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Effects of social comparisons with peers on women's body satisfaction and exercise behavior
Author(s) -
Wasilenko Kari A.,
Kulik James A.,
Wanic Rebekah A.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
international journal of eating disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.785
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1098-108X
pISSN - 0276-3478
DOI - 10.1002/eat.20433
Subject(s) - psychology , affect (linguistics) , social comparison theory , social psychology , peer group , developmental psychology , duration (music) , communication , art , literature
Objective: Although exposure to thin‐ideal females in the media has been shown to increase women's body dissatisfaction, only a few studies have examined the effects of comparisons with peers, and no prior work has studied the effects of peer comparisons in a naturalistic setting or on objective behavior. Method: Female undergraduates ( n = 45) in a campus gym who exercised on a target apparatus were assigned to have a fit‐peer, unfit‐peer, or no‐peer (control) exercise within their view on a nearby apparatus. Objective time spent exercising and body satisfaction reports were collected. Results: Exposure to a fit peer had undermining effects on women's body satisfaction and exercise duration, whereas an unfit peer produced no compensating greater body satisfaction but did elicit longer exercise duration relative to controls. Conclusion: Incidental comparisons with fit versus unfit peers can affect women's body satisfaction and fitness‐related behavior in a naturalistic setting. © 2007 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 2007