The values you endorse set the body you see: The protective effect of intrinsic life goals on men’s body dissatisfaction

Ku, Lisbeth, Newby, Charis, Moldes Andres, Olaya ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5790-6634, Zaroff, Charles M. and Wu, Anise M. S. 2022. The values you endorse set the body you see: The protective effect of intrinsic life goals on men’s body dissatisfaction. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 63 (4) , pp. 393-404. 10.1111/sjop.12818

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Abstract

The mass media portrayal of a muscular body type ideal has been increasingly tied to men's body image dissatisfaction. We examined the role of self-determination theory's intrinsic life goals within this body image ideal and its potential as a moderator of this dissatisfaction. We first tested the moderating effect of intrinsic life goals on the link between magazine consumption and body image dissatisfaction via an online questionnaire (Study 1; N = 826), then experimentally manipulated these goals and exposure to images of muscular male models (Study 2; N = 150). A robust protective effect of intrinsic goals on body image satisfaction was observed – the relationship between magazine consumption and body image dissatisfaction was only significant among individuals with a lower level of intrinsic life goal orientation. When participants' intrinsic goals were momentarily heightened, they reported significantly less body image dissatisfaction, compared to those not receiving a strengthening of these goals. The results are the first to find a protective effect of intrinsic life goals on men's body image, and have important implications for intervention.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	Published
Schools:	Business (Including Economics)
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Additional Information:	This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License
Publisher:	Wiley
ISSN:	0036-5564
Funders:	British Academy
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	31 March 2022
Date of Acceptance:	8 March 2022
Last Modified:	05 May 2023 01:22
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/148384

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