| dc.description.abstract | Depression and dysphoria have often been cited as emotional states that
exacerbate both body size distortion and body dissatisfaction. The specific cause of this
association has recently been the subject of empirical investigation. In fact, recent
research suggests that women induced into a negative mood state report increased
concern about their body image. The role of cognition, however, has not yet been
specifically addressed by these investigations. The present study tested whether self-referent
cognition acts as a mediator between subjective mood and body image
evaluations. Eighty women were induced into either a positive or negative mood through
brief exposure to either a self-referent or a non self-referent mood induction procedure
(MIP). Self-evaluations for attitudinal and perceptual body image were examined for
differential effects related to these MIPs. Results indicated that attitudinal body image
self-evaluations and perceptual estimates of actual body size became more derogatory
only after exposure to the negative MIP that was self-referent. Participants exposed to
the positive self-referent MIP, as well as the negative non self-referent MIP, showed an
overall unexpected trend toward improved self-evaluations on these measures.
Participants who initially reported high self-esteem also showed a decrease in self-esteem
after exposure to the negative self-referent MIP. These collective results support the
cognitive priming perspective, which posits that cognitive sets, and not subjective mood
per se, are responsible for the more negative self-evaluations reported after exposure to
negative MIPs. The implications of the study’s findings for cognitive theories are
discussed. | |
