No abstract

This study examined individual difference and social factors in moderating the effects of media images on women's body satisfaction. Participants heard a conversation wherein 2 people either were judgmental about a mutual friend's weight gain or discussed their friend's recent move. Participants then viewed slides which were either neutral or depicted “ideal” images of women. Results underscored the importance of individual differences. When exposed to ideal images, thinner women more positively evaluated their sexual attractiveness, while heavier women reported more negative self‐evaluations. Compared to low self‐monitors, high self‐monitors who were exposed to ideal images were more positive about their physical condition. The findings demonstrate that media images do not similarly affect all women's body esteem.

The authors examined whether the negative behavior of 1 Black male would influence White participants' perceptions of Black Americans and behavior toward another Black person. In Study 1, it was found that participants in the Black-negative condition tended to stereotype Blacks more than participants in the Black-control condition did. It was also found that participants who had observed a negative behavior, whether it was performed by a Black or a White confederate, avoided a subsequently encountered Black person more often than did participants in either the positive condition or the control condition. In a 2nd study, interpersonal interactions with a Black person were minimized only after participants observed the negative behavior of a Black confederate. Study 3 extended the findings of Study 1 by showing that group level stereotypes and the expression of ingroup favoritism resulted from simply overhearing a conversation in which a Black person was alleged to have committed a crime.

The current research examines the effects of exposure to ideal images on women's self-evaluations, taking into account the moderating influence of social contextual and individual difference factors. In Study 1, women were exposed to either ideal images of women or neutral images. Participants viewed these images in a context in which (a) men were not present, (b) men were present, or (c) men were present and made comments about some of the images. Results indicated that participants' weightesteem was negatively affected in the ideal image/men present condition but that those in the ideal image/men comment condition actually exhibited higher levels of weight-esteem. A second study replicated the results of Study 1 and also showed that the importance participants placed on physical attractiveness influenced the effects of viewing ideal images.