e. their self-perception would improve as compared with the experimental groups exposed to the attractively thin supposed competitor); and (3) the effect would be similar with respect to self-esteem and exposure to the images. The secondary hypothesis was that the effect of exposure to the images would be mitigated by the fact that any subject was in an intimate relationship at the time of the experiment. The independent variables were the relative attractiveness of the supposed competitor and (for the secondary hypothesis) the involvement of the participant in an intimate relationship. The dependent variables were self-perception about body image, self-esteem, and (secondarily) the relevance of relationship status on the results. The first hypothesis was confirmed; the second hypothesis was not confirmed; the third hypothesis was not confirmed; and the secondary hypothesis was confirmed. Specifically, women shown an image of an attractively thin competitor did exhibit lower levels of satisfaction with their own body image; women shown the image of a comparatively unattractive competitor did not exhibit higher levels of satisfaction with their body image and there was not any reverse effect associated with exposure to less attractive competitors (i.e. their self-perception did not improve as compared with the experimental...
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