Exposure to the thin beauty ideal: Are there subliminal priming effects?

Abstract

Objective Previous research suggested that exposure to the thin beauty ideal propagated by the media is associated with body dissatisfaction and the development of disordered eating. Given recent suggestions regarding the role of automatic processes, we aimed to enhance our understanding of automatic, unconscious responses to body pictures and the association with the internalization of the thin ideal and the severity of eating disorder symptoms. Method An affective priming task with body pictures of different weight as primes and a normal‐weight body picture as target, which had to be evaluated with regard to attractiveness and desirability, was administered to healthy women with either subliminal prime presentation (Experiment 1) or conscious presentation (Experiment 2). Results Subliminal presentation did not affect the evaluation of the normal‐weight target, although strength of evaluative shifts was significantly associated with internalization of the thin ideal. In contrast, the conscious presentation of the ultra‐thin prime decreased and of the obese prime increased desirability and attractiveness ratings of the target. Discussion Prevention strategies focusing on the critical evaluation of the thin ideal are important. Future studies are warranted to enhance our understanding of automatic, unconscious processes in women experiencing eating disorders.

Disorder specific rewarding stimuli in anorexia nervosa

“…A limitation of our study is that we cannot rule out that our ratings are influenced by social desirability, lacking subjective awareness of a deficiency in the brain reward system, or even confounded by automatic unconscious reactions to disorder‐specific stimuli (Leins et al, 2021). This might also explain why reward ratings were in general rather low.…”

All I Need Is Two: The Clinical Potential of Adding Evaluative Pairing Procedures to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Changing Self-, Body- and Food-Related Evaluations

“…Nevertheless, the available literature includes several examples of successful pairing procedures, including with clinical populations, related to improving negative self-concepts [15], body ideals [16], and food preferences [17]. Given the relevance of these and similar evaluations for the emergence and maintenance of disordered cognitions and behaviors [23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33], pairing procedures may indeed offer a simple yet effective means of complementing CBT.…”

“…Consistent with this idea, an increasing number of studies show that altered evaluations link to disordered cognitions and behaviors. For example, a generalized negative self-evaluation, i.e., negative self-esteem, both characterizes and predicts the onset of depressive symptoms [23][24][25]; shifted evaluations of body ideals and foods are associated with the development and maintenance of eating disorders [26][27][28][29][30][31]; phobic patients show evaluative biases in processing fear-relevant stimuli and situations [32,33]. These and similar evaluations need not be consistent with an individual's explicit beliefs or goals (e.g., people frequently desire sweets despite knowing the benefits of restraint [34]) and are less susceptible to conscious introspection and control [19].…”

Impact of personalizing experiences of manipulation outside of awareness on autonomy.

“…On empirical grounds, the evidence that subliminal advertising can meaningfully and reliably influence actual consumer behavior is lacking or else is highly problematic methodologically (e.g., Madan et al, 2021; Pratkanis & Greenwald, 1988; Smarandescu & Shimp, 2015; Wongtada, 2019). Any demonstration of subliminal priming, a process on which subliminal advertising is dependent on, is fraught with methodological issues in psychological research and failures to replicate (Leins et al, 2021; Newell & Shanks, 2014; Röseler et al, 2021; Rothkirch & Hesselmann, 2017; Sand & Nilsson, 2016; Shanks et al, 2013, 2021). In fact, subliminal advertising is actually a myth based on work in the 50s by Vicary that was later found to be a hoax because the data produced to evidence the effects of subliminal advertising were fabricated (e.g., see Moore, 1988; Sheehan, 2013, for discussion).…”