women’s body image. According to this theory, a chronic cultural emphasis on women’s appearance results in a phenomenon called self-objectification . Self-objectification (often referred to as body surveillance ) refers to the internalization of a third-person perspective on one’s body. In other words
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Renee Engeln, Margaret Shavlik, and Colleen Daly
David E. Conroy, Robert W. Motl, and Evelyn G. Hall
Self-presentation has become an increasingly popular topic in exercise and sport psychology, yet few instruments exist to measure this construct. This paper describes two validation studies conducted on the Self-Presentation in Exercise Questionnaire (SPEQ), a paper-and-pencil instrument based on Leary and Kowalski’s (1990) two-component model of impression management. The SPEQ was designed to assess impression motivation (IM) and impression construction (IC) in exercise environments. The first study employed exploratory factor analysis to reduce a pool of 125 content-representative items to a subset of 41 items forming the hypothesized two-factor model of IM and IC. In the second study, the 41 items were further reduced using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses in separate samples, and the reduced SPEQ also conformed to the IM and IC factor structure. The second study also provided initial evidence to support the convergent and discriminant validity of the SPEQ with theoretically salient constructs such as body surveillance, perceived physical ability, physical self-presentation confidence, social desirability, and social physique anxiety.
Caitlyn R. Hauff
Objectification theory postulates that societal norms influence women to internalize cultural standards of beauty and thinness as their own. The consequences of objectification experiences include body shame, anxiety, body surveillance, and internalization of the thin ideal. Self-presentation theory suggests that individuals attempt to control and manage impressions when they perceive they are being evaluated by others. Previous research has documented the role of apparel in objectification of women and how women use apparel to create particular impressions. Research has also documented how objectification and self-presentation mediates reasons and motivations for exercise. However, qualitative explorations of women’s thoughts and feelings regarding exercise apparel as a motivator or deterrent for physical activity within these frameworks are lacking. In the current study, twelve recreationally active women were interviewed to understand their perceptions of exercise apparel in relation to their exercise environment and motivation to exercise. Two higher order themes emerged: exercise apparel as a tool for the optimal exercise experience (lower order themes: comfort, functionality of clothing, and reciprocal relationship between motivation and affect) and societal influences shaping exercise apparel choices (lower order themes: social influence and social comparison within the exercise setting, the cultural standard, and past experiences of evaluation). For the women in our study, exercise apparel serves as both a motivator and deterrent for exercise and certain exercise apparel contributes to self-presentation concerns within the exercise setting.
Kim Gammage, Alyson Crozier, Alison Ede, Christopher Hill, Sean Locke, Desi McEwan, Kathleen Mellano, Eva Pila, Matthew Stork, and Svenja Wolf
body surveillance, or constant body monitoring of one’s external appearance. Body surveillance directs focus and attention away from internal physiological and emotional states (e.g., affective judgments of activity) and, instead, focuses mental energy into worrying about how the body looks to others
Kim Gammage, Rachel Arnold, Lori Dithurbide, Alison Ede, Karl Erickson, Blair Evans, Larkin Lamarche, Sean Locke, Eric Martin, and Kathleen Wilson
more autonomous forms of motivation (e.g., intrinsic motivation) rather than controlling forms are positively related to physical activity behavior. Negative body image and, in particular, a focus on the physical appearance of the body (i.e., body surveillance) may impede intrinsic motivation, as this
Kim Gammage, Lori Dithurbide, Alison Ede, Karl Erickson, Blair Evans, Larkin Lamarche, Sean Locke, Eric Martin, Desi McEwan, and Kathleen Wilson
negative body image perceptions and emotions, which may be a contributing factor to sport dropout rates for this population. Using objectification theory as a framework, the purpose of this study was to examine longitudinal changes in positive and negative emotions, body surveillance, and participation in
Kim Gammage, Jeff Caron, Alyson Crozier, Alison Ede, Christopher Hill, Sean Locke, Desi McEwan, Kathleen Mellano, Eva Pila, Matthew Stork, and Svenja Wolf
an ideal type through weight loss) can have a negative impact. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between body-related experiences, such as body surveillance, body appreciation, and exercise avoidance motivation (e.g., the desire to avoid exercise) among 131 women with a body
Alexandra M. Rodriguez, Alison Ede, Leilani Madrigal, Tiffanye Vargas, and Christy Greenleaf
.1177/1461444818821064 Fitzsimmons-Craft , E.E. , Harney , M.B. , Koehler , L.G. , Danzi , L.E. , Riddell , M.K. , & Bardone-Cone , A.M. ( 2012 ). Explaining the relationship between thin ideal internalization and body image dissatisfaction among college women: The roles of social comparison and body surveillance
Paul Bernard Rukavina
particular appearance ideals. This can lead to the internalization of the thin/muscular ideal and unnecessarily create a focus on weight loss and body surveillance that can sacrifice individuals’ general health and well-being ( Yan et al., 2020 ). In addition, adoption of the thin/muscular ideals lead to
Gretchen Paulson and Christy Greenleaf
( Myers & Crowther, 2007 ; O’Hara et al., 2014 ). This, in turn, can increase SO, which is often associated with increased feelings of body shame and body surveillance. Prichard and Tiggemann ( 2005 ) discussed how traditional exercise settings often entail objectifying cues such as mirrors and displays
