The Effects of Upward and Downward Comparison on a Subsequent Emotion Recognition Task

The Effects of Upward and Downward Comparison on a Subsequent Emotion Recognition Task

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Thomas, Kim
Language:English
Published: Cleveland State University / OhioLINK 2013
Subjects:
Psychology
Eating Disorders
Emotion Recognition
Social Comparison Theory
Body Dissatisfaction
Online Access:http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=csu1368142615
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spelling ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-csu13681426152021-08-03T05:23:42Z The Effects of Upward and Downward Comparison on a Subsequent Emotion Recognition Task Thomas, Kim Psychology Eating Disorders Emotion Recognition Social Comparison Theory Body Dissatisfaction Social Comparison Theory explains how viewing images can affect body satisfaction with two processes: upward and downward comparison. Upward comparison, which is defined as comparing oneself to a more attractive person, can result in depression and body dissatisfaction. Downward comparison, which is defined as comparing oneself to a less attractive person, can increase mood and body satisfaction. Previous research has shown that individuals with eating disorders, such as anorexia, have a deficit in emotion recognition due to their high levels of body dissatisfaction. Building upon this finding, the current study was designed to examine the effect that priming normal individuals (i.e., those without an eating disorder) with pictures depicting thin women will have on these individuals’ performance on an emotion recognition task. The current study included three priming groups: thin ideal prime, overweight prime, and a control prime. Exposure to images of thin women was expected to increase body dissatisfaction, whereas exposure to overweight images was expected to increase body satisfaction. After priming, all participants performed an emotion recognition task. Participants viewed a series of faces on a computer screen and chose one of four emotions (happy, sad, surprise, or anger) to describe the face. Based on previous findings, I hypothesized that the individuals primed with the thin images would take longer to respond and be less accurate, when recognizing the emotions than both the control and overweight prime. Results indicated that exposure to thin media images did notnegatively affect emotion recognition performance. Yet, participants in the overweight prime group were significantly faster when recognizing emotions than both the control and thin ideal prime group. 2013-05-14 English text Cleveland State University / OhioLINK http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=csu1368142615 http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=csu1368142615 unrestricted This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws.
collection NDLTD
language English
sources NDLTD
topic Psychology
Eating Disorders
Emotion Recognition
Social Comparison Theory
Body Dissatisfaction
spellingShingle Psychology
Eating Disorders
Emotion Recognition
Social Comparison Theory
Body Dissatisfaction
Thomas, Kim
The Effects of Upward and Downward Comparison on a Subsequent Emotion Recognition Task
author Thomas, Kim
author_facet Thomas, Kim
author_sort Thomas, Kim
title The Effects of Upward and Downward Comparison on a Subsequent Emotion Recognition Task
title_short The Effects of Upward and Downward Comparison on a Subsequent Emotion Recognition Task
title_full The Effects of Upward and Downward Comparison on a Subsequent Emotion Recognition Task
title_fullStr The Effects of Upward and Downward Comparison on a Subsequent Emotion Recognition Task
title_full_unstemmed The Effects of Upward and Downward Comparison on a Subsequent Emotion Recognition Task
title_sort effects of upward and downward comparison on a subsequent emotion recognition task
publisher Cleveland State University / OhioLINK
publishDate 2013
url http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=csu1368142615
work_keys_str_mv AT thomaskim theeffectsofupwardanddownwardcomparisononasubsequentemotionrecognitiontask
AT thomaskim effectsofupwardanddownwardcomparisononasubsequentemotionrecognitiontask
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