Psychology (body satisfaction) - Essay Example

Additionally, it increases to a greater extent when in the presence of physically unfit peers. It is the goal of this research study to test this notion. In so doing, the research will utilize pictures of physically fit and physically unfit individuals. The Body Satisfaction Scale (BSS) will be administered to determine if the viewing of these pictures affected the participant's body satisfaction. The participants in this study will be 120 working adult males and females who will volunteer to participate.

The questions raised for investigation in this study necessitated reaching a sample of subjects much more limited in availability than the undergraduate university student samples so often used in social psychological research of this nature. This requirement for subjects will raise some interesting sampling problems. Considering the financial constraints of this study, it was not possible to obtain a fully randomized sample from one geographical location, e.g. a specific community which would represent a cross-section of individuals from all educational and socio-economic backgrounds.

At the same time convenience samples must be avoided. In light of these considerations the decision was made to limit the sample on an employment variable and include only working adults. This control for employment will enable the researcher to seek groups of individuals employed in a single facility as a source of volunteer subjects. The alternative, seeking volunteers from several small captive groups such as service clubs, associations, etc., holds the potential of increasing the risks of obtaining convenience samples and bias.

The participants for this study will be obtained from two sources: The local university and the local shopping and the volunteers will not be paid or otherwise compensated.MeasuresSatisfaction or dissatisfaction with particular aspects of the body will be assessed using a revised version of the Body Cathexis Scale (BC) developed by Secord and Jourard (1953) and modified by Franzoi & Shields in 1984. The participants will be asked to evaluate each item on a five-point Likert scale ranging, from "1" (very dissatisfied) to "5" (very satisfied).

Procedures Upon entering the study room, the volunteers will receive a BC survey, a cover letter explaining the study and an informed consent. For the purposes of conducting a randomized controlled trial, the study subjects will be randomly divided into three distinct groups-One control group and two experimental groups. The control group will consist of individuals who will be requested to complete the BC scale as modified by Franzoi & Shields (1984). One experimental group will be shown a slide show consisted of pictures of physically fit individuals of both gender and asked to complete the BC survey after viewing those pictures.

The final experimental group will be shown a slide show consisting of pictures of physically unfit individuals and then asked to complete the survey. Upon completion of the surveys, the participants will be informed that they have a right to view the findings of the study and were given a website which will contain the study findings. In briefing the participants on the study, the researcher intends to utilize deception in the form of omission in order to ensure the accuracy of the reported results.

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