The influence of advertisements of products aimed at appearance management on consumers' body image: Social comparison with media models

This dissertation focused on the influence of advertisements for products aimed at appearance management on consumers' body image appraisal. It included a content analysis and an experimental study. It examined the moderating role of perceived control over one's appearance in the social comparison process, which is known to occur when consumers are exposed to the images of media models.; In the content analysis, a sample of advertisements of appearance-management products that appeared in women's interest magazines, Ladies' Home Journal and Redbook, from 1950 to 1999, was examined. This study explored to what extent the advertisers of these products tried to foster consumers to compare themselves to the models and to believe that, through the consumptions of the products, achieving the appearances that the models possess is possible. The findings indicated that the appearance characteristics of advertisement models, which serve as comparison targets for the consumers, were close to the ideal rather than representing the appearance of the majority of American women. Many products were presented as permanently altering different aspects of consumers' appearance to help them achieve the idealized appearance. This tendency of considering consumers' body features as mutable has increased over the 50 years studied. In the experimental study, a 2 (Types of Stimuli Pictures: non-human images vs. attractive model images) by 2 (Levels of Perceived Control over Appearance: low vs. high) MANCOVA was conducted with various appearance-related dependent variables. A significant interaction effect between the types of stimuli pictures and the levels of perceived control over appearance, which was found for the level of appearance-related anxiety and self-esteem, revealed that perceived control over appearance moderates the consequences of social comparison. A multiple regression analysis revealed that higher levels of body esteem and self-esteem, a lower level of appearance-related anxiety, and not being Caucasian are related to a higher level of appearance satisfaction.; The results of this study have implications regarding the potentially negative influence of marketing and advertising efforts on individuals' body image. It also enhances the understanding of the process of social comparison of appearance by introducing the concept, perceived control over appearance, as a moderating factor.