time watching specific content , such as soap operas , negatively affected body image ( Harrison & Cantor , 1997 ).
Although intuitively appealing , cultivation effects on body ideals has not been demonstrated consistently and cannot be tested with a true control group in a real-world setting , and hence the theory is widely debated . The question remains if simple exposure to TV entertainment can be linked to body dissatisfaction among the 18-25 year old or whether the effect is content specific ( Harrison , 2003 ; Morrison et al ., 2004 ).
How Can Identification with Favorite TV Character Influence Body Image ?
Social comparison theory . An alternative explanation for a relationship between media use and appearance importance is social comparison theory , which states that individuals have a need to compare themselves to others ( Festinger , 1954 ). Social comparison proposes that individuals have a need to look to outside sources in order to evaluate their own opinions and abilities ( Festinger , 1954 ). The original direction of the theory was that people generally look to similar others to evaluate their progress , because similar others are most relevant . However , the theory also proposes that there may be situations in which individuals compare themselves to dissimilar others – either those
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