Research in psychology today seems to be drawn towards particular fields of interest especially when it comes to understanding human behavior. One of the most common research topics for social psychology is body image and the perceptions that are related to age groups, genders, and ethnicities. Young people today are pressured by society to make physical appearance a dominant factor in their everyday lives, and the pressure is found not only through media influence but friends and family as well (Pavica, 2010). These pressures can affect many different aspects of a person’s life and significantly influence their actions. The aspects affected by body image can include popularity among peers, social comfort, and the attitudes an individual comes to commit to behavior (Lewis & Rosenblum, 1999).
Studies of body image in the past have gained varying results as to the groups that are affected, as well as the amount of impact body image has with these groups. There has also been much debate over the validity of methods used to judge body image, and how well the measurements used actually correlate participants’ actual views of body image (Cash, Morrow, Hrabosky, & Perry 2004). Some factors that have led to this discrepancy in answers are questions that were framed to be more suitable to attain the attitudes of one gender over another. The initial studies of body image focused upon simply body shape which seemed to be more important to women, whereas body image affects were seen for men when questions of muscle definition were included into the questionnaire process (Ridgeway, & Tylka, 2005).
This study hopes to gain a more in depth view of a demographic that is believed to put a great amount of focus on body image in the way the...
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...ipong, Paul, and Heidi Burkey. "Body mass Index and Body Size Perception: A normalizing of overweight and obesity among diverse college students." Californian Journal of Health Promotion 9.1 (2011): 18-24. Retrieved from http://cjhp.org/Volume9-2011/issue1/18-24ratanasiripong.pdf
Ridgeway, R., & Tylka, T. (2005). College men's perceptions of ideal body composition and shape. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 6(3), 209-220. Retrieved from http://ovidsp.tx.ovid.com
Rosenblum, G. and Lewis, M. "The relations among body image, physical attractiveness, and body mass in adolescence." Child Development 70.1 (1999): 50-64. doi: 10.1111/1467-8624.00005
Seidah, Amelie, and Therese Bouffard. "Being proud of oneself as a person or being proud of one's physical appearance: What matters for feeling will in adolescense?." Social Behavior and Personality 35.2 (2007): 255-268.
The environment in which people live influences body image concerns. Today, we live in an e...
Van Vonderen, K. E., & Kinnally, W. (2012). Media effects on body image: Examining media
Holmstrom, A. (2004). The effects of the media on the body image: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, 48(2), 196-217.
Franco, K.N., Alishahie, M., & Bronson, D. L. (2004). Body Image. In S. Loue & M.
...body was ideal for reasons such as running faster, swimming better, and excelling at sports such as football; All of the examples listed pertaining to physical performance. They also desired to be tall in order to gain independence from their parents, and be able to do more things on their own. The boys also claimed that being tall would be useful in dangerous situations; For example, some desired a big and tall body to fight and others wanted a skinny and tall body to be able to run away from the danger. Although there was a distinction between the bigger bodies desired, and the overweight bodies, to which they gave perceived negatively. This study helps to explain the key difference between boys and girls in reguards to body image; The girls wanted to be thin in order to be beautiful, yet the boys wanted to be big and tall for reasons related to physical ability.
“Body Image is something both men and women are concerned with” says Luke Lyons. In addition, young girls are more scared of becoming fat than losing a parent. Everyone has a different perspective on body image, based on experience. Body image impacts the world daily for both men and women of all ages. Many things impact the way we look at body image, also. Like, social media showing good and bad sides. Body image is controversial because it can be very beneficial for some people, but also can be very harmful.
"Introduction to Body Image: Teen Decisions." Body Image. Ed. Auriana Ojeda. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2003. Teen Decisions. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 20 May 2014.
This chapter takes a more in depth and informative point of view to help readers get a better understanding of meanings behind vocab and terms we are unfamiliar with. As we pick up in chapter three, body image has been known to be evolving and fluctuating since the first half of the twentieth century until now. With the growing terms that have been experimented and explained over time, the definition of body image is now stated as, “… The picture we have in our minds of the size, shape, and form of our bodies; and to our feelings concerning these characteristics and our constituent body parts.” Chapter three takes many terms that we do not hear when judging or talking about body image, and instead gives definitions and studies on how these concepts came about. The article points out that many
In recent years, body image emerged as the top concern among 29,000 young people aged 11-24 years. Three key factors affecting and influencing the body image of adolescent girls today include social, print and digital media, gender expectations of people in relationships and peer pressure pursued by those living around us.
With this high interaction with and consumption of mass media, it has undoubtedly become a large, almost necessary, part of our lives. People are exposed to media messages, both good and bad, on a daily basis. Thus, it is important that we discuss the impact of media on one aspect of the human psyche - body image. This literature review will discuss the effects of mass media on body image, how different aspects of media affect a person’s body image and how age and gender can affect the ways in which media has an impact on body image.
Self-Image - the way you think about yourself and your abilities or appearance. In a modern popular culture, body image norms are perpetuated by fashion and the media, by better selection of "good looks" in selection of a potential mate, and by the association of reduced potential in individuals not portraying "accepted" body proportions. In my paper, I describe and support with evidence how the media contributes to poor body image in individuals. Body image has been defined in many ways. One definition is that it is the perceptions and attitudes held by an individual in relation to his or her own physical characteristics (cash &Fleming, 2002). The term body image has been used in research interchangeably
Social Issue Research Centre (2012). Mirror, Mirror- A Summary of Research Findings on Body Image. Retrieved from http://www.sirc.org/publik/mirror.html
The media’s portrayal of the female body image has a negative effect on the female population, as shown in both literature reviews and this research. The dominant factors which affect body image are that of the frequent comparison to others, seeing models, celebrities, in the media as well as the general society around. The supposed ideal physical appearance and what is considered to be the ideal body plays a great role in the nega...
Without a doubt, at some point in their lives, males and females experience disturbances in body image that can arise from self-esteem issues. By looking at what influences body image disturbances in adults, it would be easier to understand where the manifestation begins. Adults question their body image, self-esteem and overall worth due to cultural and societal influences such as, media images that show the “ideals” of society. With most studies focusing on adolescents and this phenomenon, these two studies consider the adult population and how both males and females exhibit different psychological responses to body image and self-esteem.
Teenagers constantly worry about their body image. Magazines, newspapers, and television don’t exactly help to boost their confidence. The portrayal of stick thin woman and body building men forces teens to believe they need to achieve that “perfect” body and look. The biggest issue of these images being broadcasted to teens is the effects that the images have on them. Teenagers who obsess over their body image can experience stress due to trying to impress others, develop an eating disorder, and neglect, and even jeopardize, important aspects of their lives when they focus too much on their body image.