Effects of social comparisons with peers on women's body satisfaction and exercise behavior.
OBJECTIVE
Although exposure to thin-ideal females in the media has been shown to increase women's body dissatisfaction, only a few studies have examined the effects of comparisons with peers, and no prior work has studied the effects of peer comparisons in a naturalistic setting or on objective behavior.


METHODS
Female undergraduates (n = 45) in a campus gym who exercised on a target apparatus were assigned to have a fit-peer, unfit-peer, or no-peer (control) exercise within their view on a nearby apparatus. Objective time spent exercising and body satisfaction reports were collected.


RESULTS
Exposure to a fit peer had undermining effects on women's body satisfaction and exercise duration, whereas an unfit peer produced no compensating greater body satisfaction but did elicit longer exercise duration relative to controls.


CONCLUSIONS
Incidental comparisons with fit versus unfit peers can affect women's body satisfaction and fitness-related behavior in a naturalistic setting.
Wasilenko
Kari A
KA
Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093-0109, USA.
Kulik
James A
JA
Wanic
Rebekah A
RA
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001828:Body Image; D015444:Exercise / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D020446:Fitness Centers; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D010379:Peer Group; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D010809:Physical Fitness / Q000523:psychology; D012647:Self-Assessment; D012931:Social Environment; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology; D013851:Thinness / Q000523:psychology