The role of social comparison in the effect of magazine advertisements on women's mood and body dissatisfaction

This study aimed to investigate the role of social comparison processes in women's responses to images of thin-idealized female beauty. A sample of 126 women viewed magazine advertisements containing full-body, body part, or product images. Instructional set was also manipulated with three levels: control, appearance focus, and social comparison. Mood and body dissatisfaction were measured immediately before and after advertisement viewing, while state weight anxiety and the amount of appearance comparison engaged in were measured only after the advertisements. It was found that exposure to either body part or full body images led to increased negative mood and body dissatisfaction, while the amount of comparison processing was affected by both image type and instructional set. Importantly, regression analyses showed that the effects of image type on mood and body dissatisfaction were mediated by the amount of social comparison reported. It was concluded that the processing in which women engage in response to media images is an important contributor to negative effects.