Implicit beliefs about ideal body image predict body image dissatisfaction.

Niclas Heider,Jan De Houwer,Adriaan Spruyt

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01402

Abstract

We examined whether implicit measures of actual and ideal body image can be used to predict body dissatisfaction in young female adults. Participants completed two Implicit Relational Assessment Procedures (IRAPs) to examine their implicit beliefs concerning actual (e.g., I am thin) and desired ideal body image (e.g., I want to be thin). Body dissatisfaction was examined via self-report questionnaires and rating scales. As expected, differences in body dissatisfaction exerted a differential influence on the two IRAP scores. Specifically, the implicit belief that one is thin was lower in participants who exhibited a high degree of body dissatisfaction than in participants who exhibited a low degree of body dissatisfaction. In contrast, the implicit desire to be thin (i.e., thin ideal body image) was stronger in participants who exhibited a high level of body dissatisfaction than in participants who were less dissatisfied with their body. Adding further weight to the idea that both IRAP measures captured different underlying constructs, we also observed that they correlated differently with body mass index, explicit body dissatisfaction, and explicit measures of actual and ideal body image. More generally, these findings underscore the advantage of using implicit measures that incorporate relational information relative to implicit measures that allow for an assessment of associative relations only.

Highlights

Body dissatisfaction can be defined as the negative attitude toward one’s own body resulting from a perceived discrepancy between the actual body image and the ideal body image
We hypothesized that participants high and low in body dissatisfaction would differ in their self-reported degree of body dissatisfaction and in their implicit beliefs concerning their actual and ideal body image
We expected the implicit desire to be thin to be more pronounced in participants who exhibit a high degree of body dissatisfaction as compared to participants low in body dissatisfaction

Summary

Introduction

Body (image) dissatisfaction can be defined as the negative attitude toward one’s own body resulting from a perceived discrepancy between the actual body image (i.e., perceptions, thoughts, and feelings concerning one’s actual physical appearance; e.g., Cash, 1990) and the ideal body image (i.e., internalized ideals about one’s physical appearance; e.g., Cooper and Taylor, 1988; Higgins, 1989; Williamson et al, 1990; Strauman et al, 1991; Williamson et al, 1993). Because body dissatisfaction plays a central role in the causation and maintenance of eating disorders (Stice, 2001; Fairburn and Harrison, 2003; American Psychiatric Association, 2013), behavioral scientists have long sought ways to measure the degree of dissatisfaction with one’s personal physical appearance (e.g., Slade and Russell, 1973; Allebeck et al, 1976; Freeman et al, 1984; Schlundt and Johnson, 1990; Bessenoff and Sherman, 2000; Degner and Wentura, 2009; Roddy et al, 2010, 2011; Juarascio et al, 2011; Bluemke and Friese, 2012; Parling et al, 2012). Inter-individual differences are inferred from a respondent’s response pattern in well-controlled computer tasks, often referred to as implicit measures (De Houwer et al, 2009)

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