This study reports results from the first International Body Project (IBP-I), which surveyed 7,434 individuals in 10 major world regions about body weight ideals and body dissatisfaction. Participants completed the female Contour Drawing Figure Rating Scale (CDFRS) and self-reported their exposure to Western and local media. Results indicated there were significant cross-regional differences in the ideal female figure and body dissatisfaction, but effect sizes were small across high-socioeconomic-status (SES) sites. Within cultures, heavier bodies were preferred in low-SES sites compared to high-SES sites in Malaysia and South Africa (ds = 1.94-2.49) but not in Austria. Participant age, body mass index (BMI), and Western media exposure predicted body weight ideals. BMI and Western media exposure predicted body dissatisfaction among women. Our results show that body dissatisfaction and desire for thinness is commonplace in high-SES settings across world regions, highlighting the need for international attention to this problem.

This study measured event-related potentials during spontaneous and intentional trait inferences. Participants read sentences describing the behavior of a target person from which a strong moral trait could be inferred. The last word of each sentence determined the consistency with the trait induced during an introductory paragraph. In comparison with behaviors that were consistent with the implied trait, a P300 waveform was obtained when the behaviors were evaluative inconsistent with that trait. This dependency on behavioral consistency indicates that trait inferences were made previously while reading the preceding behaviors, irrespective of the participants' spontaneous or intentional goals. Overall, the P300 shows considerable parallels between spontaneous and intentional inferences, indicating that the type and timing of the inconsistency process is very similar. In contrast, source localization (LORETA) of the event-related potentials suggest that spontaneous inferences show greater activation in the temporo-parietal junction compared to intentional inferences following an inconsistency. Memory measures taken after the presentation of the stimulus material involved sentence completion and trait-cued recall, and supported the occurrence of trait inferences associated with the actor. They also showed significant correlations with the neural components (i.e. P300 and its current density at the temporo-parietal junction) predominantly following spontaneous instructions, indicating that these components are valid neural indices of spontaneous inferences.

This study measured event-related potentials during spontaneous and intentional goal inferences. Participants read sentences describing the behavior of a target person from which a strong goal or intention could be inferred. The last word of each sentence determined the consistency with the goal induced during preceding sentences. In comparison with behaviors that were consistent with the implied goal, a stronger P200 waveform was obtained when the behaviors were irrelevant with that goal or did not contain goal-directed behavior at all, and this P200 showed considerable parallels between spontaneous and intentional inferences. This indicates that goals were inferred rapidly and automatically while reading the behaviors, irrespective of the participants' spontaneous or intentional instructions. In line with this, source localization (LORETA) of the event-related potentials shows predominantly activation in the temporoparietal junction (TPJ) during and immediately after goal detection (225-300 ms). Before and after this time interval, however, activation is stronger at the TPJ during spontaneous processing, and stronger at the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) during intentional processing. Memory measures taken after the presentation of the stimulus materials support the occurrence of goal inferences and show significant correlations with the neural components, indicating that these components are valid neural indices of spontaneous and intentional goal inferences. The results are highly similar to previous ERP research on trait inferences that revealed a similar division of brain activation for spontaneous (TPJ) and intentional (mPFC) processes, but appearing later at about 600 ms, pointing to similar brain areas recruited for social inferences, but at different timings for different inference types.

No abstract