College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Term of Award

Spring 2025

Degree Name

Master of Science in Experimental Psychology (M.S.)

Document Type and Release Option

Thesis (open access)

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Department

Department of Psychology

Committee Chair

Joshua Williams

Committee Member 1

Lawrence Locker

Committee Member 2

Wendy Wolfe

Abstract

With an increase of AI-generated images being posted to social media, this study sought to examine how viewing AI-images influenced body dissatisfaction levels in women and if knowing that the images were AI-generated would affect the amount of body dissatisfaction experienced. This study used both preliminary correlations and a MANCOVA to examine these research questions. The independent variable was condition type (celebrity, AI-celebrity, travel, and AI-travel), while the dependent variables included state body dissatisfaction (BISS), state appearance comparison (SACS), and different domains of body satisfaction (satisfaction with weight, facial features, and physical appearance; VAS). Covariates included social media addiction (BSMAS), internal and external pressures to be thin (SATAQ-4), trait body dissatisfaction (BIAI) and level of celebrity worship (CAS). The final total for analyses included 125 female undergraduate psychology college students. For results, all covariates were significantly correlated (except for the internal pressures subscale of the SATAQ-4) with the body dissatisfaction and satisfaction measures. The MANCOVA was found to be non-significant, however this may be due to each condition containing a small number of participants. Future studies should examine other demographic variables such as age and gender as some research has indicated that there are differences in how long people use social media based on age and that gender may affect the type of body dissatisfaction a person experiences (women wanting to be thin vs. men wanting to be more muscular).

Research Data and Supplementary Material

Yes

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Available for download on Wednesday, April 14, 2027

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