Restrained and Unrestrained Eaters' Attributions of Success and Failure to Body Weight and Perception of Social Consensus: The Special Case of Romantic Success

Abstract

Restrained and unrestrained eaters' attributions of success and failure to body weight were explored in two studies. Study 1 showed that when presented with statements attributing life outcomes to body weight, restrained eaters associated thinness with success significantly more than unrestrained eaters did, particularly in the professional and romantic areas of life. This study also showed that both groups assume a strong social consensus for their respective positions regarding the importance of thinness for social and personal success. However, in the case of romantic success, unrestrained eaters also assumed social consensus for the proposition that thinness is essential to romantic success, despite not agreeing with this proposition themselves. Study 2 showed that, when making attributions for the success or failure of a supposedly real woman, restrained eaters attributed her romantic success to thinness and her romantic failure to being overweight, whereas unrestrained eaters' attributions for success and failure remained uninfluenced by weight. Restrained eaters' consistent association of romantic success and thinness is discussed in terms of self–esteem and sociocultural influences. The social consensus estimates are further discussed in terms of their possible effect on dieting and eating pathology. These results also suggest that the widespread belief in a social consensus associating thinness and romantic success might be inaccurate.