• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.1-14
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• 2015

This study examines the effect of sociocultural attitude toward appearance and appearance comparison on appearance management behavior by adolescents. The study examines the differences of the effect relationships among the three variables according to adolescents' sex and school grade. The questionnaire was administrated to 575 middle school and high school students in Gwangju from September 2-8, 2011. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistical analysis, frequency analysis, factor analysis, reliability analysis, and regression analysis by SPSS for WIN program. The results were as follows. First, the sociocultural attitude toward appearance was composed of two factors: internalization and awareness. Adolescent's appearance management behavior was composed of four factors: hair and style, face, weight, and neatness. There are significant differences on sociocultural attitude toward appearance and appearance management behavior by gender, age (girl/middle, boy/middle, girl/high, boy/high). Second, the sociocultural attitude toward appearance significantly influenced appearance management behavior with significant differences among groups. Third, the sociocultural attitude toward appearance significantly influenced the appearance comparison and there are significant differences among groups. Fourth, appearance comparison significantly influenced appearance management behavior with significant differences among groups. Fifth, the sociocultural attitude toward appearance mediated by appearance comparison statistically did not influence appearance management behavior.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.81-94
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• 2019

Social media is an essential part of everyday life in modern society and plays an important role in communicating the ideal body image. With the increased prevalence and high popularity of social media, the problems associated with the addictive use of social media have become a social issue. Utilizing social comparison theory, this study examined (1) the effect of appearance related photo activities on body satisfaction through appearance comparison and (2) the moderating effect of Instagram addiction in relationships among appearance related photo activity, appearance comparison, and body satisfaction. We tested the proposed relationships between research variables using multi-group structural equation modeling analysis on a sample of 346 young female Instagram users. The sample was divided into two groups of high and low addicted Instagram users. The results of this study showed that the appearance related photo activity positively influenced appearance comparison for both high and low addiction groups. For the high addiction group, the effect of appearance comparison on body satisfaction was not statistically significant; however, this relationship was significant and negative for the low addiction group. A significant moderating effect of Instagram addiction was found in the relationship between appearance related photo activity and appearance comparison.

• Journal of the Korea Fashion and Costume Design Association
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.1-17
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to identify the relationships among self-esteem, physical appearance comparison, media concern, sociocultural attitude toward appearance, body attitudes, and life satisfaction. Data were collected from a convenience sample of 232 female undergraduate students. Data were analyzed using factor analysis, correlation, and multiple regression. The result showed that there was a correlation between physical appearance comparison and media concern. Self-esteem, physical appearance comparison, and media concern had an indirect influence on body attitudes through sociocultural attitude toward appearance. Self-esteem and physical appearance comparison had a direct effect on body attitude. All variables did not have an influence on life satisfaction, except self-esteem.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.27-42
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to examine: (1) the relationships among internalization of sociocultural attitudes toward appearance, body comparison, and body dissatisfaction in adolescent girls; and (2) whether or not body comparison mediates the relationship between internalization of sociocultural attitudes toward appearance and body dissatisfaction. The participants consisted of 291 girls from fifth through ninth grades. The data were collected by means of questionnaires given in classroom settings. The findings are as follows: there are significant bivariate correlations among internalization of sociocultural attitudes toward appearance, body comparison, and body dissatisfaction. Furthermore, body comparison partially mediates the relationship between internalization of sociocultural attitude towards appearance and body dissatisfaction. These results seem to indicate that the idea that there are multiple standards of beauty and individuality for every person should be promoted, and this in turn could lower the risk of body dissatisfaction among adolescent girls.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.30 no.4 s.152
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• pp.633-643
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• 2006

When women are exposed to images of other attractive women such as media models, it is known that many go through a social comparison process and a contrast effect occurs which results in unfavorable perception and attitudes toward the self. This paper suggests women's perception of control over their appearance as one of the factors that may moderate the contrast effect of a social comparison with attractive media models. An experiment with 211 women was conducted to examine the differential effect of viewing attractive models versus non-human images on the responses of women with high/low perceived control over appearance. A two(Stimuli Type: attractive-model image vs. non-human image) by two(Perceived Control over Appearance: High vs. Low) MANCOVA model was tested with physical appearance anxiety, self-esteem, and body satisfaction as dependent variables and appearance orientation, body mass index, age, years of schooling, ethnicity, and marital status as covariates. A significant Perceived Control main effect on Physical Appearance Anxiety and Self-Esteem and a significant Stimuli Type by Perceived Control interaction effect on Physical Appearance Anxiety and Self-Esteem were found. Those who perceived high control over their appearance were more likely to have higher self-esteem and lower appearance anxiety. However, among those who saw attractive model's images, women perceived low appearance control showed less anxiety and higher body satisfaction than those perceived high appearance control.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.73-83
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• 2008

This study examines the effects of mass media, the tendency for young women to make body comparisons, and the BMI of female high school and college students on their attitudes about eating. Participants were 392 high school students from Gyeonggi Province and 391 college students from Seoul, Gyeonggi and Chung-nam Province. Collected data were analyzed through Cronbach's ${\alpha}$, t-test, One-way ANOVA, $Scheff{\acute{e}}$ test, Pearson's correlation, and stepwise multiple regression. The findings of the study were as follows: 1) While mass media influence differed by grade, tendency for appearance comparison and attitude toward eating did not differ by grade. 2) Mass media influence, tendency for appearance comparison and attitude toward eating differed by BMI. 3) Mass media pressure, specific attributes comparison, and BMI were significant predictors of attitudes toward eating. 4) Tendency for appearance comparison played a mediating role in the relationship between mass media and attitudes toward eating.

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.523-530
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• 2011

This study aims to make a comparison between variables influencing female college students' body shame and appearance change intention in individualist culture(Germany) and collectivist culture(Korea, China), that which variable among individual's physical character(BMI), psychological character(public self-image), and sociocultural pressure has the biggest influence in each culture. The findings of the research are as follows. 1. The German group of female college students had the highest BMI, and there were no difference between Korean and Chinese group. Public self-consciousness, sociocultural pressure, ideal appearance attitude, body shame, and appearance change intention were highest in Korea and lowest in Germany. 2. The variables that affected body shame were powerful in the order of sociocultural pressure, appearance internalization, BMI, and appearance awareness in the Korean group of female college students. In the Chinese group, the order was sociocultural pressure, appearance internalization, and public self-consciousness. On the contrary, in the German group the order was appearance internalization, appearance awareness, sociocultural pressure, and public self-consciousness. 3. The variables that affected appearance change intention were powerful in the order of sociocultural pressure, body shame, and appearance awareness in the Korean group of female college students. In the Chinese group, the order was sociocultural pressure, body shame, and appearance awareness, and in the German group, the order was appearance internalization, body shame, and BMI.

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.469-480
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• 2020

The study investigated the effects of SNS usage on 20s and 30s female SNS users' internalization of thin body, body surveillance, appearance upper comparison, body dissatisfaction and eating disorders based on objectification theory and social comparison theory. The study examined differences on SNS usage and body image variables between high and low groups of SNS envy and self-compassion. Social Network Service (SNS) is used as a contemporary marketing tool for brands and companies. It also influences the body image of female SNS users. The survey used an online survey company for female SNS users in their 20s and 30s to analyze the effect of SNS usage. The results showed that SNS usage significantly impacted the internalization of a thin body, body surveillance and appearance upper comparison. The internalization of thin body also had a significant impact on body surveillance and appearance upper comparison. Appearance upper comparison positively affected body dissatisfaction and eating disorders. Finally, the group with higher SNS envy showed higher SNS usage, internalization of thin body, body surveillance, appearance upper comparison, body dissatisfaction and eating disorders. The group with higher self-compassion showed opposite results. This study provided a theoretical expansion for a SNS and female body image study with objectification theory and social comparison theory. It also suggests positive SNS marketing strategies use for brands. Lastly, this study emphasized the importance of the proper use of SNS to protect the body image of SNS users.

• The Journal of Information Systems
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.163-188
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• 2023

Purpose The study examines the impact of the level of anthropomorphism (both in appearance and behavior) of virtual humans on user liking. It investigates whether this relationship is mediated by social comparison experiences, with the moderated mediation effect of users' desire for self-improvement. Design/methodology/approach A between-groups experimental design was employed to examine the impact of different levels of appearance(low/mid/high) and behavior(low/high) anthropomorphism on user liking of virtual humans. The experiment was conducted in an online environment, and participants were randomly exposed to one of six stimuli, which were Instagram-like posts. Findings The results indicate that as virtual humans become more anthropomorphic, they have a positive impact on user liking. However, once the level of anthropomorphism in appearance reaches a certain point (mid vs high), there is no significant difference in user liking. Users who perceive virtual humans as highly anthropomorphic tend to engage in more social comparison experiences, which positively affects their liking for these virtual humans. Conversely, individuals with a high desire for self-improvement found that the positive effect of appearance anthropomorphism on liking through social comparison experiences was reduced. The study extends the application of social comparison theory by examining its impact on influencer marketing with virtual beings. It provides valuable insights for the formulation of influencer marketing strategies using virtual humans.

• Fashion, Industry and Education
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.17-29
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• 2018

In this study, it is explored whether teasing from parents and siblings about appearance of children affects body satisfaction and self-esteem of middle school students. A total of 594 adolescents participated in the survey and the causal model was tested with the data. In results, parents' and siblings' teasing was significantly correlated. Parents' and siblings' teasing significantly affected body satisfaction that showed a significant impact on self-esteem. In the mean comparison by gender, female adolescents suffered more from parents' as well as siblings' teasing on appearance than did male adolescents. Female adolescents indicated lower body satisfaction than male adolescents whereas no gender difference was found in self-esteem. In the multiple-model comparison, both the parents' and siblings' teasing about appearance affected body satisfaction of female adolescents while only siblings' teasing affected body satisfaction of male adolescents. The results indicate that female adolescents are more likely to be exposed to parents' and siblings' teasing about appearance at home than male adolescents, resulting in negative body satisfaction that is influencing self-esteem. The finding could be used as a basis for family education, calling for an attention to this issue.