Implementation Intentions: A Novel Strategy to Improve Body Satisfaction in the Context of Social Comparison (2016)

Undergraduates: Megan Villegas, Katelyn Jones, Aya Avishai-Yitshak

Faculty Advisor: Paschal Sheeran
Department: Psychology & Neuroscience

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Body dissatisfaction is a major risk factor for the development and maintenance of eating disorders (Stice & Shaw, 2002). Recent intervention research has shown that targeting automatic processes involved in body evaluations can successfully improve body satisfaction (Martijn, Alleva, & Jansen, 2015). However, this area of research has yet to explore whether forming implementation intentions (i.e. "if-then" plans), a powerful strategy for altering behaviors and attitudes through implicit processes, can improve body satisfaction. Thus, the goal of this current research is to determine whether forming implementation intentions can improve body satisfaction. Specifically, we tested the effects of two implementation intention strategies on body dissatisfaction induced by appearance-related social comparisons. We conducted two behavioral experiments in which we manipulated the comparison target participants were exposed to and the implementation intention they formed. We then measured participants' appearance satisfaction, a domain of body satisfaction. Results pending.