Superstars within reach: The role of perceived attainability and role congruity in media role models on women's social comparisons

Luong, Kate T.; Knobloch‐Westerwick, Silvia; Niewiesk, Stefan

doi:10.1080/03637751.2019.1622143

Cited by 16 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…This is especially the case for the individuals with low self-discrepancy (Knobloch-Westerwick and Romero, 2011) given that such "role models" would seem more attainable or selfrelevant to them compared to those with high self-discrepancy between personal ideal and own body (e.g. Lockwood and Kunda, 1997;Luong et al, 2019). Raising a consideration of self-discrepancy in the effects of body image, these studies suggest that although a body depicted in a social media posting is perceived as ideal, it would not necessarily lead to negative outcomes such as body dissatisfaction for those with low self-discrepancy.…”

Section: Moderating Effects Of Self-discrepancymentioning

confidence: 99%

What do others’ reactions to body posting on Instagram tell us? The effects of social media comments on viewers’ body image perception

Kim

2020

New Media & Society

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Studies have highlighted the influence of social media comments on users’ perceptual consequences, but whether this holds true in the body image context is still largely unknown. This experimental study investigated the effects of social media comments on ideal body perception and how it influences one’s own body satisfaction. Results showed that comments guided the viewers’ perceptions of what is considered as “ideal” body. Viewers of favorable comments to body posting reported greater idealization of the body imagery (i.e. ideal-enhancing effects), whereas viewers of unfavorable comments showed a lower level of idealization (i.e. ideal-derogating effects). Also, the indirect effects of comments on body satisfaction via idealization were moderated by individual self-discrepancy between personal ideal and own body. This study sheds light on potentially inspiring or protective role of comments against perfect-looking bodies on social media while calling attention to the need for reconsidering the media effects theory for body image.

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Section: Moderating Effects Of Self-discrepancymentioning

confidence: 99%

What do others’ reactions to body posting on Instagram tell us? The effects of social media comments on viewers’ body image perception

Kim

2020

New Media & Society

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“…Some key factors that determine whether people experience positive or negative effects of upward social comparisons are the extent to which the audience feels similar to the role model (Chang, 2011; Marx & Ko, 2012) and the degree to which they believe they are able to obtain the same level of success as the role model (Lockwood & Kunda, 1997; Luong et al, 2020). According to the latter studies, people might react negatively to luxury cues presented by celebrity role models because they consider the situation and the possessions of the celebrity as being unattainable and completely different from their own (Chang, 2011; Lockwood & Kunda, 1997; Luong et al, 2020). Such negative reactions to luxury cues are especially likely during chronic stressful situations, because stress might complicate or even change the emotional processing of information given by others (Thornton & Arrowood, 1966).…”

Section: Literature Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“They Are Wallowing in Luxury, but Complain About the Struggles of Lockdown”

Ouvrein

Vandebosch

Backer

2023

Journal of Media Psychology

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Abstract. Many people are fascinated by celebrities and like to follow them and leave positive comments online about the luxurious lives they lead. There are doubts and concerns, however, about whether celebrity posts regarding personal experiences and advice generate positive responses when their audience is in a situation of chronic stress, such as during a pandemic. On the basis of a field study of real celebrity COVID-19 Instagram posts, this study tested a model for exploring the role of both contextual (i.e., references to luxury in celebrity posts) and individual (i.e., upward social comparison orientation [SCO] and attitudes toward the celebrity) factors in explaining how audiences respond emotionally and behaviorally (i.e., commenting) to celebrity posts during a stressful period. The results indicated that the audience’s emotional and behavioral responses were more negative toward posts with more cues of luxury. SCO seems to moderate these effects, indicating that upward SCO based on these cues can motivate and support to a certain level, but switches to negative effects once the focus on luxury becomes too strong. The results regarding attitudes toward the celebrities behind the messages confirmed the powerful role of this variable during chronic stress, establishing a link between more positive attitudes and more positive emotional responses (amusement and inspiration). These results offer some first exploratory insights into the role of celebrity representations during a global period of stress, which could lay the basis for future experimental research on this topic.

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“…Research on environmental role models is scarce, with some studies addressing the importance of educators in engaging young individuals in promoting science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) academic and career interest and success (Sivek and Hungerford, 1990;Quimby et al, 2007;Luong et al, 2020). However, implications can be gleaned from these studies, specifically detailing how levels of success and achievement difficulty affect attainability perceptions, outcome expectancies, motivation, and in turn, goal setting intentions.…”

Section: Role Model Storiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reducing Food Waste During COVID-19: Testing Role Model Stories as a Strategy for Promoting Conservation Behaviors

2022

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This study investigates how role model stories may inspire food waste reduction during times of perceived food scarcity. We conducted a 2 × 2 between-subjects experiment (N = 358, U.S. adults) to test the effectiveness of messages that emphasized role model success (reduced waste/zero-waste) and achievement difficulty (easy/difficult) on intentions to set a personal food waste goal. Exposure to role models who lived a zero-waste lifestyle had a self-deflating effect, as this behavior was viewed as less attainable by participants. Regardless of difficulty framing, exposure to role models who reduced their waste enhanced participants’ perceptions of goal attainability, motivation, and intentions. No interaction effects were found between levels of success and achievement difficulty. Considering covariates, individuals who reported enhanced food waste awareness due to COVID-19 reported higher goal setting intentions. Hence, times of perceived food scarcity may provide an ideal opportunity for promoting food waste reduction and conservation strategies. Results from this study provide guidance for how role model stories can best inspire waste reduction without hindering attainability and motivation. We discuss implications for applying the motivational theory of role modeling in conservation and communication contexts.

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Superstars within reach: The role of perceived attainability and role congruity in media role models on women's social comparisons

Cited by 16 publications

References 41 publications

What do others’ reactions to body posting on Instagram tell us? The effects of social media comments on viewers’ body image perception

What do others’ reactions to body posting on Instagram tell us? The effects of social media comments on viewers’ body image perception

“They Are Wallowing in Luxury, but Complain About the Struggles of Lockdown”

Reducing Food Waste During COVID-19: Testing Role Model Stories as a Strategy for Promoting Conservation Behaviors

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