A confound-free test of the effects of thin-ideal media images on body satisfaction

In experimental investigations of how exposure to thin-ideal body types affects body dissatisfaction (a predictor of disordered eating), it is unclear what the nature of the control condition should be. The current investigation utilizes an unconfounded design and models a method for developing control images of women who differ from thin models in terms of body type and body type only (while using a cover story to reduce suspicion and providing participants with details other than body shape to focus on). The expected effect of image type on body satisfaction was found (after controlling for participants' self-perceived overall attractiveness), although consistent with Ferguson's (2013) meta-analysis, the effect was small. A scale type manipulation, however, designed to test an account of the findings in terms of how participants define scale endpoints, did not significantly affect the results, perhaps because participants spontaneously engaged in social comparison when first exposed to the models.