Nikolaidis, Alyssa (2019) The effects of athletic ideal versus diverse body ideal exercise videos on young women's body image, mood, and exercise motivation. Coursework Masters thesis, University of Southern Queensland. (Unpublished)
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Text (Whole Thesis)
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Abstract
Recently, a new ‘athletic ideal’, characterised by both thinness and visible muscle tone, has emerged as the modern appearance ideal for women to aspire to. Women who epitomise the athletic ideal online are often shown to be engaging in exercise. Promoting health and fitness demonstrates the potential for considerable positive influence, however recent experimental research has found women exposed to the athletic ideal are more frequently dissatisfied with their bodies. In an attempt to alleviate media-induced body dissatisfaction, there has been a shift towards exploring the potential for media imagery to transmit positive body image ideals. This shift has been reflected online with increased female body diversity content. The present study sought to experimentally investigate the impact of athletic ideal versus diverse body ideal fitness videos on young women’s body image, mood, physical functionality satisfaction, and exercise intent, under the framework of Social Comparison Theory. Ninety-five female participants (aged 18-25 years) were randomly assigned to view either athletic ideal exercise videos, diverse body ideal exercise videos, or scenic travel (control) videos. The results were calculated using complete data from seventy two participants. Results showed that acute exposure to athletic ideal videos led to increased body dissatisfaction and less physical functionality satisfaction compared to exposure to diverse body ideal or control videos. Comparatively, viewing diverse body ideal videos led to a decrease in body dissatisfaction and greater exercise intentions. As this study is the first to provide empirical evidence of the effects of diverse body ideal fitness video clips, it illuminates a number of future research directions. These are discussed, along with the theoretical and practical implications of the study’s findings.
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Statistics for this ePrint Item |
| Item Type: | Thesis (Non-Research) (Coursework Masters) |
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| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Historic - Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences - School of Psychology and Counselling (1 Jan 2015 - 31 Dec 2021) |
| Supervisors: | Mullens, Amy; Prichard, Ivanka |
| Qualification: | Masters of Clinical Psychology |
| Date Deposited: | 06 Jan 2020 01:57 |
| Last Modified: | 26 Jun 2023 05:43 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | social media, athletic ideal, state body dissatisfaction, exercise |
| Fields of Research (2008): | 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 1701 Psychology > 170105 Gender Psychology 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 1701 Psychology > 170113 Social and Community Psychology |
| Fields of Research (2020): | 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5205 Social and personality psychology > 520502 Gender psychology 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5205 Social and personality psychology > 520599 Social and personality psychology not elsewhere classified |
| URI: | https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/37624 |
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