Self-Schema or Self-Discrepancy? Which Best Explains Body Image?

We investigated the discrepancy between women's actual and ideal appearance and its relationship to body image, mood, and self-esteem. In a two-part experimental design, 88 college women completed measures of appearance self-discrepancy and appearance self-schema. Two weeks later they were exposed to 16 photos of attractive media images and subsequently completed measures of mood, body image, and self esteem. One-way between subjects multivariate and univariate analyses of variance revealed that appearance self-discrepancy was related to all the body image variables and self-esteem, but not to the mood variables. Appearance self-schema may better explain body image than appearance self-discrepancy. Results are discussed in light of self-discrepancy theory, schema theory, and the Rudd and Lennon (1994) model of body aesthetics.

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