Attitudes toward Social Comparison as a Function of Self‐Esteem: Idealized Appearance and Body Image

Abstract

This research focused on social comparison processes in the context of apparel and beauty product advertisements. Self‐esteem, body image, attitudes toward social comparison, and idealized advertising images were investigated via focus group interviews and in a laboratory experiment. Focus group participants reported reading some fashion ads while using strategies to distance themselves from the ads, such as scanning and filtering images. Subjects exposed to mock advertisements of idealized models reported less comparison than those exposed to normative models, and they rated advertisements with normative models as more attention getting and purchase influencing. In addition, high self‐esteem subjects reported less social comparison and less dissatisfaction with their own looks than those with low self‐esteem.

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