Browsing by Author "Baxter, Amy E."

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    Gender differences in the information processing body shape stimuli
    (2004) Baxter, Amy E.; von Ranson, Kristin M.
    Objective: The present study examined gender differences in the information processing of body shape stimuli. Method: Male and female undergraduate students (N= 128) were administered a Visual Probe Detection Task (VPDT) containing adjectives related to the three categories of body build (i.e., fat, thin, and muscular). Following the completion of the attention task, participants were administered an Incidental Recall Task (IRT) in which they were asked to recall as many words as possible, distinguishing between words that they had guessed and words that they were certain they had seen in the VPDT. Results: Despite the fact that self-report data indicated men and women differ with regard to body image concerns, gender differences were not found in cognitive processing of body shape words. Discussion: Vitousek and Hollon's (1990) cognitive theory may not be applicable in the context of describing body dissatisfaction among non-clinical populations.