She shouldn't be a model': the effects of exposure to plus-size models on body dissatisfaction, mood, and Facebook commenting behavior.

Talbot, D., Mansfield, H., Hayes, S., & Smith, E. (2021) "She shouldn't be a model": the effects of exposure to plus-size models on body dissatisfaction, mood, and Facebook commenting behavior. Behavior Change, 38(3), 135-147. doi: 10.1017 / bec.2021.7

Commentary

The purpose of this study was to investigate the exposure effects of the plus-size model on body dissatisfaction and mood and the nature of participants' commenting behavior on images in the plus-size model.

In the study, which consisted of 92 female college students exposed to Facebook photos of plus-size models, participants were randomly assigned to pair the exposed photos with positive, negative, or neutral comments, and participants were asked to leave an anonymous comment on each photo.

Results showed that regardless of the comment condition, participants showed less body dissatisfaction and felt better after being exposed to the plus-size model.

Furthermore, the comment condition was shown to have a significant effect on the types of comments posted by the participants.

In photos combined with negative comments, participants were significantly more likely to leave a negative comment, with 40% of participants leaving a negative comment compared to 4% in the positive condition.

The conclusion of this study is that the negative comments in the plus-size model indicate that bystanders will be encouraged to post negative comments.