psychological explanation of AN - SLT

modelling - a person may observe someone who practices restrictive eating and see them as a role model because they may identify with them through a shared characteristic such as gender. this may change their social norms by making the person believe that restrictive eating is acceptable. for example, a person observing their older sibling restrict their eating and imitating it because they think it is an acceptable behaviour

vicarious reinforcement - this occurs when the person observing the role model sees them receive positive outcomes as a result of their behaviour. this may encourage the person to imitate the eating behaviour. for example, being praised for losing weight

role of the media - consumption of music videos, magazines and television all communicate ideas of an ideal body image. young women may identify with these role models due to their fame and glamour and will conform to the standards they display. this may include losing weight to be as thin as possible. the fame and attention would be vicarious reinforcement for the women

Dittmar et al - 162 british girls aged 5-8. Barbie, Emme and neutral. self report afterwards. girls exposed to barbies were more dissatisfied. supports the idea of girls identifying with role models and imitating them

Becker et al - 63 adolescent fijian girls. did the eat questionnaire in 1995 when TV was first introduced. another sample of girls completed the same questionnaire in 1998. in 1995, 13% of the girls scored high. in 1998, 29% scored high. they may have been influenced by ideas of ideal body image presented through the media. however, the 1998 sample was not tested before tv was introduced so there’s no way to tell whether disordered attitudes already existed. therefore, a valid comparison cannot be made. furthermore, before tv was introduced, 13% of girls still scored high so another factor must be affecting whether these girls form AN.

chisuwa and o’dea - increased rates of AN in Japan over 40 years. they suggested that traditional values favouring plumpness have been displaced by the thinness ideal prevalent in individualist cultures. the role of media is illustrated by the fact that there is a greater occurrence of AN symptoms in women who regularly read magazines promoting thinner bodies compared to those who dont.