A Thesis
entitled
Sexercise: The Influence of Sexualized Exercise Advertisements on Affect Towards
Exercise and Exercise Intentions
by
Ashley B. Murray
Submitted to the Graduate Faculty as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
Master of Arts Degree in Psychology
______Andrew Geers, Ph.D., Committee Chair
______Jason Rose, Ph.D., Committee Member
______John Jasper, Ph.D., Committee Member
______Amanda Bryant-Friedrich, Dr. rer. Nat., Dean College of Graduate Studies
The University of Toledo
May 2017
Copyright 2017, Ashley B. Murray
This document is copyrighted material. Under copyright law, no parts of this document may be reproduced without the expressed permission of the author. An Abstract of
Sexercise: The Influence of Sexualized Exercise Advertisements on Affect Towards
Exercise and Exercise Intentions
by
Ashley B. Murray
Submitted to the Graduate Faculty as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
Master of Arts Degree in
Psychology
The University of Toledo
May 2017
In the past decade or so, we have seen an upsurge in advertisements aimed to increase exercise behaviors with limited success. Although success has been achieved in increasing awareness that exercise is beneficial to health (e.g. Bassuk & Manson, 2005), less than half of Americans engage in the American Heart Association’s recommended amount of weekly exercise (CDC, 2014). This has led to the increase in the use of different types of techniques to boost the effectiveness of exercise-related advertisements.
One type of technique commonly used is sexualization. Whereas some research suggests that sexualization could be used as an effective technique in media advertisements to increase exercise intentions, other research suggests both that sexualization would not be an effective technique to increase exercise intentions and that sexualization of women has a variety of negative effects on women, including inducing negative affect. Recent research exploring what types of health messages are most influential at changing exercise behaviors and intentions outline the use of positive affect to change how people
iii feel about engaging in exercise. This also suggests that the negative affect experienced after viewing sexualized advertisements may decrease exercise intentions. A pilot study was conducted to examine existing exercise-related advertisements for use in the present study. The pilot study found that after college students viewed sexualized advertisements, they felt less positive about engaging in exercise and believed that exercise was less beneficial than after viewing three different types of comparison advertisements. The
Main Study extended the Pilot Study by filling in methodological gaps to explore the mediating effect of affect, and the moderating effect of several key variables on women’s intentions to engage in exercise after viewing exercise-related advertisements. Two hundred fifty-two female undergraduate students were randomly assigned to view and rate exercise advertisements of one of four types: neutral, positive, inspirational, or sexualized. We hypothesized that sexualized exercise advertisements will negatively influence participants’ intentions to exercise by inducing negative feelings, particularly negative feelings about ones’ body. Additionally, we hypothesized that Enjoyment of
Sexualization would statistically moderate the relationship between advertisement type and affect and exercise intentions. Results indicated that the individual difference in enjoyment of sexualization produced an interaction between advertisement type and intentions to engage in exercise in the future. Specifically, regression analyses found that when those who scored higher in enjoyment of sexualization viewed sexualized ads, they had significantly higher intentions to engage in exercise after viewing the neutral advertisements, and significantly lower intentions after viewing any of the other types of advertisements. Contrary to Pilot Study findings, there was no main effect of advertisement condition on the main dependent variables, and no other hypotheses were
iv supported. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed, in addition to notable limitations and future directions.
v Acknowledgments
A huge thanks to my awesome research assistants (in alphabetical order, because you’re all my favorite): Luiza, Maria, Kristine, Jessica.
To my advisor, Andy, for pushing my writing in more ways than I could have imagined, and for everything else that an advisor has to do when their student embarks on a thesis project – thank you so much.
Thank you to the rest of my committee, Jason and Dr. Jasper.
To Mindy, for laying the groundwork for me seeing the media differently, and for help brainstorming throughout this project, I will never be able to thank you enough.
Thanks to Gwen, for so much editing and proofreading help.
Erin, thank you for answering every question I’ve had throughout this process – I probably wouldn’t have gotten my paperwork turned into the correct room without your help.
To Ma – thank you for always being my support, and for showing me that women can do anything.
To my dad, for the endless calls and chats that have kept me going through this journey, thanks so much.
Thank you to the rest of my family, bonus family, friends, grad student friends, and Elliott for your continued love and support throughout this entire process.
vi Table of Contents
Abstract iii
Acknowledgements vi
Table of Contents vii
List of Tables x
List of Figures xii
I. Chapter 1: Introduction 1
A. Media and Health Behaviors 2
B. Sexualization and Media 5
C. Sexualization and Effects on Women 7
D. Summary 10
E. Affect and Health Behavior 11
F. Manipulating Positive Affect 13
G. General Summary 14
II. Chapter 2: Pilot Study 16
A. Pilot Study Goals 16
B. Pilot Study Methods 17
C. Pilot Study Results 19
D. Pilot Study Discussion 21
III. Chapter 3: Main Study 23
A. Hypotheses 24
B. Participants and Design 25
C. Materials and Measures 27
vii a. Images 27
b. Advertisement Questions 27
c. Affective and Intention Questions 27
d. State Body Image 28
e. Enjoyment of Sexualization 28
f. Demographics 29
g. Attention Check Items 29
D. Procedure 29
E. Results 31
a. Hypothesis 1 33
b. Hypothesis 2 33
c. Hypothesis 3 34
d. Hypothesis 4 34
F. Discussion 39
a. Hypothesis 1 39
b. Hypothesis 2 40
c. Hypothesis 3 40
d. Hypothesis 4 40
e. Discussion of Null Results 43
f. Limitations 44
References 48
Appendices 59
A. Nike Advertisements 59
viii B. Cover Story 65
C. Advertisement Questions 66
D. Affective/Cognitive Questions 69
E. Body Image States Scale 74
F. Enjoyment of Sexualization Scale 76
G. Demographics 78
H. Attention Check Items 80
I. Potential Moderator Scales 81
J. Informed Consent 84
K. Debrief 86
L. Script 88
M. Supplemental Pilot Study Analyses 89
ix List of Tables
Table 2.1 Means of advertisement groups and LSD Post Hoc Analyses of
sexualized group compared to each other advertisement group
from the pilot study…………………………………………… 21
Table 3.1 Summary of advertisement questions means and standard
deviations by condition. ……………………………………… 32
Table 3.2 Summary of key variable means and standard deviations by
condition for the Main Study…………………………………… 33
Table 3.3 Summary of Hierarchical Regression for Condition and
Enjoyment of Sexualization Predicting Exercise Intentions……. 35
Table 3.4 Summary of Hierarchical Regression for Condition and
Enjoyment of Sexualization Predicting Positive Affect Towards
Exercise…………………………………………………………. 36
Table 3.5 Summary of Hierarchical Regression for Condition and
Enjoyment of Sexualization Predicting Negative Affect
Towards Exercise……………………………………………….. 36
Table 2.2 MANOVA results from the comparison of the sexualized
advertisements to the affective advertisements for each question
from the pilot study……………………………………………... 89
Table 2.3 MANOVA results from the comparison of the sexualized
advertisements to the neutral advertisements for each question
from the pilot study……………………………………………... 90
x Table 2.4 MANOVA results from the comparison of the sexualized
advertisements to the inspirational advertisements for each
question from the pilot study………………………………….. 91
xi List of Figures
Figure 3.1 Hierarchical regression for condition and Enjoyment of
Sexualization predicting exercise intention. …………………… 38
xii Chapter One
Introduction
Exercise has been shown to reduce the likelihood of a variety of health maladies such as heart disease, Type II diabetes, and dementia (e.g. Bassuk & Manson, 2005;
Larson et al., 2006). There is also substantial evidence that regular physical activity reduces the risk of several forms of cancer, including colon, endometrial, and breast cancers (Lee & Oguma, 2006; Slattery, 2004). In addition, there is growing evidence that engaging in physical activity can also reduce the risk of lung and prostate cancer (Tardon et al., 2005). These findings, and others like them, provide a strong basis for encouraging individuals to perform regular bouts of physical activity, such as exercise. Despite the clear benefits, as of 2014 only 20.4% of Americans engage in the CDC’s recommended amount of aerobic and exercise weight training every week, and only 49.2% met the
CDC’s recommended amount of aerobic exercise every week (CDC, 2014) even though awareness of the benefits of exercise is high in the United States (Morrow, Krzewinski-
Malone, Jackson, Bungum, & FitzGerald, 2004).
This gap has led to an increase in attempts, such as First Lady Michelle Obama’s
“Let’s Move!” campaign, to encourage and influence Americans to exercise.
Additionally, research efforts aimed at increasing physical activity have varied widely in both form and theoretical approaches (Kiviniemi, Voss-Humke, & Seifert, 2007).
Although some techniques have proven more effective than others, reviews of this literature point to a need of more effective intervention techniques (Conner, Rhodes,
Morris, McEachan, & Lawton, 2011). Several recent studies have found benefits using media advertisements to encourage exercise. These advertisements are very popular in
1 modern culture and there are many media platforms that would allow for such messages to be widely disseminated. Despite this potential, currently it is not clear how best to design such advertisements to successfully increase exercise intentions and behavior.
In addition to this upsurge in general exercise advertisements, an ever-increasing amount of media advertisements use sexualization and objectification of women to depict exercise and to sell exercise-related products. Despite a plethora of literature outlining the negative effects of sexualization and objectification, little research has studied how the use of these tactics in advertisements may alter feelings towards exercise and exercise intentions. The current study aimed to fill this gap by examining how sexualized media advertisements alter exercise-related feelings and intentions. This research also attempted to identify whether any observed changes in exercise-related feelings serve to mediate any changes in exercise intentions induced by these advertisements and also tested a potential moderator of effect of sexualized advertisements on exercise intentions.
Media and Health Behaviors
The media has long been used to influence and change desires and behaviors, but more recently, attempts to specifically influence healthy behaviors have emerged (Finlay
& Faulkner, 2005). Advertisements used to change behavior have been popular due in part to their infiltration in every part of our lives – on billboards, in magazines, on television, on the internet, on buses, and even on our cell phones. Advertisements are able to reach millions of people with relative ease, and are a popular technique used to influence people to buy products; it is widely accepted that Americans are exposed to around 5,000 advertisements every day, though some higher estimates soar closer to the
2 approximation of 20,000 advertisements per day (Johnson, 2014). This proliferation in media exposure has led to the use of advertisements as a means to prosocial change.
One such prosocial advertisement study included displaying posters designed to reduce sexual violence against women at a university (Potter, Moynihan, Stapleton, &
Banyard, 2009). Results indicated that those who had been exposed to the poster advertisements at some point during a two-week display period had greater intentions of preventing and reducing sexual violence against women. Additionally, those who had been exposed to the posters were more aware that sexual violence against women was an issue.
In the realm of physical activity, few studies have reported successfully increasing long-term physical activity behaviors using brief media and advertisements, yet the combination of studies suggests media advertisements are still a useful way to influence physical activity knowledge and intentions. For example, in 2005, television and print advertisements encouraging physical activity were distributed across the state of
Delaware (Peterson, Abraham, & Waterfield, 2005; Study 2). In the survey, distributed to
400 18-30 year olds in Delaware, 62.5% of the sample had seen either the television or print advertisement, and of those 27.7% indicated that they planned to exercise more in the future as a result of seeing the ad. Additionally, a different study conducted specifically targeting children had immense success with increasing children’s awareness of the exercise campaign (Huhman et al., 2005). This study found that after 1 year of advertising to 9-13 year old youths, 74% recalled the awareness campaign. The study also found that as awareness of the campaign increased, so did activity levels in the youths.
3 The above studies suggest beneficial effects of using media advertisements to encourage healthy behavior intentions, and that advertisements are widely viewed and noticed by both adults and children. Two different meta-analyses assessing the effectiveness of exercise media campaigns separately found that, while media campaigns have previously had success in increasing memory and awareness of the campaigns and influencing short-term behavior change, the interventions often have little direct effect on long-term behavior change (Finlay & Faulkner, 2005; Marcus, Owen, Forsyth, Cavill, &
Fridinger, 1998). It is possible that long-term behaviors cannot be directly changed with brief advertisement campaigns. Even if advertisements do not produce perceptible changes in long-term behavior, they may prove critical to altering important antecedents to sustained behavior change—such as feelings toward healthy behaviors, self- perceptions, short-term behavior changes, and shifts in behavioral intentions. Altering such antecedents through media campaigns may prove a valuable and cost-effective way to “nudge” health behavior. In summary, although there has been some preliminary success using brief media advertisements to influence exercise-related variables, more work is needed to understand how various variables influence exercise and antecedents to exercise. Notably, the focus of the current work is on changing exercise-intentions through media advertisements.
Although advertisements often produce results in the desired and anticipated direction, some are not always successful and can even backfire. One such technique that can backfire is the use of fear tactics to change behaviors. One study found that after viewing advertisements that used fear tactics attempting to reduce smoking, college students actually showed an increase in curiosity about smoking (Lee & Ferguson, 2002).
4 Findings such as these further highlight the need for additional research exploring the effectiveness of various advertisement strategies. One strategy that is gaining usage in advertising, but may also produce unintended effects, is the sexualization of women. As described next, sexualized media advertisements are frequently employed and they may alter how individuals respond to advertisements—including those aimed at and related to health behaviors.
Sexualization and Media
Advertisements have increasingly used sexualization of women as an advertising technique (Kilbourne, 2010). Sexualization is defined by the APA as occurring when “a person’s value comes only from his or her sexual appeal or behavior, to the exclusion of other characteristics; a person is held to a standard that equates physical attractiveness
(narrowly defined) with being sexy,” (American Psychological Association, 2007, p. 2).
A content analysis of advertisements collected from a variety of mainstream magazines found that over half (51.8%) of advertisements depicting women portrayed them as sex objects (Stankiewicz & Rosselli, 2008), which points to the prevalence of sexualization as a marketing tactic.
In the advertising world, sexualization is a popular marketing technique due to the
“attention grabbing” and arousing nature of sexualized media (Belch, Holgerson, Belch,
& Koppman, 1982). Research on the “von Restorff Effect” (Von Restorff, 1933; as cited in D'Souza, 2012), found that features that stick out or capture attention are more memorable than less salient features. This work suggests that sexualized advertisements should theoretically be more memorable because they capture attention, which supports the commonly known saying that “sex sells”. The salience of sexualized advertisements
5 has been found to be more memorable than non-sexualized advertisements in a handful of studies, which further supports its use as an advertising technique. For example, one study found that sexualized television commercials were more memorable than neutral television commercials (Ferguson, Cruz, Martinez, Rueda, & Ferguson, 2010). Relating to the current project, sexualized exercise advertisements might thus be effective at capturing audience attention and might even increase plans to exercise.
Conversely, in the advertising world, some alternate research has shown that sexualization is not always an effective marketing technique. One study found that sexualized television commercials were indeed more memorable, but found that these commercials did not sell more products in the female portion of the sample (Murray,
Burgess, & Aiello, 2014). Additionally, Bushman (2007) found that, embedded in sexualized media, sexualized commercials were no more memorable than non-sexualized commercials, and Parker and Furnham (2007) found that sexualized commercials were no more memorable than non-sexualized commercials. In explaining these results, it was suggested that sexualized advertisements use more cognitive resources than non- sexualized advertisements and this inhibits the encoding process of what the advertisement was aiming to encourage viewers to remember. This suggests that sexualized advertisements could very well influence viewer’s cognitions about exercise.
Further, a recent meta-analysis found that (1) sexualized advertisements were seen as less favorable than non-sexualized advertisements, (2) that sexualized advertisements were no more memorable than non-sexualized advertisements, and (3) that sexualized advertisements were not more effective at influencing purchasing behaviors than non-sexualized advertisements (Lull & Bushman, 2015). In combination
6 with previous studies, these results indicate that sexualized exercise advertisements may not be as effective at changing feelings about exercise and exercise intentions, as one may believe. That said, research is required to empirically tests the how sexualization could alter the effectiveness of specifically exercise-related advertisements.
Sexualization and Effects on Women
The sexualization of women is not a new topic in the study of media and psychology, and the literature has outlined a myriad of studies on how media sexualization influences women and women’s self-concept. Although it is certainly possible that sexualization could increase exercise intentions, two lines of arguments have risen in the general sexualization literature that relate to how sexualized advertisements may affect these behavioral intentions. The first notion is that sexualization can result in positive feelings and be empowering to women’s personal self- concepts (e.g., Vanwesenbeeck, 2009). Specifically, there are increasingly more powerful, strong, and muscular portrayals of sexualized women in media and advertising than ever before (Vanwesenbeeck, 2009), and some studies have found that these sexualized images have uplifting effects on women. For example, one study found that after viewing sexualized images, women had a brief elevation in self-esteem (Breines,
Crocker, & Garcia, 2008). Additionally, it has been suggested that this sexualization is empowering (Holland & Attwood, 2009), and various research has found that some women enjoy being sexualized by others (Liss, Erchull, & Ramsey, 2011). While researchers, such as Lamb and Peterson (2012), decry participation in self-sexualizing activities such as lap dancing and imitation of sexualized media, they highlight that some women experience these activities as positive and empowering. Further, recent research
7 has highlighted that some contemporary women may find sexualization of women in the media as “less surprising” and more acceptable in today’s society (Zimmerman &
Dahlberg, 2008).
Though sexualization may sometimes be enjoyable, empowering, and perhaps even effective at changing intentions, a second and well-established line of work points to the findings that sexualization results in negative feelings and can be harmful to women as a societal group (e.g., APA, 2007). Research has found an abundance of negative effects of sexualization on women as a whole, and on women’s personal thoughts and behaviors (see APA, 2007 for an excellent review). Although some women may find being sexualized as empowering, the sexualization of women has been found to lead to the objectification of women by both men and women (Vaes, Paladino, & Puvia, 2011).
Objectification occurs when a person is seen as something to be used by others as opposed to a person with free will (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997), and viewing sexualized and objectified images of women has been found to lead to the dehumanization of women (Loughnan et al., 2010) and has lead to increased self- objectification in women (Vandenbosch & Eggermont, 2012). Research has found that women are significantly more likely to engage in self-objectification, and experience negative affect (e.g., appearance anxiety, negative mood) after viewing thin-ideal images
(Harper & Tiggemann, 2008).
Objectification Theory (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997) specifically proposes that when the social context brings about an awareness of actual or potential objectification of their bodies, women are likely to experience a change in subjective experience. This change typically includes a combination of negative feelings such as shame and anxiety
8 due to habitual body monitoring and worry about sexual commentary that evaluates their bodies, which has empirically found to be common (Gardner, 1980). Based on this work it may be argued that sexualized exercise advertisements may ultimately backfire by producing negative feelings and reducing the desire to exercise. Data consistent with this perspective has come from a study by Krawczyk and Thompson (2015). This study found that after viewing sexualized and objectified media representations of women, both women and men had increased state body dissatisfaction, though the effect was stronger for women (Krawczyk & Thompson, 2015).
Relevant to the discussion of how sexualized advertisements influence individuals’ exercise intentions is recent work on the sexualization of fit women.
Increasingly, female athletes have been portrayed as sexualized in the media. These sexualized images of female athletes have been found to have negative influences on both adolescent girls (Daniels, 2012) and adolescent boys (Daniels & Wartena, 2011). For example, after viewing sexualized images of female athletes, girls were more likely to view both the athletes and themselves in an objectified light, while seeing the non- sexualized female athletes as role models (Daniels, 2012). These data may be interpreted as additional support for the position that viewing sexualized exercise advertisements may not be viewed positively by women. Relatedly in a different study, after viewing images of ultra-fit, thin women, female participants scored higher on body dissatisfaction
(Homan, McHugh, Wells, Watson, & King, 2012).
New research has recently studied the effects of young women viewing what are known as “fispiration” images (Tiggemann & Zaccardo, 2015). Fitspiration images are a type of exercise images that are popular with young women, and are characterized by
9 ultra-thin and ultra-fit women. The term fitspiration is derived from the blend of fit and inspiration, and women often use these images for body comparison in order to encourage a healthy lifestyle through healthy eating and exercise. Tiggemann and
Zaccardo (2015) found that after brief exposure to these images compared to control travel images, women were more dissatisfied with their bodies and were in more negative mood states. This research suggests that similar sexualized exercise advertisements may also increase negative affect and damage body image, thus influencing both whether a female might engage in exercise and why she chooses to do so.
It is possible that women have negative affect after viewing sexualized media images because they use the images as a point of comparison and thus engage in upward social comparison. Prior studies find that such upward comparisons often result in negative feelings (Wood, 1989). Research supporting this notion arrives from a study in which, after viewing magazine images depicting thin, idealized women, women engaged in upward social comparison and in turn, felt worse about their bodies and had decreased satisfaction about their appearance (Engeln–Maddox, 2005). Another study found that women who were more dissatisfied with their bodies engaged in upward social comparison more often than women who were less dissatisfied with their bodies (Leahey,
Crowther, & Mickelson, 2007).
Summary
In summary, there are reasons to believe that sexualized media advertisements can induce positive and negative reactions in individuals, which may, in turn, alter motivations to engage in exercise. Importantly, the bulk of this literature finds that sexualized images produce negative feelings in women (and perhaps in some cases men).
10 If this is the case, how might these negative feelings relate to subsequent motivations and intentions to engage in exercise? Recent data on the link between affect and exercise is described next.
Affect and Health Behavior
Recent research has suggested that health behavior is not just determined by cognitive constructs (e.g., knowledge and perceived norms). Rather, affective and emotional responses appear to be important determinants of health behavior. Affect is defined as a broad feeling that is consciously available (Ekkekakis, 2012), and typically is experienced dichotomously (i.e., good vs bad) as a neurophysiological state sometimes directed at something (i.e., feeling good about exercise), but can sometimes be experienced and not directed at anything (Russell & Feldman Barrett, 1999). In an early study into the influence of affect on exercise, researchers conducted a 6-month longitudinal study to compare standard cognitive variables in health psychology, such as perceived social norms (e.g. what their close friends think about exercise), to affective variables (e.g. positive or negative feelings towards exercise) on their efficacy at predicting exercise behaviors (Lowe, Eves, & Carroll, 2002). This study found that affect towards exercise directly predicted future exercise behaviors. Another longitudinal study found that positive (e.g. “feel good”) and negative (e.g., “feel bad”) affective responses after brief exercise predicted engaging in exercise at both the 6 and 12-month follow-ups
(Williams et al., 2008). Specifically, participants experiencing positive affect exercised more than those experiencing negative affect. Later in 2012, Williams again found that positive affect (e.g. “feel good”) during a 10-minute walking session was positively correlated with weekly physical activity at both 6 months and 12 months follow-up
11 (Williams, Dunsiger, Jennings, & Marcus, 2012). A variety of other studies have explored this affect–health behavior link, drawing from different theories and using different measures. For example, one study found both that 1) the more negative obese adults’ moods were, the less likely they were to exercise, and 2) the more negative their mood was after exercise, the more likely they were to not exercise in the future (Carels,
Coit, Young, & Berger, 2007).
Kiviniemi and colleagues also demonstrated the value of studying affect in recent work. They found that affect towards engaging in physical activity correlated with exercise behaviors (Kiviniemi et al., 2007), and that affect towards eating fruits and vegetables correlated with fruit and vegetable consumption behaviors (Kiviniemi &
Duangdao, 2009). Importantly, in both studies, affect proved to be a stronger predictor of behavior than the cognitive variables from the Theory of Planned Behavior (e.g., perceived norms; Ajzen, 1991). From their work, Kiviniemi and colleagues proposed what they call the Affective Association Model (Kiviniemi, et al, 2009). The Affective
Association Model outlines how affective associations mediate the relationship between cognitions and behaviors, and posit that affect towards a behavior is a stronger and more proximal predictor of behavior than cognitive variables such as knowing why engaging in exercise is beneficial.
In reviewing the literature on affect and exercise, Ekkekakis, Hargreaves, and
Parfitt (2013) noted that for centuries, philosophers and experts alike have proposed that negative affect decreases the likelihood of whether someone will engage in exercise in the future in that those who feel fatigued or pained from engaging in exercise will likely not continue to exercise in the future. Consistent with this notion, their qualitative review
12 concludes that positivity relates to increased exercise, and negative affect is associated with decreased exercise. In a meta-analysis of 85 studies exploring affective judgment as a single predictor of exercise behaviors, Rhodes, Fiala, and Conner (2009) found that affective variables have a medium-sized effect on whether someone will engage in exercise in the future. This analysis also pointed out that although there was a relationship between affect and participation in physical activity, few studies have explored ways to manipulate affect towards physical activity.
Taken together, these studies suggest that positive affect is associated with engaging in health behavior more than negative affect. Further, changing affect towards exercise may be an effective way to alter exercise intentions. Alternatively, experiences that link negative feelings to exercise may reduce exercise intentions. Pertinent to the present research, having sexualized content in exercise advertisements may alter affective reactions and thereby influence exercise intentions. Thus far though, it has been unstudied as to whether sexualized exercise advertisements influence the affective system to influence behavioral change.
Manipulating Positive Affect
Following the findings that affect predicts exercise intentions and participation, more recent studies have started examining how to change positive affect towards exercise. For example, in one study nearly 3,500 mid-life, overweight and obese participants responded to physical advertisements that utilized “gain framed” physical activity messages (Segar, Updegraff, Zikmund-Fisher, & Richardson, 2012). “Gain framed” messages are ones that discuss the benefits of engaging in a behavior such as to reduce cholesterol or increase muscle (Rothman & Salovey, 1997). The results of the
13 Segar et al. (2012) study indicated that framing messages as either to promote physical activity for “better health,” “weight loss,” or “daily well-being” significantly impacted how people felt about exercise and that gender and BMI combined to moderate this effect. Specifically, overweight women felt more positive about exercise after viewing advertisements aimed at engaging in physical activity for daily well-being, whereas overweight men felt more negative about exercise after viewing the same types of advertisements.
One similar study using brief exposure to cognitive versus affective based advertisements found that men and women who had viewed affective-based advertisements felt more positively about engaging in exercise than those who had viewed cognitive-based advertisements (Murray & Geers, 2015). In this study, affective advertisements were ones that highlighted the positive feelings one might have after engaging in exercise (e.g. feel good), while cognitive advertisements were ones that highlighted the analytical health benefits one might have after engaging in exercise (e.g. lower blood pressure). These two studies provide evidence that affect towards exercise can be manipulated with only brief exposure to visual print media.
General Summary
Research on the use of brief media messages to influence health behaviors is quickly expanding. One popular type of marketing technique utilizes sexualization of women to influence behavior, but this use of sexualization has both positive and negative effects on women and men (with more research outlining the latter). Although sexualized exercise images and advertisements are prevalent in the media, no research (to our
14 knowledge) has examined how sexualized exercise-related media messages might influence exercise intentions.
Objectification Theory (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997) and related research point to the negative affect experienced after viewing sexualized images, suggesting that affective processes may be a key mechanism in the influence of sexualized advertisements on exercise intentions. Specifically, negative feelings evoked by sexualized advertisements may reduce intentions to exercise. This hypothesis is consistent with recent studies demonstrating a valuable role for feelings in predicting exercise behavior. Importantly, this work suggests that negative affect is generally linked to reduced exercise intentions and behavior. For example, the Affective Association
Model (Kiviniemi, et al, 2009) suggests that the feelings associated with exercise are a proximal and key predictor of whether someone will engage in exercise in the future.
From this perspective, negative affective associations should reduce exercise, whereas positive affective associations should increase exercise.
Based on the aforementioned work, it was predicted here that sexualized exercise- related advertisements lead to lower intentions to engage in exercise as compared to advertisements that are not sexualized. Second, it was hypothesized that this effect occurs because sexualized advertisements produce negative feelings and these feelings will reduce intentions to exercise. This study aimed to explore these links.
15 Chapter 2
Pilot Study
As this research is focused on the influence of sexualized media advertisements, an initial step was to locate potential stimulus materials. Once found, a pilot study was conducted. There were three goals to this pilot study. The first goal was to examine whether students responded as expected to the collected advertisement stimuli (e.g., did they rate that sexualized advertisements as sexier than control advertisements?). The second goal was to provide preliminary evidence on the central hypothesis that the sexualized advertisements will influence student feelings about exercise and perceptions of exercise. The third goal was to provide data regarding different possible comparison conditions for the main experiment. An examination of common exercise-related advertisements used in popular media outlets yielded three types, in addition to sexualized images. The three were: affective, inspirational, and neutral. Separate comparison groups were made using each of these three types of ads to provide an initial diverse set of comparison conditions.
Pilot Study Goals
Goal 1: Which advertisements are most effective at eliciting appropriate awareness of sexualization and presence of affect?
Goal 2: We hypothesized that students will have less positive feelings toward exercise after viewing the sexualized advertisements.
Goal 3: How do the sexualized advertisements differ in comparison to the other advertisement groups?
16 Pilot Study Methods
Ninety developmental and social psychology students (54 female) participated in exchange for extra credit (M age = 20.73; SD = 2.69). The use of a college-aged sample with both men and women is valuable for several reasons. First, as sexualized advertisements are frequently targeted at younger individuals, a college sample is quite useful. Second, as the present predictions—derived from Objectification Theory—focus on how women respond to sexualized exercise advertisements, it is critical to have female participants. Further, it has been suggested that sexualized advertisements are frequently designed for viewing pleasure by young men while purportedly advertising women’s products (MissRepresentation, DeKoven, 2012). As such, sexualized advertisements displaying women and not men—as is the case with the current research—may be aimed at young men although it is unclear how the ads alter the exercise intentions of these individuals. In summary, a college sample is ideal for this type of advertisement viewing and will allow for analysis of how both young women and men view the advertisements, and how they influence the students’ subsequent exercise intentions.
Participants completed the between-subjects design study online through the research software program, SurveyGizmo. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: affect, neutral (shoes), inspirational, and sexualized. All advertisements were Nike print exercise-related advertisements similar to advertisements seen in mainstream media such as Cosmopolitan, GQ, and Vogue, collected online from Google, or were created for the study using Nike images and adding affective words (Appendix
A).
17 Advertisements were assessed a priori by 2 researchers to determine advertisement type. An initial sort by the experimenters revealed 4 distinct types of advertisements: sexualized, affective, inspirational, and neutral. To assess for sexualization, researchers used the definition of sexualization in Fink and Kensicki's
(2002) study: sexualization occurs when the images portray an individual “dressed provocatively or photographed in such a way as to focus solely on sexual attributes” (p.
325). To determine whether an advertisement was affective in nature, reviewers assessed for presence of individuals participating in exercise and smiling. Inspirational advertisements were selected on the criteria that women were presented as exercising without affective portrayals (e.g. no smiling faces) and did not display women in a sexualized manner, but did have inspirational messages. Finally, neutral/shoes were selected on the criteria that only Nike shoes and some words were present, and no humans or affective messages were present. This resulted in a total of 17 sexualized advertisements, 14 affective advertisements, 16 inspirational advertisements, and 15 neutral/shoes advertisements for the pilot study. All advertisements were similar to those seen in Cosmopolitan, GQ, Sports Illustrated, and other mainstream magazines.
Participants began by reading an online consent form and providing demographic data. Next, participants viewed the print advertisements. Following each ad, participants were asked the same six questions (Appendix C): How visually appealing is this advertisement?, How positive is this advertisement?, How inspiring is this advertisement?, How sexy is this advertisement?, How do you feel about exercising after viewing this advertisement?, and After viewing this advertisement, how beneficial do you
18 believe exercise is? Each question was rated on a Likert-type scale from 1 “not at all” to
7 “very”. Finally, participants were debriefed and thanked.
Pilot Study Results
G1: Each advertisement was assessed for how positively each ad was perceived and each advertisement was assessed for how sexy each advertisement was perceived. To determine which advertisements were most effective (G1), a truncation procedure was performed. Previous literature has utilized a truncation procedure to allow for the use of the images that elicit the strongest reactions. Images are analyzed on the intended reaction (e.g. sexy) using both the mean and the mode of responses. Images with the highest means are selected, and then further filtered by using images that have unimodal responses with the mode being over the midpoint. This procedure was utilized for both the sexualized advertisements on sexy ratings, and both the affective and inspirational advertisements on positive affect. By following this procedure, we arrived at 6 advertisements from each of the 4 groups. These 24 advertisements were then used for all following analyses (see Appendix A).
G2: Next, composite means were created for each group to assess group differences on the advertisement questions. Multiple one-way ANCOVAs were conducted to assess each question by condition. Sex was included as a covariate and was not significant on any of the analyses (p > .05). Levene’s test of equality of covariance of matrices was not significant indicating equivalent variance across the dependent measures (p > .05). Each composite mean was assessed for skew and kurtosis and found that every question was within normal limits (skew < 2, kurtosis < 7).
19 Advertisement condition had a significant main effect on the question “How do you feel about exercising after viewing this advertisement?” (G2; F (3, 65) = 6.287, p <
2 .01, ηp = .225), with participants feeling the least positive about exercise after sexualized advertisements (MSexualizedAds = 3.19, SDSexualizedAds = 1.55), followed by the neutral advertisements (MNeutralAds = 3.54, SDNeutralAds = 1.34), the affective advertisements
(MAffectiveAds = 4.61, SDAffectiveAds = 1.15), and the inspirational advertisements
(MInspirationalAds = 4.87, SDInspirationalAds = 1.55).
Advertisement condition was significant on the question “After viewing this advertisement, how beneficial do you believe exercise is?” (G2; F (3, 65) = 5.13, p < .01,
2 ηp = .192), with participants rating exercise as being the least beneficial after sexualized advertisements (MSexualizedAds = 3.45, SDSexualizedAds = 1.79), followed by the neutral advertisements (MNeutralAds = 3.86, SDNeutralAds = 1.44), the affective advertisements
(MAffectiveAds = 4.78, SDAffectiveAds = 1.17), and the inspirational advertisements
(MInspirationalAds = 5.14, SDInspirationalAds = 1.33).
G3: The sexualized group was analyzed compared to each of the other three advertisement conditions on all dependent measures using a LSD Post Hoc analysis (see
Table 2.1).
20 Table 2.1
Means and LSD Post Hoc Analyses of Advertisement Groups. Below are the means and LSD Post Hoc results from the comparison of the sexualized advertisements to other advertisement groups for each question from the pilot study. Groups that are significantly different from the sexualized ad group based on LSD Post Hoc analyses are denoted with a “” symbol.
Question M(SD) M(SD) M(SD) M(SD) Affective Ads Inspirational Ads Neutral Ads Sexualized Ads How visually appealing is this 4.69(1.11) 4.79(1.21) 5.00(1.07) 3.37(1.69) advertisement?
How positive is this 5.26(1.29) 5.43(0.98) 4.02(1.44) 2.93(1.59) advertisement?
How inspiring is 5.35(1.19) 5.26(1.03) 3.73(1.38) 3.00(1.60) this advertisement?
How sexy is this 3.19(1.35) 3.81(1.30) 2.77(1.72) 4.43(1.91) advertisement?
How do you feel about exercising 4.61(1.15) 4.87(1.35) 3.54(1.34) 3.19(1.55) after viewing this advertisement?
After viewing this advertisement, how 4.78(1.17) 5.14(1.33) 3.86(1.44) 3.45(1.80) beneficial do you believe exercise is?
Pilot Study Discussion
The purpose of this pilot study was to select the best advertisements for the main study, and to test whether participants viewed the different groups of advertisements as distinctly different. Using a truncation procedure, the top 6 advertisements from each
21 advertisement type were chosen. Analyses indicated, as hypothesized, that feelings towards exercise were significantly less positive after viewing sexualized advertisements.
One of the strengths of the pilot study is the use of “real world”, professionally developed advertisements that are already being disseminated to the public. The use of such images enhances external validity. One potential criticism to this approach, however, is that while these images let us examine the effects of viewing advertisements that people are already being exposed to, these advertisements were likely not designed to encourage exercise, but rather to sell products. Although exercise promotion may not have been the direct goal of these advertisements, the pilot study indicates that these advertisements can influence positive affect towards exercise. As such, even though these ads were not designed to alter feelings toward exercise or intentions, they appear to readily do so.
Although the pilot study found significant differences between the sexualized advertisements condition and the other comparison conditions, it had many limitations.
One limitation of the Pilot Study is that the study did not include adequate questions in order to assess whether the advertisements influenced exercise intentions and if such an effect would be mediated by positive or negative feelings, or perhaps mediated by other factors such as feelings about one’s body. Further, we did not include measures to assess for potential moderators at play. The main study, explained next, aims to fill these gaps.
22 Chapter 3
Main Study
The current study aimed to replicate and expand upon the pilot study. To do so, this study used the advertisement stimuli used in the pilot study. Importantly, the study included more participants. This will allow us to test for affective response towards exercise and exercise behavioral intentions after viewing sexualized exercise advertisements.
The current study also included a wider array of affective and intention measures; the measures employed in the pilot study were not designed to provide clear assessments of affect and intentions. As such, inclusion of more affective and intention measures in the main study allow for a stronger testing of the hypothesis that these constructs are being altered by the advertisement stimuli. Further, including more clear measures of affect and intentions allow for testing the hypothesized mediational role of affect in the link between sexualized ads and exercise intentions. To provide a broader assessment of affect, two different types of affect measures were used. First, affect measures that capture generalized “good” and “bad” feelings about exercise were completed. These measures are derived from those used in earlier studies examining affect and exercise
(e.g., Kiviniemi, Jandorf, & Erwin, 2013). Second, we also assessed feelings of body dissatisfaction. One study found that after viewing sexualized and objectified media representations of women, both women and men had increased state body dissatisfaction, though the effect was stronger for women (Krawczyk & Thompson, 2015). This, in combination with Objectification Theory (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997), suggests that changes in exercise intentions after viewing sexualized exercise advertisements may be
23 mediated by feelings of body dissatisfaction caused by the advertisements, and may help explain why some people are motivated by sexualized images and why some people are discouraged by sexualized images.
The study also included chronic individual difference measures to test for a variable that may moderate the link between sexualized ads and exercise intentions. In particular, other research has suggested that an additional variable that might influence whether someone perceives sexualization as positive or negative is whether she or he enjoys the sexualization. The Enjoyment of Sexualization Scale was designed to tap into this difference and to aid research examining how and why being sexualized may not negatively influence women, and why some women might actually find sexualization empowering (Liss, et al, 2011). If the enjoyment of sexualization increases positive responses to sexualized advertisements, and if positive feelings are driving the link between sexualized advertisement exposure and exercise intentions, then the enjoyment of sexualization may be an important moderating variable between sexualization in the media and behavior change. The Affective Association Model (Kiviniemi et al., 2007) strengthens this theorization – if participants enjoy the sexualization and are then presented with sexualized exercise advertisements, their general positive affect may also map onto their affect towards exercise specifically.
Hypotheses
H1: Sexualized exercise advertisements will negatively influence participants’ behavioral intentions to exercise, in that after viewing sexualized exercise advertisements, participants will have lower intentions to exercise as compared to participants viewing the affective, inspirational, and neutral advertisements.
24 H2: Based on the pilot study, it is anticipated that the sexualized exercise advertisements will induce negative feelings. In the main study, two facets of negative feelings that might be altered by the advertisements will be examined. First, we will assess generalized feelings about exercise (thus, affectivity about exercise). Second, we will also assess feelings of body dissatisfaction (thus, affectivity about one’s own body). It is expected that, as compared to the other advertisement conditions, the sexualized advertisement condition will raise negative affect on both of these measures.
H3: The influence of the sexualized advertisements on exercise intentions is anticipated to be statistically mediated by negative feelings. As explained, two different facets of affect are being assessed in the current study. Thus, Hypothesis 3 was split between the two potential mediators in that H31 is that affect mediates the relationship between advertisement type and exercise intentions. H32 is that state body image mediates the relationship between advertisement type and exercise intentions.
H4: It is predicted that enjoyment of sexualization will moderate the relationship between sexualized advertisements and affect and exercise intentions. Specifically, it is anticipated that participants who enjoy sexualization more will have less negative affect after viewing the sexualized exercise advertisements than participants who enjoy sexualization. Further, it is expected that participants who enjoy sexualization more will have lower intentions to exercise less after viewing the sexualized exercise advertisements than participants who enjoy sexualization.
Participants and Design
Two hundred fifty-two female undergraduate students from a large-sized
Midwestern university with a mean age of 19.37(SD = 3.41) participated in the study as
25 partial credit for their Introduction to Psychology course, or as extra credit for another psychology course. Students were asked to self-identify race, and were allowed to choose more than one with the outcome as follows: 69% Caucasian, 19.8% Black/African
American, 7.1% Hispanic, 5.2% Asian pacific islander, 2.8% American Indian/Alaskan native, and 5.6% other. Fourty-two (16.7%) of the participants failed at least one of the attention checks (explained below and presented in Appendix H). Given the large portion of the sample with some attention lapses, and the fact that we did not apriori set these attention checks up as an anticipated data filter, we did not cut these individuals from the overall sample that was analyzed. That said, exploratory analyses were done to assess whether the results diverged markedly with them excluded. The results remained similar with and without these participants1. In the current study, there were 4 between-subjects conditions: an affective advertisements group, an inspirational advertisements group, a neutral advertisements group, and a sexualized advertisements group.
After obtaining consent (Appendix J), using a cover story (Appendix B), students were randomly assigned to view 6 advertisements from 1 of the 4 possible groups
(Appendix A). After viewing each advertisement for the first time, participants were asked a series of questions (Appendix C) to evaluate the advertisement before seeing the images a second time to better replicate the repetitive nature of advertisements. After the
1 Similar to the main study, the following questions differed significantly by condition when assessed with a single MANOVA analysis with the 42 students who failed at least one attention check: How visually appealing is this advertisement? F(3,167) = 9.42**, How positive is this advertisement? F(3,167) = 36.99**, How inspiring is this advertisement? F(3,167) = 35.01**, How sexy is this advertisement? F(3,167) = 44.22**, Engaging in exercise is (harmful to beneficial): F(3,167) =2.98*, Engaging in exercise is (pleasant to unpleasant): F(3,167) = 5.00**, When I think about engaging in physical activity I feel shame: F < 1, When I think about engaging in physical activity I feel anxious: F < 1.
26 advertisements, participants completed a series of questionnaires including affective measures (Murray & Geers, 2015; Kiviniemi, 2014; Kiviniemi, et al, 2007; Appendix D), the Body Image States Scale (Cash, Fleming, Alindogan, Steadman, & Whitehead, 2002;
Appendix E), the Enjoyment of Sexualization (Liss, et al, 2011; Appendix F), an additional potential moderator scale (Motives for Physical Activity Measure – Revised;
Ryan, Frederick, Lepes, Rubio, & Sheldon, 1997; Appendix I) and demographic information (Appendix G). Finally, participants were debriefed (Appendix K), thanked, and dismissed.
Materials and Measures
Images. Advertisements were the 24 advertisements (after using the truncation procedure) obtained from the pilot study (Appendix A). Students were randomly assigned to view 6 of the 24 advertisements, forming 4 between-subjects groups of images: neutral, positive affect, inspirational, and sexualized.
Advertisement Questions. Following each advertisement, participants filled out a series of Likert-type questions from the pilot study (Appendix C) in order to assess students’ evaluations of the advertisements and to make the cover story seem more plausible. An additional question was added to further enhance the cover story: “How likely are you to buy a product from this company after seeing this advertisement?”.
Finally, four affective type questions (2 positive, 2 negative; Kiviniemi, 2014; Appendix
D) were used to better capture subtle changes in affect.
Affective and Intention Questions. In order to assess Hypotheses 2-4, following the second viewing of the advertisements participants completed affective and behavioral intentions questions about exercise (Murray & Geers, 2015; Kiviniemi, 2014; Kiviniemi,
27 et al, 2007; Appendix D), which included questions such as “How much do you enjoy exercising?” and “I plan on being physically active for ____ days a week for the next 6 months.” These questions assess participants’ positive and negative affect towards exercise and have Cronbach’s alphas ranging from 0.70 to 0.90. Additionally, these questions were developed from previous studies, and have been used in other studies for a variety of different behaviors including exercise (Murray & Geers, 2015) and fruit and vegetable consumption (Kiviniemi & Duangdao, 2009).
State Body Image. In order to assess Hypothesis 2 and 3, participants completed the Body Image Scale States (Cash, et al, 2002; Appendix E) to assess how positively or negatively they feel about their body at that moment in time. This scale was created for use in both women and men and consists of 6 questions about the participant’s body at that moment in time, with questions such as “Right now I feel satisfied with my physical appearance” and “Right now I feel satisfied with my weight”, rated on a 9-point scale from “Extremely dissatisfied” to “Extremely satisfied”. This scale has been shown to have acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach’s Alpha = .90; Cash, et al, 2002). Additionally, this scale has been used in a variety of different studies to assess body image satisfaction
(e.g. Halliwell, Easun, & Harcourt, 2011; Ip & Jarry, 2008; Vocks, Legenbauer, & Heil,
2007).
Enjoyment of Sexualization. In order to assess Hypothesis 4, participants completed the Enjoyment of Sexualization Scale (Liss, et al, 2011; Appendix F), which includes questions such as “I feel proud when (wo)men compliment the way I look,” and
“I like showing off my body.” These questions assess how participants perceive being sexualized in different situations, and has been found to have acceptable internal
28 consistency with a Cronbach’s alphas of .85. All questions are Likert-type questions on a scale from 1-6, “Disagree Strongly” to “Agree Strongly”.
Demographics. Demographic information included: age, race, sex, height, weight, questions assessing their current amount of exercise, access to facilities where they can exercise, level of education, and major (Appendix G).
Attention Check Items. Throughout the experiment, participants were directed towards questions that have distinctly correct answers to assess whether or not the participant is paying attention (Appendix H). These questions include: “How many answer options are in this question?” and “How many words are in this sentence?”.
Instructions will indicate that these questions have a distinctly correct answer, while other questions are simply measuring how the participant thinks or feels. Additional attention checks will be asked at the end of the study (Appendix H). These questions include:
“What company was being advertised in the advertisements you viewed?,” and “What gender were the people in the advertisements you viewed?”. Participants were also asked additional exploratory questions to assess potential moderators will also be included
(Appendix K). Finally, attention check questions such as “How visually appealing is this advertisement” will be included (Appendix C).
Procedure
Participants were recruited from the University of Toledo human subjects participant pool. After arriving in the lab, participants (completing the study in small groups) were greeted by a student experimenter and were be seated at a computer to complete the survey on PsychData, a computer-based data collection tool. Participants then completed an informed consent document (Appendix J) stating that the participant
29 will view advertisements to assess how people perceive advertisements and then complete a series of questionnaires. The consent form also indicated that participants can quit the study at any time, with no penalty.
Students were given a cover story that includes telling students that they are completing the study in order to test memory for advertisements (Appendix B). This cover story was in order to attempt to mask the actual purpose of the study. Participants were then instructed via words on the screen that they will begin by viewing a series of 6 advertisements (Appendix A) collected from popular media similar to what would be seen in magazines such as Cosmopolitan, GQ, People, and other mainstream magazines.
Next, they answered a series of questions about each advertisement (Appendix C). The participant then viewed the advertisements a second time faster and without answering questions to better replicate the quick and repetitive nature of viewing advertisements.
This second viewing of advertisements serves two purposes: 1) it strengthens the cover story (Appendix B) that this is an advertisement study rather than an exercise study, and
2) it allows the students to see the advertisements a second time without being distracted.
Participants were then asked to fill out additional questions regarding their feelings towards exercise (Kiviniemi, 2014; Kiviniemi, et al, 2007; Appendix D), exercise intentions (Murray & Geers, 2015), the Body Image States Scale (Cash, et al,
2002; Appendix E), the Enjoyment of Sexualization (Liss, et al, 2011; Appendix F), and additional potential mediator questionnaires (Appendix I). Next participants completed demographic information (Appendix G), and an attention check questionnaire (Appendix
H). Finally, participants were thanked, debriefed (Appendix K), and dismissed.
30 Results
Statistical tests were two-tailed with alpha set at < .05. To analyze positive affect towards exercise, we collapsed the following questions to create a single mean positive affect (M = 3.34, SD = .96): When you think about exercising, do you feel happy, delighted, satisfied, joyful, and relaxed. To analyze for negative affect towards exercise, we collapsed the following questions to create a single mean negative affect: When you think about exercising do you feel disgusted, shame, anxious, angry, annoyed, sad, and embarrassed (M = 1.59 SD = .60). To assess intentions towards exercise, a mean for the questions indicating how many days the participant intends to participate in light, moderate, and vigorous exercise over the next month, and how many days they plan to exercise over the next 7 days was created (M = 4.88, SD = 1.43). To assess prior exercise, a mean for the questions indicating how many days the participant participated in light, moderate, and vigorous exercise over the previous 7 days was created (M = 4.37, SD =
1.63). Levene’s test of equality of covariance of matrices was not significant indicating equivalent variance across the dependent measures (p > .05). Each composite mean was assessed for skew and kurtosis and found that every question was within normal limits
(skew < 2, kurtosis < 7). Additionally, composite scores were created for each of the questions viewed after each advertisement and are shown below (see Table 3.1. All of the trends were similar to the findings from the Pilot Study.
31 Table 3.1 Summary of advertisement questions means and standard deviations by condition. Advertisement Condition Question ANOVA Positive Inspiring Neutral Sexualized Results Affect M(SD M(SD) M(SD) M(SD) How visually F (3,208) = 10.66** 5.49(.94) 5.33(.80) 5.37(1.00) 4.51(1.18) appealing is this advertisement?
How positive is this F (3,208) = 38.49** 5.84(.96) 5.97(.73) 4.79(1.21) 4.17(1.07) advertisement?
How inspiring is this F (3,208) = 37.18** 5.45(1.02) 5.62(.77) 4.03(1.35) 3.94(1.07) advertisement?
How sexy is this F (3,208) = 57.53** 2.97(1.28) 3.03(1.41) 1.94(1.22) 5.13(1.21) advertisement?
Engaging in exercise F (3,208) = 4.64** 6.28(1.18) 6.43(.64) 5.90(1.24) 5.71(1.26) is: (harmful to beneficial)
Engaging in exercise F (3,208) = 6.01** 1.98(1.08) 2.46(1.16) 2.36(1.24) 2.94(1.17) is: (pleasant to unpleasant)
How likely are you F (3,208) = 6.17** 3.94(1.24) 4.38(1.15) 4.16(1.13) 3.46(1.11) to buy a product from this company after seeing this advertisement?
When I think about F (3,208) = 2.06 1.67(1.33) 1.58(.87) 1.34(.73) 1.80(.97) engaging in physical activity I feel shame.
When I think about F < 1 2.35(1.65) 2.34(1.60) 2.25(1.61) 2.57(1.56) engaging in physical activity I feel anxious.
Note: *p < .05, **p < .01; all scales are from 1-7 not at all to very except the two questions assessing how beneficial and pleasant participants feel engaging in exercise is.
32 Hypothesis 1. Hypothesis One predicted that sexualized exercise advertisements will negatively influence participants’ behavioral intentions to exercise, in that after viewing sexualized exercise advertisements, participants will have lower intentions to exercise as compared to participants viewing the affective, inspirational, and neutral advertisements. In order to assess the effect of advertisement type on behavioral intentions, an ANOVA was conducted with behavioral intentions as the dependent variable and advertisement condition as the independent variable (see Table 3.1). This
ANOVA did not yield a significant effect of condition (F < 1, p > .05).
Table 3.2 Summary of key variable means and standard deviations by condition for the Main Study. Advertisement Condition
Variable Positive Inspiring Neutral Sexualized Affect M(SD M(SD) M(SD) M(SD) Exercise Intentions 4.86(1.46) 4.65(1.40) 4.98(1.51) 4.91(1.25) Positive Affect 3.28(1.06) 3.35(.95) 3.43(.89) 3.38(.92) Towards Exercise Negative Affect 1.49(.53) 1.52(.51) 1.62(.65) 1.71(.66) Towards Exercise BISS 31.63(11.61) 31.64(9.84) 33.38(10.57) 30.00(11.98) Prior Exercise 4.42(1.63) 4.27(1.49) 4.52(1.82) 4.30(1.63) Note: BISS = Body Image States Scale *p < .05, **p < .01.
Hypothesis 2. Based on the Pilot Study, it was anticipated that the sexualized exercise advertisements would induce negative feelings. First, we assessed generalized feelings about exercise (thus, affectivity about exercise). Second, we also assessed feelings of body dissatisfaction (thus, affectivity about one’s own body). It was expected that, as compared to the other advertisement conditions, participants in the sexualized advertisement condition would report greater negative affect on both of these feeling
33 measures. In order to assess the effect of advertisement type on feelings, three separate
ANOVAs were conducted. In the first two of these ANOVAs, mean responses (see Table
3.1) to the positive feelings and then negative feelings about exercise questions served as the dependent variable and condition as the independent variable. Neither of these
ANOVAs produced a significant effect of condition (F < 1, p > .05). In the third
ANOVA, the composite score to the Body Image States Scale served as the dependent variable and the finding was not significant (F < 1, p > .05).
Hypothesis 3. The influence of the sexualized advertisements on exercise intentions was anticipated to be statistically mediated by negative feelings. As explained, two different facets of affect were assessed in the current study. Thus, Hypothesis 3 was split between the two potential mediators in that H31 was that affect mediates the relationship between advertisement type and exercise intentions (Baron & Kenny, 1986).
H32 was that state body image mediates the relationship between advertisement type and exercise intentions. Bootstrapping mediation analyses were conducted to assess the potential mediation of the positive affect measures between advertisement type (IV) and behavioral intentions (DV) (Preacher & Hayes, 2008). As both feelings toward exercise and feelings towards one’s own body were measured, scores on both measures were included simultaneously to compare the relative merits of these two potential mediating variables. Neither affect variable served as a significant mediator in the Bootstrapping analysis (both p’s > .05).
Hypothesis 4. It was predicted that individual differences in the enjoyment of sexualization would moderate the relationship between sexualized advertisements and affect and exercise intentions. Specifically, it was anticipated that participants who enjoy
34 sexualization more will have less negative affect after viewing the sexualized exercise advertisements than participants who do not enjoy sexualization. Further, it was expected that participants who enjoy sexualization more would have lower intentions to exercise after viewing the sexualized exercise advertisements than participants who enjoy sexualization less.
Three separate hierarchical linear regression analyses were conducted to assess the prediction that enjoyment of sexualization moderates the relationship between advertisement condition and positive affect, negative affect, and exercise intentions. The first regression analysis explored exercise intentions as the criterion variable, the second regression analysis explored positive affect as the criterion variable, and the third regression analysis explored negative affect as the criterion variable (see Tables 3.2, 3.3, and 3.4).
Table 3.3. Summary of Hierarchical Regression for Condition and Enjoyment of Sexualization Predicting Exercise Intentions Step 1 Step 2
Variable B SE B β B SE B β
Dc1 -.12 .25 -.04 -.21 .25 -.06 Dc2 -.38 .24 -.12 -.49* .24 -.16 Dc3 -.11 .25 -.04 -.21 .25 -.06 Enjoyment of .19* .09 .14 .69*** .19 .49 Sexualization Dc1xEoS -.69** .26 -.24 Dc2xEoS -.46 .25 -.18 Dc3xEos -.80** .26 -.28 R2 .027 .068 F for change in 1.66 3.57* R2 Note: Dc1 = neutral vs positive affect, Dc2 = neutral vs inspirational, Dc3 = neutral vs sexualized, EoS = Enjoyment of Sexualization *p < .05, **p < .01, *** p < .001
35 Table 3.4. Summary of Hierarchical Regression for Condition and Enjoyment of Sexualization Predicting Positive Affect Towards Exercise Step 1 Step 2
Variable B SE B β B SE B β
Dc1 -.22 1.7 -.10 -.25 .17 -.11 Dc2 -.16 .16 -.07 -.20 .17 -.09 Dc3 -.15 .17 -.07 -.18 .18 -.09 Enjoyment of .23*** .06 .24 .37** .13 .39 Sexualization Dc1xEoS -.18 .18 -.09 Dc2xEoS -.09 .17 -.05 Dc3xEos -.32 .18 -.16 R2 .058 .071 F for change in 3.65** 1.13 R2 Note: Dc1 = neutral vs positive affect, Dc2 = neutral vs inspirational, Dc3 = neutral vs sexualized, EoS = Enjoyment of Sexualization *p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001
Table 3.5. Summary of Hierarchical Regression for Condition and Enjoyment of Sexualization Predicting Negative Affect Towards Exercise Step 1 Step 2
Variable B SE B β B SE B β
Dc1 -.12 .11 -.09 -.11 .11 -.08 Dc2 -.10 .11 -.07 -.09 .11 -.07 Dc3 .10 .11 .07 .09 .11 .07 Enjoyment of -.02 .04 -.04 -.02 .08 -.04 Sexualization Dc1xEoS -.09 .12 -.07 Dc2xEoS -.05 .11 -.05 Dc3xEos .15 .12 .12 R2 .151 .214 F for change in 1.37 1.81 R2 Note: Dc1 = neutral vs positive affect, Dc2 = neutral vs inspirational, Dc3 = neutral vs sexualized, EoS = Enjoyment of Sexualization *p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001
36 For each regression, a mean score of the Enjoyment of Sexualization (Liss, et al,
2011; Appendix F) was used as the moderating variable. In each regression analysis, condition (effect-coded, see below), Enjoyment of Sexualization (standardized), and prior exercise (standardized) were included on the first step of the model. As condition is a four-level categorical variable, and was included in the analysis by three effect-coded predictor variables by comparing the neutral condition to each of the other three conditions (see Jaccard, Turisis, & Wan, 1990). The first condition term (Dc1) represented the comparison of the neutral advertisements group to the positive affect advertisements group. The second condition term (Dc2) represented the comparison of the neutral advertisements group to the inspirational advertisements group. Finally, the third condition term (Dc3) represented the comparison of the neutral advertisements group to sexualized advertisements group. The second step included the interactions between the condition terms and Enjoyment of Sexualization. Out of the 9 interactions tested in these three regression models, two interactions were significant and one interaction was marginally significant (all other ps > .05). One significant interaction was observed in the positive affect advertisements group with enjoyment of sexualization and exercise intentions (b = -0.24, t = -2.62 p < .01). The other significant interaction was observed in the sexualized advertisements group with enjoyment of sexualization and exercise intentions (b = -0.277, t = -3.039, p < .01). Finally, the interaction of enjoyment of sexualization between the inspirational advertisements group and exercise intentions was found to be marginally significant (b = -0.183, t = -1.187, p = .063).
37 Simple slopes tests revealed that these interaction findings were primarily due to a positive slope in the neutral condition, and a negative slope in the positive affect group and sexualized advertisements group (see Figure 3.1).
7
6.5
6
7) -
5.5 neutral 5 positive 4.5 inspirational sexualized Exercise Intentions (1 Intentions Exercise 4
3.5
3 low enjoyment high enjoyment Enjoyment of Sexualization
Figure 3.1. Hierarchical regression for condition and Enjoyment of Sexualization predicting exercise intention.
The inspirational advertisements group had a positive slope that was less steep than the neutral group, resulting in the marginally significant finding. In the neutral advertisements condition, those who scored lower on enjoyment of sexualization had lower intentions of engaging in exercise while those who scored higher on enjoyment of sexualization had higher intentions of engaging in exercise. Thus, it appears that in neutral contexts, individuals high in the enjoyment of sexualization intend to exercise more than those scoring low in the enjoyment of sexualization. In both the positive affect advertisements condition and the sexualized advertisements condition, participants who scored lower in enjoyment of sexualization had slightly higher intentions of engaging in
38 exercise than those who scored higher in enjoyment of sexualization. Interestingly, in the inspirational group, almost identical results were found in participants who scored lower in enjoyment of sexualization, whereas those higher in enjoyment of sexualization in the inspirational group had fewer exercise intentions than those in the control group, but still had higher intentions than those who scored lower in enjoyment of sexualization.
Discussion
This study was designed to test the influence of different exercise advertisements on women’s affect towards exercise and their future intentions to engage in exercise.
Specifically, we were interested in whether sexualized exercise advertisements negatively influenced women’s feelings about exercise and their body image, and whether as a result, were less likely to report planning to exercise in the future. Alternatively, we were also interested in whether positive affective type advertisements benefited women’s body image, and as a result increased intentions to engage in exercise in the future. Although most of our hypotheses for the study were not supported, a few findings have the potential to shed new light to the study of sexualized advertising. Below I review the a priori hypotheses and the specific results relevant to each.
Hypothesis 1. First, it was hypothesized that sexualized exercise advertisements would negatively influence participants’ intentions to engage in exercise as compared to participants who viewed the affective, inspirational, and neutral advertisements. An
ANOVA exploring differences between advertisement groups failed to result in any significant differences between groups on a measure of exercise intentions. This null result was surprising, as the Pilot Study provided evidence that those in the sexualized advertisement condition intended to engage in less exercise than those in other groups. It
39 is unclear why this result did not manifest in the main study. One possibility, discussed in more detail later, is that the pilot data and main study were conducted from different geographic locations, which possibly could have hindered replication of the Pilot Study.
Hypothesis 2. In the second hypothesis it was predicted that the sexualized exercise advertisements would result in more negative feelings than the other three types of advertisements. We suggested that these negative feelings could manifest in several different ways, namely general feelings towards exercise (affect towards exercise) and specific feelings towards one’s body (body dissatisfaction). We explored this hypothesis by conducting ANOVAs on participants’ body image and affect toward exercise as a function of condition. Neither of these affect dependent variables differed significantly based on condition. This result is also in opposition of the findings of the Pilot Study.
Hypothesis 3. We then predicted that the influence of advertisement type on exercise intentions would be statistically mediated by affective feelings. We attempted to explore the potential mediations of affect towards exercise and feelings towards one’s body between advertisement type and behavioral intentions, and found no significant mediational effects. This lack of mediation makes sense, given the ANOVAs revealed that the condition manipulation did not directly alter intentions or affect.
Hypothesis 4. Our final hypothesis focused on a potential moderator of exercise intentions: individual differences in the enjoyment of sexualization. Specifically, it was predicted that those who enjoy sexualization would have less negative affect after viewing the sexualized advertisements than participants who do not enjoy sexualization; thus those who enjoy sexualization more would have lower intentions to engage in exercise in the future. Regression analyses testing for the moderating role of the
40 enjoyment of sexualization construct did produce several significant results. First, the regression models for exercise intentions produced significant interactions between those who saw the neutral advertisements and those who saw the positive affect advertisements, the sexualized advertisements, and the inspiring advertisements
(marginally significant). Further exploration of the simple slopes revealed that those who were high in enjoyment of sexualization had higher intentions of engaging in exercise when they saw the neutral ads, but significantly lower intentions when seeing any of the other types of ads.
One possible explanation for these interaction effects is that the neutral shoe advertisements resulted in greater processing of planning to exercise without having other effects of comparisons to people depicted in the advertisements. It is not clear why this would occur, but is a viable account. Alternatively, as the neutral advertisements were simply advertisements depicting shoes, this could be construed as the baseline of what women’s exercise intentions are, and that their reactions to the different ads depend on women’s levels of Enjoyment of Sexualization. If this is the case, why would individuals high in enjoyment of sexualization report lower intentions for exercise in the inspiration, positive affect, and sexualized conditions?
One possibility is that, for those who score higher in Enjoyment of Sexualization, engaging in physical activity and being physically fit, while also being “sexy” is important to their sense of self. As such, when presented with advertisements depicting women who are physically fit (as are in the other 3 groups of advertisements) and hypersexualized (as are in the sexualized group), those high in enjoyment of sexualization felt threatened. This suggestion is supported by the finding in a separate
41 study where women engaged in upward social comparison after viewing magazine images featuring women depicted as thin and idealized (Engeln—Maddox, 2005). These women reported feeling worse about their bodies and appearance. Conversely, when those who saw the exercise advertisements and were low in Enjoyment of Sexualization, the positive and sexualized advertisements were actually motivational. This is similar to the finding that sexualized advertisements can result in a brief increase in self-esteem
(Breines, Crocker, & Garcia, 2008) and consequently, our participants had higher intentions to engage in exercise than those who saw the neutral or inspirational advertisements.
The above interaction may be further elaborated upon by exploring the content of the sexualized advertisements specifically. Upon further examination after the study was conducted, the sexualized advertisements employed depict women wearing exercise apparel, but in passive positions; only one depicted a woman engaging in exercise, and thus actively engaging in her environment. Conversely, the positive and inspirational advertisements depict women as actively engaging in exercise and in their environment.
Future research could perhaps explore the effects of positive affect-type messages paired with exercise advertisements depicting women as active in their environments. This could be in comparison to positive affect-type messages paired with neutral exercise advertisements, or also exploring the comparison with women depicted as not active in their environment.
Interestingly, in both the positive and sexualized advertisements groups (but not inspirational) similar results were found in that, regardless of enjoyment of sexualization, women had similar intentions to engage in exercise in the future. Although it could be
42 argued that this suggests that advertisements depicting sexualized women do no harm
(and may even be slightly motivational), other research suggests that sexualizing and objectifying women has a plethora of other negative social influences on women as a group (see APA, 2007 and Schooler, 2015). Future research could perhaps explore the effects of positive affect-type messages paired with exercise advertisements depicting a range of body types in comparison to positive affect-type messages paired with neutral exercise advertisements. For example, some research has found that when viewing body types that are smaller than average (Victoria’s Secret models) as compared to body types more closely aligned with the average body size (Dove Love Your Body Campaign models), women stated that they wished to have bodies closer to the size of a Victoria’s
Secret model, and additionally believed that these bodies could be achieved through regular diet and moderate exercise (Burgess, Hall, Pollard, Ward, 2008). This suggests that women may have different affective responses to viewing advertisements depicting different body types, and specifically that different types of bodies could influence the amount of physical activity that women want to engage in.
Discussion of Null Results. Though there was a lack of support for our hypotheses revolving around affective feelings and advertisements’ direct impact on exercise intentions, all of these findings were important in several ways, namely that there is a possibility that the effect of advertisements may differ in different areas of the
United States. One major limitation of this study is that the Pilot Study was conducted, out of convenience, at a medium-sized university in the Southwest, whereas the Main
Study was conducted at a larger university in the Midwest; it is possible that the regional differences could point towards the differential results found in the Main Study in
43 comparison to the Pilot Study. Future research should explore the effects of these advertisements in different areas – perhaps participants from either of the regions have even different reactions to these advertisements, and participants from all over the United
States might exhibit an even different pattern. For example, some research has examined regional differences in the United States and levels of collectivism, and found a difference in the amount of collectivistic culture tendencies (Vandello & Cohen, 1999).
Although no research has yet looked at regional differences in how sexualization or advertisements and how cultural norms may influence these perceptions, it may be that socialization processes in place in these regions alter responses to sexualized advertisements.
Another study found that there were differences in urban versus rural women’s reasons for engaging in exercise and barriers to engaging in exercise (Wilcox, Castro,
King, Housemann, & Brownson, 2000). Seeing as the Pilot Study was conducted in a primarily rural area, and the Main Study was conducted in a more urban area, this points to another possibility that could help explain the differences between the Pilot Study and
Main Study. Both studies additionally included several methodological limitations, as discussed further below.
Limitations. This study included several limitations. First, as already discussed, the Pilot Study and the Main Study found different results, but were also collected from a different regions of the United States. It is possible that different areas of the United
States may have different reactions to these advertisements. Additionally, these results may not generalize to women as a whole – perhaps females of different age groups (other than the typical college-aged sample as was the Main Study and Pilot Study) have
44 different moderators that influence their reactions to these advertisements and these advertisements may not be as motivational for them. For example, one study found that across the lifespan, women have differing feelings of discontent about their bodies in that younger women are significantly more discontent than older women (Öberg & Tornstam,
1999).
Several methodological limitations could have also influenced the findings in the
Main Study. For example, though literature often employs a range from five to nine advertisements (e.g. Bushman, 2007), there is a possibility that using more advertisements could have produced a stronger effect, though little research has explored the differential effect of increasing the number of advertisements employed. Furthermore, it is possible that using more dynamic images (e.g. videos or gif files that include moving pictures) could elicit a stronger reaction, but this has not yet been tested. Some of the images utilized were also similar, as noted by the researchers before the study. The inspirational and the positive affective images both elicited similar ratings in the Pilot
Study, but it was hypothesized that perhaps they could still elicit different affective reactions in relation to exercise, which was not assessed in the Pilot Study. By not including the inspirational images, there could have been some increased separation in the results.
One method for capturing this separation could be to use different measures to assess participants’ affect towards exercise or affective changes while viewing the advertisements. Recent research on affect has started utilizing implicit measures such as the Affective Misattribution Paradigm (Payne, Cheng, Govorun, & Stewart, 2005) to capture unconscious affective feelings related to physical activity (Murray, 2017).
45 Furthermore, capturing physiological measures such as facial electromyopraphy signals, skin conductance response, electroencephalography, and respirations while participants view exercise-related advertisements could give insight into the real-time changes in affect (Zhou, Qu, Helander, & Jiao, 2011).
Another methodological limitation is that though we hypothesized that specifically negative affect would be influenced by these advertisements, we did not include advertisements that portrayed women exhibiting negative affect while exercising.
Newer affective research indicates that, rather being on a continuum, behavior is influenced separately by both positive and negative affect (e.g., Kiviniemi, Jandorf, &
Erwin, 2014). Additionally, there is a possibility that by telling students that the study was assessing their memory for advertisements, the students engaged in cognitively thinking about the advertisements as opposed to engaging in more feeling-based reactions. This possibility is supported by a study that found that the context in which the advertisement is presented can influence how the advertisement is perceived (Yi, 1990).
More specifically, the study found that when an attribute such as cognitive-focus or affect-focus are primed, participants were more likely use that information to view and interpret the advertisement information. Future research could consider altering the mindset of the participants to see if different patterns of results are found when participants engage in more cognitive or emotional thinking about exercise advertisements in particular.
Furthermore, students may not be interested in exercising currently, and advertisements alone may not be enough to influence them to change their exercise intentions. If we continue the argument that the neutral group is representative of what
46 women’s baseline intentions of exercise behaviors are, these women had lower intentions to engage in exercise than all of the groups except the inspirational group who scored low in Enjoyment of Sexualization. This suggests that exercise may not be central to these women’s sense of self and that other priorities (e.g. school, work) may be more important to them than exercise. Further research needs to be conducted on the different activities that are important to college-aged women and seeing how different variables central to their sense of self may be involved in their exercise activities.
In sum, this study found several notable results, but was also conducted with limitations that could have hindered additional findings. It is important to note that due to the puzzling differences between the pilot and main studies, replication is crucial to drawing any conclusions from this study. Importantly, this study was the first to explore how different exercise-related advertisements that people are exposed to may influence whether college-aged women intend to engage in exercise, and the mechanisms behind these intentions. Additionally, this study opened up future directions in advertisements specifically related to portrayals of women, positive affect towards exercise, and exercise intentions. Finally, this study was also an important step in gaining information about the possible differences between women from different areas of the United States and how it is important for research to conduct studies at more than just a single university at a single area. Advertisements are viewed across the entire United States, and this study importantly suggests that differential findings may emerge with different regions, pointing towards the need for more research in the field.
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58 Appendix A Nike Advertisements
Truncated Affective Advertisements
59
Truncated Neutral Advertisements
60
Truncated Inspirational Advertisements
61
62 Truncated Sexualized Advertisements
63
64 Appendix B Cover Story
This study will include a cover story in order to help mask the intended purpose of the study:
The purpose of this experiment today is to assess your memory for advertisements and what you think about advertisements. In order to assess this, we need to wait a few minutes for the images to be stored in your long-term memory. During this time, we have a few questionnaires for a separate study for you to complete.
65 Appendix C Advertisement Questions
* Indicates that the question was not on the pilot study, but will be included in the main study.
† Indicates that the question was included on the pilot study, but will be removed from the main study.
How visually appealing is this advertisement?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Not at all Very Visually Visually Appealing Appealing
How positive is this advertisement?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Not at all Very Positive Positive
How inspiring is this advertisement?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Not at all Very Inspiring Inspiring
How sexy is this advertisement?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Not at all Very Sexy Sexy
66 † How do you feel about exercising after viewing this advertisement?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Not at all Very Positive Positive
† After viewing this advertisement, how beneficial do you believe exercise is?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Not at all Very Beneficial Beneficial
* How likely are you to buy a product from this company after seeing this advertisement?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Not at all Very Likely Likely
* When I think about engaging in physical activity I feel shame.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Not at all Very Much
* When I think about engaging in physical activity I feel happy. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Not at all Very Much
* When I think about engaging in physical activity I feel anxious.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Not at all Very Much
67 * When I think about engaging in physical activity I feel delighted.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Not at all Very Much
* When I think about engaging in physical activity I feel embarrassed.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Not at all Very Much
* When I think about engaging in physical activity I feel joyful.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Not at all Very Much
*How ambitious is the woman in this advertisement?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Not at all Very Much
*How uncooperative is the woman in this advertisement
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Not at all Very Much
68 Appendix D Affective/Cognitive Questions
Affective Associations Measures Kiviniemi, 2014
AFFECTIVE ASSOCIATIONS WITH EXERCISE When you think about exercising, how do you feel?
Not at all A little Somewhat Quite a bit Extremely Do you feel happy? 1 2 3 4 5
Do you feel delighted? 1 2 3 4 5 Do you feel disgusted? 1 2 3 4 5 Do you feel angry? 1 2 3 4 5
Do you feel anxious? 1 2 3 4 5 Do you feel satisfied? 1 2 3 4 5 Do you feel relaxed? 1 2 3 4 5
Do you feel annoyed? 1 2 3 4 5 Do you feel sad? 1 2 3 4 5
Do you feel joyful? Do you feel embarrassed? 1 2 3 4 5 Do you feel shameful? 1 2 3 4 5
Attitudes Measure Kiviniemi et al., 2007
Engaging in Physical Activity is:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Unpleasant Pleasant
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Undesirable Desirable
69 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Worthless Valuable
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Harmful Beneficial
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Foolish Wise
Please indicate the number of days per week for the next 6 months that you plan on being physically active for more than 20 minutes: On average, I plan on being physically active for _____ days a week for the next 6 months.
0 days 1 day 2 days 3 days 4 days 5 days 6 days 7 days
How many days a week do you plan to do 20 minutes or more of vigorous-intensity physical activity that make you sweat or puff and pant? (e.g., heavy lifting, digging, jogging, aerobics or fast bicycling)?
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
How many days a week do you plan to do 30 minutes or more walking? (e.g., walking from place to place for exercise, leisure or recreation)?
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
How many times a week do you plan to do 30 minutes or more of moderate-intensity physical activity that increases your heart rate or make you breathe harder than normal? (e.g., carrying light loads, bicycling at a regular pace or doubles tennis)?
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
How important is it for you to be physically fit?
Not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Extremely Important Important
How much do you enjoy exercising?
Not 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Very at all much
70 To what extent do you see yourself as being capable of participating in regular physical activity?
Incapable 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Capable
How confident are you that you will be able to participate in regular physical activity?
Not very 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Very Confident Confident
I believe I have the ability to participant in regular physical activity?
Definitely 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Definitely do not do
How often do you intend to take part in regular physical activity?
Never 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Frequently
I want to exercise regularly
Definitely 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Definitely do not do
People close to me think I should participate in regular physical activity
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Disagree Neither Agree Strongly agree nor Strongly disagree
71
People who are important to me would…
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Disapprove of Approve of my my participating participating in regular in regular activity activity
People close to me think I…
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Should not Should participate in participate regular in regular activity activity
Social Norms Measure Kiviniemi et al., 2007
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Strongly Strongly Disagree Agree
Below are several statements about how other people in your life feel about physical activity. For each one, please think about how strongly you agree or disagree with each statement and use the scale above to answer each question.
___ My family thinks physical activity is good.
___ My friends think physical activity is good.
___ People of my culture think physical activity is good.
72
Benefits
3) There are many reasons people have for engaging in physical activity. We’d like to know how much each of the following things influences your engaging in physical activity. Please answer by writing the number corresponding to your answer on the line next to each reason.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Doesn’t Is an important influence my reason why I physical engage in activity physical activity
___ Helps me stay in shape ___ Reduce stress and relax
___ Makes me feel better in general ___ Helps me cope with life’s pressures
___ Maintain proper body weight ___ Enhance my self-image and confidence
73 Appendix E Body Image States Scale (Cash, et al, 2002) BISS
For each of the items below, check the box beside the one statement that best describes how you feel RIGHT NOW AT THIS VERY MOMENT. Read the items carefully to be sure the statement you choose accurately and honestly describes how you feel right now.
1. Right now I feel...
Extremely dissatisfied with my physical appearance Mostly dissatisfied with my physical appearance Moderately dissatisfied with my physical appearance Slightly dissatisfied with my physical appearance Neither dissatisfied nor satisfied with my physical appearance Slightly satisfied with my physical appearance Moderately satisfied with my physical appearance Mostly satisfied with my physical appearance Extremely satisfied with my physical appearance
2. Right now I feel...
Extremely satisfied with my body size and shape Mostly satisfied with my body size and shape Moderately satisfied with my body size and shape Slightly satisfied with my body size and shape Neither dissatisfied nor satisfied with my body size and shape Slightly dissatisfied with my body size and shape Moderately dissatisfied with my body size and shape Mostly dissatisfied with my body size and shape Extremely dissatisfied with my body size and shape
3. Right now I feel...
Extremely satisfied with my weight Mostly dissatisfied with my weight Moderately dissatisfied with my weight Slightly dissatisfied with my weight Neither dissatisfied nor satisfied with my weight Slightly satisfied with my weight Moderately satisfied with my weight Mostly satisfied with my weight Extremely satisfied with my weight
74 4. Right now I feel...
Extremely physically attractive Very physically attractive Moderately physically attractive Slightly physically attractive Neither attractive nor unattractive Slightly physically unattractive Moderately physically unattractive Very physically unattractive Extremely physically unattractive
5. Right now I feel...
A great deal worse about my looks than I usually feel Much worse about my looks than I usually feel Somewhat worse about my looks than I usually feel Just slightly worse about my looks than I usually feel About the same about my looks as usual Just slightly better about my looks than I usually feel Somewhat better about my looks than I usually feel Much better about my looks than I usually feel A great deal better about my looks than I usually feel
6. Right now I feel that I look...
A great deal better than the average person looks Much better than the average person looks Somewhat better than the average person looks Just slightly better than the average person looks About the same as the average person looks Just slightly worse than the average person looks Somewhat worse than the average person looks Much worse than the average person looks A great deal worse than the average person looks
75 Appendix F Enjoyment of Sexualization Scale (Liss, Erchull, Ramsey, 2011) ESS
1. It is important to me that (wo)men are attracted to me
1 2 3 4 5 6
Disagree Agree Strongly Strongly
2. I feel proud when (wo)men compliment the way I look.
1 2 3 4 5 6
Disagree Agree Strongly Strongly
3. I want (wo)men to look at me.
1 2 3 4 5 6
Disagree Agree Strongly Strongly
4. I love to feel sexy.
1 2 3 4 5 6
Disagree Agree Strongly Strongly
5. I like showing off my body
1 2 3 4 5 6
Disagree Agree Strongly Strongly
76 6. I feel complimented when (wo)men whistle at me.
1 2 3 4 5 6
Disagree Agree Strongly Strongly
7. When I wear revealing clothing, I feel sexy and in control.
1 2 3 4 5 6
Disagree Agree Strongly Strongly
8. I feel empowered when I look beautiful.
1 2 3 4 5 6
Disagree Agree Strongly Strongly
77 Appendix G Demographics
Please answer the following questions to the best of your ability:
What is your age? ____ years
What is your:
Height Weight Age
What is your race? You may check more than one.
American Indian/Alaskan Native Hispanic Asian/Pacific Islander White/Caucasian Black/African American Other
Gender MALE FEMALE
Do you smoke? YES NO
Do you drink caffeine (coffee, cola, Mt. Dew, energy drinks)? YES NO
How many days a week do you usually do 20 minutes or more of vigorous-intensity physical activity that make you sweat or puff and pant? (e.g., heavy lifting, digging, jogging, aerobics or fast bicycling)?
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
How many days a week do you usually do 30 minutes or more walking? (e.g., walking from place to place for exercise, leisure or recreation)?
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
How many times a week do you usually do 30 minutes or more of moderate-intensity physical activity that increases your heart rate or make you breathe harder than normal? (e.g., carrying light loads, bicycling at a regular pace or doubles tennis)?
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Have you sustained an injury or do you have a medical issue that prevents you from exercising regularly?
YES NO if yes please explain
Do you belong to an organized sports team?
Yes No
Do you own a gym membership or have access to a gym?
Yes No
78 In the Psychology Department, we are considering offering a Psychology of Health, Wellness, and Exercise Seminar next semester. If this class were offered, would you be interested in enrolling for it?
Yes No
If yes, can you provide your email address so we can contact you with more information about the class?
______
79 Appendix H Attention Check Items
While other questions do not have a right or wrong answer, this question has a distinctly correct answer:
How many words are in this sentence?
How many options are in this question?
What company was being advertised in the advertisements you viewed?
What gender were the people in the advertisements you viewed?
What was the purpose of this study? (fill in the blank)
80 Appendix I Potential Moderator Scales
Additional scales will be included for exploratory moderator analyses that were not discussed in the main thesis.
Motivation for Exercise. Previous research has found that women who had body-shape motives for exercise were less likely to engage in physical activity that those who engaged in exercise for health reasons (Segar, Spruijt-Metz, & Nolen-Hoeksema, 2006), thus motivations for exercise will be included as an exploratory moderator. To assess motivations for exercise, participants will complete the Motives for Physical Activities
Measure – Revised (MPAM-R; Ryan, Frederick, Lepes, Rubio, & Sheldon, 1997). This measure breaks down reasoning for exercise into five motives including fitness, appearance, competence/challenge, social, and enjoyment. Additionally, each subscale has been shown to have good internal consistency (all alphas > 0.87).
Motives for Physical Activities Measure – Revised (MPAM-R)
The following is a list of reasons why people engage in physical activities, sports and exercise. Keeping in mind your primary physical activity/sport, respond to each question (using the scale given), on the basis of how true that response is for you.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Not at all Very true true for me for me
___ 1. Because I want to be physically fit.
___ 2. Because it’s fun.
81 ___ 3. Because I like engaging in activities which physically challenge me.
___ 4. Because I want to obtain new skills.
___ 5. Because I want to look or maintain weight so I look better.
___ 6. Because I want to be with my friends.
___ 7. Because I like to do this activity.
___ 8. Because I want to improve existing skills.
___ 9. Because I like the challenge.
___ 10. Because I want to define my muscles so I look better.
___ 11. Because it makes me happy.
___ 12. Because I want to keep up my current skill level.
___ 13. Because I want to have more energy.
___ 14. Because I like activities which are physically challenging.
___ 15. Because I like to be with others who are interested in this activity.
___ 16. Because I want to improve my cardiovascular fitness.
___ 17. Because I want to improve my appearance.
___ 18. Because I think it’s interesting.
___ 19. Because I want to maintain my physical strength to live a healthy life.
___ 20. Because I want to be attractive to others.
___ 21. Because I want to meet new people.
___ 22. Because I enjoy this activity.
___ 23. Because I want to maintain my physical health and well-being.
___ 24. Because I want to improve my body shape.
___ 25. Because I want to get better at my activity.
___ 26. Because I find this activity stimulating.
82 ___ 27. Because I will feel physically unattractive if I don’t.
___ 28. Because my friends want me to.
___ 29. Because I like the excitement of participation.
___ 30. Because I enjoy spending time with others doing this activity.
Scoring Information
Interest/Enjoyment: 2, 7, 11, 18, 22, 26, 29
Competence: 3, 4, 8, 9, 12, 14, 25
Appearance: 5, 10, 17, 20, 24, 27
Fitness: 1, 13, 16, 19, 23
Social: 6, 15, 21, 28, 30
83 Appendix J Informed Consent
IRB # _____
ICF Version Date: ______
Department of Psychology MS 948, 2801 W Bancroft Street
Toledo, Ohio 43606 Phone # 419.530.2717 Fax # 419.530.8479
ADULT RESEARCH - INFORMED CONSENT INFORMATION Memory for Advertisements
Principal Investigator: Andrew L. Geers, Ph. D. phone: 419-530-8530 Ashley B. Murray
Purpose: You are invited to participate in the research project entitled Memory for Advertisements, which is being conducted at the University of Toledo under the direction of Dr. Geers and Ashley Murray. The purpose of this study is to examine how individuals view and evaluate advertisements obtained from mainstream media.
Description of Procedures: This research will take place on campus at University of Toledo. The survey and evaluations will take approximately 30 minutes. You will be asked to fill out demographic information, evaluate a series of media advertisements, and fill out some final questionnaires related to the advertisements. At the end of the survey, you will be thanked, debriefed, and dismissed. You will then receive .5 research credits for participating in the study. You understand that you will be asked to view a series of advertisements similar to those seen in mainstream magazines such as Cosmopolitan, GQ, and Vogue. You also understand that these advertisements may be sexualized.
Potential Risks: There are minimal risks to participation in this study, including loss of confidentiality. You will be assigned a unique identification number, and we will not link your survey to identifying information. You could feel mildly anxious by answering questions on-line, additionally, participants may become bored answering questions about media advertisements. If so, you may stop at any time.
Potential Benefits: Participants will receive .5 research credits for participating in the study, and at the end you may be given the opportunity to learn more about the subject of this research. Others may benefit by learning about the results of this research.
Confidentiality: The researchers will make every effort to prevent anyone who is not on the research team from knowing that you provided this information, or what that information is. Any identifying information will be removed from the survey and you will be assigned a unique identification number. Additionally, consent forms will be kept separate from the data in a locked cabinet. Although we will make every effort to protect your confidentiality, there is a low risk that this might be breached.
Voluntary Participation: Your refusal to participate in this study will involve no penalty or loss of benefits to which you are otherwise entitled and will not affect your relationship with The University of Toledo. In addition, you may discontinue participation at any time without any penalty.
University of Toledo IRB Approved
Approval Date:
Expiration Date: Adult Informed Consent Form Page 1 of 2
84 IRB # _____
ICF Version Date: ______Contact Information: Before you decide to accept this invitation to take part in this study, you may ask any questions that you might have. If you have any questions at any time before, during or after your participation you should contact a member of the research team Dr. Geers – phone: 419-530-8530 If you have questions beyond those answered by the research team or your rights as a research subject or research-related injuries, please feel free to contact the IRB Chair at (419) 530-2844.
Before you sign this form, please ask any questions on any aspect of this study that is unclear to you. You may take as much time as necessary to think it over.
SIGNATURE SECTION – Please read carefully
You are making a decision whether or not to participate in this research study. Your signature indicates that you are over 18 years old, that you have read the information provided above, that you have had all your questions answered, and that you have decided to take part in this research.
The date you sign this document to enroll in this study, that is, today's date must fall between the dates indicated at the bottom of the page.
Name of Subject (please print) Signature Date
Name of Person Obtaining Consent Signature Date
This Adult Research Informed Consent document has been reviewed and approved by the University of Toledo Social, Behavioral and Educational IRB for the period of time specified in the box below.
Approved Number of Subjects:
University of Toledo IRB Approved
Approval Date:
Expiration Date: Adult Informed Consent Form Page 2 of 2
85 Appendix K Debrief Form
Thank you for participating in the current research study on evaluations of advertisements. The progress of psychological research is only possible with the help of individuals, like you, who give us important insight into the human mind. In addition, we hope that your participation has provided you with an educational experience on how psychological research is conducted. Before you have completed the study, we need you to ask a few more questions…
First, were all the directions clear and easy to understand? Yes No
If no, please explain:
Did a friend or someone you know tell you anything specific about the study? Yes No
If yes, please explain
Was there anything that you think might have altered your responses in some way? Yes No
If yes, please explain
In the current study, we are examining the perception of media advertisements. We wish to determine what types of messages change people’s behaviors. In this line of research we are examining many variables and some of these variables may help change future behaviors whereas some other variables may not be helpful. So, you may not have been provided a proven way to change behavior.
This research has many real world implications. The findings may prove useful in a variety of situations such as selling products, helping people engage in prosocial behaviors, and disseminating information.
We thank you very much for your participation. Your assistance today will help us answer some important questions about human behavior. It is really important, however, that you don’t tell anyone about the details of this study. People may respond differently
86 if they know the purpose of the study. Because there are a large number of participants in this study, it will take a while to examine people’s responses. It is essential that everyone who comes to do this study is unaware of the nature of it.
Please acknowledge that you have read the preceding information about the study by clicking the appropriate box
I have read the information I have not read the information
Can we count on you not to tell anyone about the details of this study?
Yes No
If you have additional questions, please contact the Principle Investigator, Dr. Andrew Geers at 419.530.8530
Additionally, we understand that some of these images may have been emotionally charged. If at any time you would like to discuss these with a professional, University of Toledo has several counselors in the counseling office whom you may visit, at no charge (Rocket Hall 1810). They may be reached at 419-530-7263.
Thank you very much for your participation today. We hope this was an educational experience for you.
Additionally, each participant will be given a slip of paper with the following information to take with them:
In the current study, we are examining the perception of media advertisements. We wish to determine what types of messages change people’s behaviors. In this line of research we are examining many variables and some of these variables may help change future behaviors whereas some other variables may not be helpful. So, you may not have been provided a proven way to change behavior. We understand that these topics and images may be emotionally charged. If at any time you would like to discuss these with a professional, University of Toledo has several counselors in the counseling office whom you may visit, at no charge (RH 1810). They may be reached at 419-530-2426.
87 Appendix L Evaluation of Advertisements Script for Master’s Thesis ______Greet participants outside of the experiment room.
Hello, are you here for “Evaluation of Advertisements?” And your name is ______? My name is ______. I will be conducting the study. Thank you for helping us today. Please follow me into the lab so we can get started.
Remind participants to: turn off any cell phones or electronic devices and put away any food or beverages. Ask participants to take a seat at their assigned computers.
I am going to read to you the instructions for the experiment today. I understand that this makes them sound stiff, but it makes sure that everyone hears the same thing and that I don’t forget to tell you anything. Before we begin, I need you to complete an informed consent. It is a requirement of the University that we have participants read and sign a consent form before they take part in a study. Read it over carefully and when you are finished, please sign it on the second page. Your signature indicates that you understand that there are no foreseeable risks to you by participating. You also understand that you will be asked to view a series images. You understand that any images you see may contain sexual imagery. You will be asked to fill out some surveys asking you questions about the images and then later complete a memory portion about the images you saw. When you have signed the consent form, please turn it face down on your desk.
Hand out consent forms. Collect them as they turn them over.
Today, you will be completing this experiment on the computer in front of you. First, you will view a series of advertisements and will be asked questions about each of these advertisements. There are no right or wrong answers to these – they are simply measuring what you think about the images. After this, you will be given the chance to view the advertisements again, this time more quickly, to better imitate the repeated and quick nature of advertisements. The purpose of this experiment today is to assess your memory for advertisements and what you think about advertisements. In order to assess this, we need to wait a few minutes for the images to be stored in your long-term memory. During this time, we have a few questionnaires for a separate study for you to complete.
When you have completed the experiment, please raise your hand so we can give you a sheet with more information about the study. After that, you are free to go. We thank you for your participation. You may now click continue to begin the experiment. If you have any questions, please raise your hand so I can try to assist you.
Give students debrief sheet on their way out, mark any issues on run sheet.
88 Appendix M Supplemental Pilot Study Analyses Table 2.2
MANOVA Comparison of Sexualized Advertisements to Affective Advertisements in the
pilot study. Below are the ANOVA results from the comparison of the sexualized
advertisements to the affective advertisements for each question from the pilot study.
MANOVA Results 2 Question df F p ηp M(SD) M(SD) Affective Ads Sexualized Ads How visually (1,32) 6.529 <.05 .169 4.69(1.11) 3.37(1.69) appealing is this advertisement?
How positive is this (1,32) 20.347 <.01 .389 5.26(1.29) 2.93(1.59) advertisement?
How inspiring is this (1,32) 21.655 <.01 .404 5.35(1.19) 3.00(1.60) advertisement?
How sexy (1,32) 4.387 <.05 .121 3.19(1.35) 4.43(1.91) is this advertisement?
How do you feel about (1,32) 8.435 <.01 .209 4.61(1.15) 3.19(1.55) exercising after viewing this advertisement?
After viewing this (1,32) 5.935 <.05 .156 4.78(1.17) 3.45(1.80) advertisement, how beneficial do you believe exercise is?
89 Table 2.3
MANOVA Comparison of Sexualized Advertisements to Neutral Advertisements in the
pilot study. Below are the MANOVA results from the comparison of the sexualized
advertisements to the neutral advertisements for each question from the pilot study.
MANOVA Results 2 Question df F p ηp M(SD) M(SD) Neutral Ads Sexualized Ads How visually (1,35) 11.742 <.01 .251 5.00(1.07) 3.37(1.69) appealing is this advertisement?
How positive is this (1,35) 4.649 <.05 .117 4.02(1.44) 2.93(1.59) advertisement?
How inspiring is this (1,35) 2.143 =.15 .058 3.73(1.38) 3.00(1.60) advertisement?
How sexy (1,35) 7.588 <.01 .178 2.77(1.72) 4.43(1.91) is this advertisement?
How do you feel about (1,35) <1 =.47 .015 3.54(1.34) 3.19(1.55) exercising after viewing this advertisement?
After viewing this (1,35) <1 =.45 .017 3.86(1.44) 3.44(1.79) advertisement, how beneficial do you believe exercise is?
90 Table 2.4
MANOVA Comparison of Sexualized Advertisements to Inspirational Advertisements in
the pilot study. Below are the MANOVA results from the comparison of the sexualized
advertisements to the inspirational advertisements for each question from the pilot study.
MANOVA Results 2 Question df F p ηp M(SD) M(SD) Inspirational Sexualized Ads Ads How visually (1,36) 9.039 <.01 .201 4.79(1.21) 3.37(1.69) appealing is this advertisement?
How positive is this (1,36) 32.806 <.01 .477 5.43(0.98) 2.93(1.59) advertisement?
How inspiring is this (1,36) 26.007 <.01 .419 5.26(1.03) 3.00(1.60) advertisement?
How sexy (1,36) 1.372 =.249 .037 3.81(1.30) 4.43(1.91) is this advertisement?
How do you feel about (1,36) 12.538 <.01 .258 4.87(1.35) 3.19(1.55) exercising after viewing this advertisement?
After viewing this (1,36) 10.715 <.01 .229 5.14(1.33) 3.44(1.79) advertisement, how beneficial do you believe exercise is?
91