ABSTRACT

The past decade has seen a dramatic increase in the number of women, particularly those between ages 19 and 34, undergoing cosmetic surgery in the United States. Against such a background, this study examines how cosmetic surgery media exposure influences young women’s behavioral intentions of undergoing those procedures. Special attention was paid to the notions of perceived media influence on self versus others as well as body esteem, as informed by the third-person effect literature. Analysis based on survey data collected from 346 female college students shows that the third-person perceptual bias (i.e., perceived media influence on others minus on oneself) was negatively associated with participants’ intention of undergoing cosmetic surgery and that changes of perceptual bias were contingent on one’s perceived body esteem. Theoretical contributions and implications for health-related practitioners were elaborated.

摘要

过去十年，在美国接受整容手术的女性人数急剧增加，尤其是 19 至 34 岁的女性。在这样的背景下，本研究探讨了整容手术媒体曝光如何影响年轻女性接受这些手术的行为意图。根据第三人称效应文献，特别关注感知媒体对自我与他人的影响以及身体自尊的概念。基于对 346 名女大学生的调查数据进行的分析表明，第三人称感知偏差（即感知到的媒体对他人的影响减去对自己的影响）与参与者接受整容手术的意愿呈负相关，并且感知偏差的变化是偶然的关于一个人的身体自尊。