The thin-ideal and its relationship with disgust

This research project presented an experimental study of the link between disgust and body image in a sample of undergraduate students who had high or low eating disorder (ED) symptomatology.

Body image dissatisfaction (BID) is a key risk factor for the development and maintenance of an ED. A key factor in the development of BID is ‘thin-ideal internalisation’ . Thin-ideal internalisation refers to the extent to which an individual internalises socially defined ideals of attractiveness (e.g., being thin). Recent theory and research has begun to explore the role of the emotion disgust in the development and maintenance of BID. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the role of disgust on a key factor of BID, thin-ideal internalisation.

Student participants were induced to experience the emotion disgust (or a neutral emotion within the control group) using a short, validated film clip (known as a mood induction). The Implicit Association Task, a computerised tool used to measure concepts that may not be outwardly communicated or expressed, was used to measure implicit thin-ideal internalisation. In total, 181 students participated from across the UK.

Statistical analysis indicated that, as expected, participants in the high ED group experienced greater implicit thin-ideal internalisation than those in the low ED group. Analyses revealed that those participants who were induced to feel the emotion of disgust experienced greater implicit thin-ideal internalisation than those participants in the control (neutral emotion) group. Contrary to expectations, it was also found that mood induction and implicit thin-ideal internalisation did not depend on ED condition. Findings suggest that experiencing disgust is associated with greater thin-ideal internalisation, regardless of whether an individual has symptoms of an ED or not.

This appears to be the first study to present such findings. Therefore this research does require replication. However, the novel study findings present a number of potential implications for clinical practice, including a greater role for disgust in assessment and intervention for BID and EDs. There are also potential implications for the theoretical understanding of the development of BID and the mechanisms of emotional processing (e.g., the implicit nature of emotions). It is hoped that this research will generate further research and theory development within emotion and body image.