The Influence of Television Programs on Appearance Satisfaction - Research Paper Example

The participants were all female undergraduate students from a large metropolitan university in Canada, totaling 76, with an average age of 20. The participants were all Introductory Psychology course students who were credited for actively performing in the study. They were from diverse ethnical origins with two profound groups: European-Canadian and Asian-Canadian. Four distinct conditions required to be satisfied in the study where 19 participants were randomly selected in each condition. Accordingly, “ additional participants were all female undergraduate students from a large metropolitan university in Canada, totaling 76, with an average age of 20.

The participants were all Introductory Psychology course students who were credited for actively performing in the study. They were from diverse ethnical origins with two profound groups: European-Canadian and Asian-Canadian. Four distinct conditions required to be satisfied in the study where 19 participants were randomly selected in each condition. Accordingly, “an additional participant was tested in the Exposure Only condition but was excluded because post-test probing for suspicion revealed an awareness of the true purpose of the study” (Want, et.al., 647).

Description of Method and Procedure  The study identified four conditions: condition 1 (a no exposure control condition where participants answered the questionnaire first and were required to view the television program); condition 2 (exposure condition where participants viewed the program first and answered the questionnaire afterwards); condition 3 (appearance intervention condition where participants were made to scan or read through the intervention materials, view the television program and answer the questionnaire); and finally, condition 4 (weight and shape intervention condition where the scenario is basically the same with condition 3 except that the focus on the intervention materials were more on the shape and weight concerns rather than hair or face issues).