Young women who watched a television show featuring plastic surgery told researchers that the procedures were "inspirational," and a new way for "an unhappy girl to achieve her dreams."
- Professors Patrick and Charlotte Markey, a husband-wife team, asked 200 college students to watch either a home improvement show or one featuring plastic surgeries.
- Participants who watched the medical shows were more likely to say they had a positive view of such surgeries afterwards.
- Females were more likely to respond positively to the shows than males.
"When we think of cosmetic surgery, we don’t think of it as a lifetime issue. There is lots of pressure to look a certain way and I don’t blame them for succumbing; we’re all guilty of feeling vulnerable," said Dr. Charlotte Markey, associate professor of psychology at Rutgers University. "What troubles me is that there’s no conclusive data that cosmetic surgery even makes people happier, what has been documented is that it makes repeat customers."
This study appears in the journal
Body Image.
Labels: body image, surgery, tv
Posted By: CRC Health