The Impact of Body Emphasizing Video Games on Body Image ...

Sex Roles (2008) 59:586–601 595<strong>The</strong> current study differed from study 1 in a number <strong>of</strong>regards. <strong>The</strong> first was that the video game had to be changedbecause the wrestling video game used in study 1 did notallow much exposure to the thin female body. <strong>The</strong> secondchange was that the female participants were not asked tomake a character look like them, because the results fromstudy 1 showed that this variable did not significantly impactthe results (via a regression analysis). <strong>The</strong> third change wasthat the measures <strong>of</strong> negative body-image were in study 1were specific to men. <strong>The</strong>refore, the current study usedmeasures specific to women. Overall, the statistical design <strong>of</strong>study 1 could not overlap with that <strong>of</strong> study 2 for a number <strong>of</strong>reasons. First, the game used did not allow the players or theresearchers to make characters. In fact, we had difficultyfinding any game that would allow us to manipulate a femalecharacter and still portray the female characters in such a wayto emphasize the body. Second, NIH classification did notneed to be treated as a between-subjects variable, like in study1 due to the lower overall sample size. Thus, NIH classificationand video type were not factors in the current study.MethodParticipantsThirty-two female participants from a large MidwesternUniversity participated in the current study. <strong>The</strong> averageage for this sample was 18.94 (SD=1.05) years, and themajority <strong>of</strong> the sample were Caucasian (81.3%) freshman(81.3%) undergraduate students. <strong>The</strong> average height <strong>of</strong> thissample was 5′2″ and the average weight was 130.47 lb.According to the National Institute <strong>of</strong> Health’s classification,the majority <strong>of</strong> the participants were classified as normalweight (n=26; 81.3%), while only four were classified asoverweight (12.5%), two were underweight (6.3%), and noparticipants were classified as obese. <strong>The</strong> average videogame play time for this sample was .87 (SD=2.47) hoursper week, and the range for this sample was 0.00 h and themaximum was 12.00 h per week.Materials<strong>Video</strong> game <strong>The</strong> video game selected for the current studywas Extreme Heat Beach Volleyball for the PlayStation 2video game system. This game was selected for a variety <strong>of</strong>reasons. <strong>The</strong> first is that the participants could select theircharacter based on how much they thought it resembledthem. <strong>The</strong> results from study 1 showed that the degree towhich the character looked like the participant did notsignificantly influence the results, and thus the currentgame and procedure did not have the female participantsmake such a character. <strong>The</strong> second reason that this gamewas selected was because all <strong>of</strong> the female characters hadsmall waists and wore only bikinis. This allowed for theparticipants to get the optimal exposure to the “ideal” bodyimage, which we predicted would be related to a negativebody-image. Also, after every five points were scored byeither team, all <strong>of</strong> the characters would change sides on thevolleyball court, and the game would zoom in on thefemales’ bending underneath the net, which further exposedtheir flat stomach and large breasts.This game was a two-on-two volleyball game. <strong>The</strong>participants selected one character and the computerselected the other three (one teammate and two opponents).<strong>The</strong> objective <strong>of</strong> this game was to beat the opposingcomputer team in a game <strong>of</strong> volleyball, which wasexplained to the participants. Standard beach volleyballrules were enforced in this game (e.g., only hitting the ballthree times before it has to go over the net).Questionnaires <strong>The</strong>re were four different questionnairesused in the current study. <strong>The</strong> first was the <strong>Body</strong> EsteemScale (BES; Franzoi and Shields 1984), which wasidentical to the one in study 1 and measured the affectivecomponent <strong>of</strong> a negative body-image. However, unlike thefirst study, research using the BES has found a differentfactor structure for the BES for women (Franzoi andShields 1984). Specifically, there were three factors. <strong>The</strong>first was sexual attractiveness (SA), which consisted <strong>of</strong> 13items. <strong>The</strong> second factor was weight concern (WC), whichconsisted <strong>of</strong> ten items. <strong>The</strong> final factor was physicalcondition (PC), which was identical for males andfemales. <strong>The</strong> scoring and interpreting <strong>of</strong> the scores wereidentical to that <strong>of</strong> study 1. <strong>The</strong> reliability for the <strong>Body</strong>Esteem Scale was acceptable at baseline (α=.95) and attime 2 (α=.95). Each subscale <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Body</strong> Esteem Scalehad acceptable reliability at both baseline and time 2.Specifically, the reliabilities for the Sexual Attractivenesssubscale (α=.90 for baseline and α=.91 for time 2), theWeight Concern subscale (α=.91 for baseline and α=.92for time 2), and the Physical Condition subscale (α=.80 forbaseline and α=.89 for time 2) were acceptable.<strong>The</strong> second questionnaire was the <strong>Body</strong> Shape Questionnaire(BSQ; Cooper et al. 1987), which measured bodysatisfaction, the cognitive component <strong>of</strong> a negative bodyimage.For the purposes <strong>of</strong> the current study, we used the24-item version, which asks participants to respond on a 1(never) to 6 (always) Likert scale to various concernsfemales have about their appearance. A sample itemincluded, “Have you become afraid that you might becomefat or fatter?” <strong>The</strong> items were summed together, such thathigher scores are indicative <strong>of</strong> more concern about theirweight and body. Hence, higher scores are indicative <strong>of</strong>lower body satisfaction. Reliability analyses showed thatthe <strong>Body</strong> Shape Questionnaire had acceptable reliability atbaseline (α=.95) and at time 2 (α=.98).