Effect of Viewing Female Instagram Influencers’ Selfies on Women’s Attitudes and Tendency Toward Cosmetic Surgery as Mediated by Facial Dissatisfaction

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Master of General Psychology, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education and Psychology, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.

2 Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education and Psychology, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

Aim: This study aimed to investigate the impact of viewing beauty-related female Instagram influencers' selfies on women’s attitudes and inclination toward cosmetic surgery, exploring the mediating role of facial dissatisfaction and the moderating effect of dispositional upward physical appearance comparison.
 
Method: An experimental design utilized the type of viewed Instagram images (Female Instagram beauty influencers, Actresses active on Instagram, and Non-human) as the between-subjects factor. A convenient sample of 201 women aged 16–40 years participated. Following image exposure, participants completed scales assessing facial dissatisfaction (Tiggemann et al., 2018), attitudes toward cosmetic surgery (Henderson-King & Henderson-King, 2005), tendency toward cosmetic surgery, and dispositional upward physical appearance comparison (O’Brien et al., 2009). Analyses of covariance and regression were employed to examine hypothesized relationships.
 
Results: Viewing beauty influencers’ images led to a higher tendency for cosmetic body surgery compared to actresses' images, with statistical significance at p < .05. Facial dissatisfaction did not mediate the effect of viewed images on attitudes and tendencies toward cosmetic surgery. The direct effect of viewed images on the interpersonal dimension of attitude and the inclination for face and body cosmetic surgery was significant at ps < .05. Dispositional upward physical appearance comparison did not moderate the effect of viewed images on facial dissatisfaction.
 
Conclusion: Contrary to expectations, viewing Instagram selfies, especially those of beauty influencers, had a less-than-expected impact on both facial dissatisfaction and attitudes and tendencies toward cosmetic surgery.

Keywords

References

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Applied Psychology
Volume 17, Issue 3 - Serial Number 67
September 2023
Pages 143-168

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