Not beautiful enough to be myself: The impact of exposure to ideal appearance photos on women's state authenticity

IF 3.5 2区心理学 Q1 PSYCHOLOGY, SOCIAL

Personality and Individual Differences Pub Date : 2025-03-22 DOI:10.1016/j.paid.2025.113178

Dominik Borawski, Sandra Klimczak, Katarzyna Lipska

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of exposure to ideal appearance photos on women's sense of authenticity, testing the discrepancy between current and ideal body image as a potential mediator of this effect. The sample included 276 women aged 18 to 45 years (M = 26.05, SD = 7.00). They were randomly assigned to view either idealized or realistic appearance photos and then rated body image discrepancy and state authenticity. The results indicated that exposure to ideal appearance photos increased current-ideal body image discrepancy and decreased state authenticity. Mediation analysis revealed that the discrepancy between current and ideal body image partially mediated the relationship between photo exposure and authenticity. These findings suggest that even brief exposure to idealized beauty standards can threaten women's sense of being their true selves. The results align with the State Authenticity as Fit to Environment (SAFE) model, highlighting the importance of environmental fit for experiencing authenticity. The study underscores the significant role of physical attractiveness in women's self-concept and suggests that idealized beauty standards may undermine women's authenticity by increasing cognitive discrepancies between their actual and ideal self-images.

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来源期刊

Personality and Individual Differences PSYCHOLOGY, SOCIAL-

CiteScore

8.50

自引率

4.70%

发文量

577

审稿时长

41 days

期刊介绍： Personality and Individual Differences is devoted to the publication of articles (experimental, theoretical, review) which aim to integrate as far as possible the major factors of personality with empirical paradigms from experimental, physiological, animal, clinical, educational, criminological or industrial psychology or to seek an explanation for the causes and major determinants of individual differences in concepts derived from these disciplines. The editors are concerned with both genetic and environmental causes, and they are particularly interested in possible interaction effects.