Download files
Abstract
This research examined automatic evaluation of body-related stimuli in female undergraduates using an affective priming task. Automaticity was tested by varying the stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) and valence congruence of the prime and target pairs. The prime to target interval (SOA) was either short or long, and the valence of the paired items was either the same (congruent) or different (incongruent). Automaticity was indicated by faster responses to congruent pairs than to incongruent pairs at the short SOA (parsimonious criterion) but not at the long SOA (classic criterion). Individual differences in thin internalisation, appearance schematicity, body dissatisfaction, and dietary restraint were assessed as potential moderators. Automatic evaluation of body-related images, but not words, was demonstrated in Study 1B and Study 1A, respectively. In Study 2A, automatic evaluation of nonbody-related words was obtained and this was extended to body-related words (Study 2B). In Study 3, automatic evaluation of normatively-selected body words was examined and body image schema activation was tested as a function of level of appearance schematicity. There was a trend toward automaticity and schematicity did not moderate schema activation. Overall, elevated body image concerns did not influence automatic evaluation in Studies 1A to 3 (with the exception of Study 1B). The role of extreme levels of appearance schematicity on automaticity and schema activation was examined in Studies 4A and 4B for normative and idiographic primes. Automatic evaluation was demonstrated in Study 4A and a trend was obtained in Study 4B. Schematicity did not moderate affective processing or schema activation. Automatic evaluation of body-related images was replicated in Study 5 but it was not moderated by prime strength or individual differences. Overall, the research suggests that most female undergraduates, irrespective of differences in body image concerns, automatically evaluate body-related stimuli. The final chapter provides an overview of the findings and discusses the theoretical and practical implications.