Perceptions of physical attractiveness vary across cultural groups, particularly for female body size and shape. It has been hypothesized that visual media propagates Western "thin ideals." However, because cross-cultural studies typically consider groups highly differentiated on a number of factors, identifying the causal factors has thus far been impossible. In the present research, we conducted "naturalistic" and controlled experiments to test the influence of media access on female body ideals in a remote region of Nicaragua by sampling from villages with and without regular TV access. We found that greater TV consumption remained a significant predictor of preferences for slimmer, curvier female figures after controlling for a range of other factors in an ethnically balanced sample of 299 individuals (150 female, aged 15-79) across 7 villages. Within-individual analyses in 1 village over 3 years also showed an association between increased TV consumption and preferences for slimmer figures among some participants. Finally, an experimental study in 2 low-media locations demonstrates that exposure to media images of fashion models can directly impact participants' body size ideals. We provide the first converging cross-sectional, longitudinal, and experimental evidence from field-based research, that media exposure can drive changes in perceptions of female attractiveness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

中文翻译：

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电视消费推动了人们对技术转型人群中女性身体吸引力的认识。

不同文化群体对身体吸引力的看法各不相同，尤其是对于女性的体型和身材。据推测，视觉媒体传播了西方的“薄理想”。但是，由于跨文化研究通常认为群体在许多因素上存在高度差异，因此迄今无法确定因果因素。在本研究中，我们进行了“自然主义”和对照实验，通过从有或没有常规电视访问的村庄中抽样，测试媒体访问对尼加拉瓜偏远地区女性身体理想的影响。我们发现，在控制了299个人的种族平衡样本（包括150名女性，15-79岁）分布在7个村庄中。在过去的3年中，在一个村庄进行的个人内部分析还显示，电视消费量的增长与某些参与者偏爱苗条身材的偏好之间存在关联。最后，在两个低媒体位置进行的实验研究表明，接触时装模特的媒体图像会直接影响参与者的身材理想。我们提供了来自野外研究的第一份横截面，纵向和实验证据，表明媒介暴露可以推动女性魅力观念的变化。（PsycINFO数据库记录（c）2019 APA，保留所有权利）。在两个低媒体位置进行的一项实验研究表明，接触时装模特的媒体图像会直接影响参与者的身材理想。我们提供了来自野外研究的第一份横截面，纵向和实验证据，表明媒介暴露可以推动女性魅力观念的变化。（PsycINFO数据库记录（c）2019 APA，保留所有权利）。在两个低媒体位置进行的一项实验研究表明，接触时装模特的媒体图像会直接影响参与者的身材理想。我们提供了来自野外研究的第一份横截面，纵向和实验证据，表明媒介暴露可以推动女性魅力观念的改变。（PsycINFO数据库记录（c）2019 APA，保留所有权利）。