The media's representation of the ideal male body: A cause for muscle dysmorphia?
Year: 2002
Type: article
Abstract: OBJECTIVE: This study sought to examine the effects of media images on men's attitudes toward their body appearance. METHOD: A group of college men viewed advertisements showing muscular men, whereas a control group viewed neutral advertisements. Immediately thereafter, participants performed a computerized test of body image perception while unaware of the hypotheses being tested in the study. RESULTS: The students exposed to the muscular images showed a significantly greater discrepancy between their own perceived muscularity and the level of muscularity that they ideally wanted to have. DISCUSSION: These findings suggest that media images, even in a brief presentation, can affect men's views of their bodies.
DOI: 10.1002/eat.10019
Institutions: American University, Harvard University, McLean Hospital
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2054541050