The impact of idealized images in advertising: A model of third-person effect

Media and advertisers are frequently blamed for spotlighting physical attractiveness, distorting young people's perceptions of their bodies, and setting standards that cannot be met. Though researchers have reported that media and advertising affect body image and may contribute to eating disorders, knowledge about how these images operate is incomplete. The primary purpose of this study is to examine the process of thin female images in advertising impact young women's perceptions of body images and how these images impact enhancement behaviors. The third person effect is the basic theoretical framework of the dissertation. There were two primary tasks in this dissertation: (1) propose and test an alternative model of media impact of body image: the third person effect model; (2) examine the contingent conditions of the classic third person effect in the context of the impact of idealized images in advertising. Female college students were studied to test the third person effect model.; The author found that the emergence of the classic third person effect depended on the perceived valence of the impact of thin female models of advertising and the psychological relationships between self and others. The findings indicated that the responses to various third person effect questions were susceptible to the context cues such as gender identity of “others,” and social intimacy of “others.”; As to the proposed third person effect model, the author found limited support. The third person perception variables predicted the likelihood of plastic surgery, but not other behavioral measures. In addition, the perceived importance of others did not moderate the relationship between the third person perceptions and image enhancement behaviors. Limitations as well as the theoretical contributions of the dissertation are discussed. Directions for future research are also provided.