yee, 1987; Vartanian, Giant, & Passino, 2001) and wanting to gain approximately 30 pounds in muscle mass (Pope et al., 2000). The pressures toward this muscular body have increased the prevalence rate, and the attention paid to, muscle dysmorphia, a disorder in which individuals believe they are too small and work to become larger (see Olivardia, 2001, for an explication of the diagnostic criteria for muscle dysmorphia).


The internalization of the ideal body shape as presented in the media is well accepted as a causal factor in the development of eating disorders. (Stice, 2002). As muscle dysmorphia appears to be a male version of an eating disorder (Grieve, 2005), the same pressures can be expected to affect men as affect women. However, the pressure should be toward developing a muscular frame rather than a thin frame.


When women are exposed to idealized images in the media, they engage in social comparison, and their body satisfaction lowers (Choate, 2005; Richins, 1991). Advertisements in popular magazines have been implicated in the promotion of the thin ideal (Morry & Staska, 2001). When women are continuously exposed to the thin ideal presented in the media, they are likely to internalize the cultural ideal as the standard against which to compare themselves. Many times, this comparison finds their own bodies lacking (Choate, 2005). Richins (1991) asked one group of women to rate magazine advertisements with thin female models and asked another group of women to rate magazine advertisements with just the products in them. Following the exposure session, women were then asked to rate body satisfaction. Women who were exposed to advertisements with thin female models were more dissatisfied with their bodies than women who were exposed to advertisements with only the products.


As male models in magazine advertisements have become more muscular across time (Pope et al., 2001), it was expected that exposure to such would engender the same type of social comparison as seen in women exposed to thin female models. Further, Lorenzen, Grieve, and Thomas (2004) exposed collegiate-aged men to photographs of muscular and average men. They found that, following exposure, the participants who viewed photographs of muscular men had a small, but significant, decrease in body satisfaction.


The present study was designed to examine the effect of exposure to muscular male models presented in actual magazine advertisements on men's body satisfaction. Drawing on the work of Richins (1991) and Lorenzen et al. (2004), it was hypothesized that men exposed to magazine advertisements with muscular male models will have higher levels of body dissatisfaction than men exposed to magazine advertisements containing only products.


METHOD

Participants and Design

Participants were 173 college males (M age = 19.62, SD = 2.33) with the average educational level of a college sophomore (M education = 13.60 years, SD = 0.77). Racial composition was 84.4% Caucasian, 8.7% African American, 3.5% Asian, and 1.7% each of Latino and other. The design of the study was a 2 (type of advertisement: muscular vs. normal) x 2 (time: pretest vs. posttest) mixed design. Type of advertisement was a between-subjects variable while time was a within-subjects variable.


Materials

Advertisements. The stimulus materials were 16 advertisements, eight that included male models with clothing and cologne products, and eight that depicted only the products. The advertisements were collected from popular men's magazines such as FHM, Maxim, and Sports Illustrated. The race/ethnicity of the models displayed in the advertisements included Caucasians, African Americans, and Latinos, with an approximate age range of 18 to 30 years. The advertisements with male models were chosen based on their high attractiveness, developed muscularity, and highly visible upper body, with care to ensure that the advertisements were equal in appearance. Advertisements in each condition were matched so that the same presentation of products (clothing or cologne) was followed for each set.


Measures

Demographics. Basic demographic data (age, race, and current educational level) were assessed using a questionnaire.

Body Satisfaction. The Body Assessment (BA; Lorenzen et al., 2004) is a 25-item survey that assesses participants' attitudes towards various parts or aspects of their body. Appearance and body performance are assessed in this survey. Items are scored on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (strongly positive) to 5 (strongly negative). The BA has been shown to have good internal consistency, Cronbach's alpha = .94 (Lorenzen et al., 2004).

Advertisement Assessment. A 40-item questionnaire (the Magazine Advertisement Questionnaire, MAQ) was created for this study to assess different aspects of the magazine advertisements presented to the participants. Questions were answered on a Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (Strongly Agree) to 5 (Strongly Disagree). Participants responded to five statements for each of the eight advertisements they viewed: "I think this ad is highly informative," "I currently buy products such as those featured in this ad.," "This ad accurately represents the product," "I think this ad makes the product more appealing to consumers," and "Because of this ad, I would buy this product." This questionnaire was created as a means to have participants focus on the advertisements being presented, and data collected from the MAQ was not used in subsequent analyses.
Procedure

Participants were recruited from several introduction to psychology classes by offering extra credit. The administration of both sessions of the experiment occurred in a classroom. After informed consent was obtained from participants, they were instructed to complete the demographics form and the BAS. After turning in their completed forms, the participants began their second session. At the second session, participants were randomly assigned to a condition and informed that they would be viewing several different magazine advertisements, and were to complete the MAQ for each of the advertisements. The magazine advertisements were shown for approximately 30 seconds via a projector. After completing the MAQ for all of the advertisements, participants were again asked to complete the BAS. The entire process took approximately 20 to 30 minutes to complete.

You can read the entire research paper here.

Participants were 173 college males that were recruited from introductory psychology courses.

Really?
I NOW discount this "recent university study" in entirety. Unless, of course, someone can
present to me their thesis, for peer review OUTSIDE of "Acadamia", that clearly demonstrates such a sampling can remotely reflect the population as a whole.

In exchange for my efforts with evaluating such a premise, I DEMAND an "honorary" degree.

Yeah Capt,

I find this sort of thing truly bizzare to say the least.
We now know where most of the "recent study was done concerning womens........." come from, eh?

As far as that is concerned, it sounds like they do a "show of hands" first thing in the morning and make up the rest, during the rest of the day.

But,
What a strange thing to do a study on.
I personally couldn't give a monkey's backside about some pretty young man on the TV or in the paper, I know exactly who I am and that isn't going to be changing in a hurry.

I look at this way, if you have to sell your looks for money to eat, you obviously didn't do that well at school did you?, meaning that you may not be the good breeding stock, that you are made out to be.

Being pretty is one thing, people are often born with good looks (and then there is the plastic fantastic crowd), and these days, it is ALL image, isn't it?

I think it is a good find!

Just think about it, feminist complaining about body images ... bla bla bla ... answer: look it happens to men, too, are you concerned?