Contemporary study - Becker et al. (2002) Flashcards
What was the aim of Becker’s (2002) study?
To investigate the impact of prolonged exposure to TV on disordered eating attitudes and behaviours among media-naïve indigenous Fijian adolescent girls
What were the IV and DV of Becker’s (2002) study?
IV: Length of time Fijian adolescent girls were exposed to TV media (‘95 > 1 month vs. ‘98 < 3 years)
DV: 26-item Eating Attitudes Test (EAT) score over 20 indicating eating disorder & self-induced vomiting to control weight
What was the methodology of Becker’s (2002) study? (3 points)
Design: Matched pairs
Type: Naturalistic experiment
Location: Fiji - chosen for:
+ Low prevalence of anorexia - only 1 case in mid-1990s
+ Media- naïve population - a lack of exposure to TV until 1995
+ Cultural norms of healthy appetites and full-figured women
Who were the participants of Becker’s (2002) study?
1995 - exposed to TV for less than 1 month
63 participants
Mean age: 17.3
Mean BMI: 24.5
1998 - exposed to TV for 3 years
65 participants
Mean age: 16.9
Mean BMI: 24.9
What was the procedure of Becker’s (2002) study? (4 points)
Quantitative data was collected from all participants, including:
+ Height
+ BMI
+ EAT-26 survey scores
Semi-structured interviews on purging and binging eating behaviour provided qualitative data that confirmed the behaviours from the EAT-26 survey
Narrative data was audiotaped and transcribed by more than one researcher using thematic analysis
A Fijian translator was needed to explain the meanings of unfamiliar words to ensure comprehension
What were the results of Becker’s (2002) study? (4 points)
EAT-26 scores were significantly associated with dieting
EAT-26 scores over 20 (indicating eating disorder):
1995: 12.7%
1998: 29.2%
Self-report data of self-induced vomiting to control weight:
1995: 0%
1998: 11.3%
77% of participants said TV had influenced their own body image
What was the conclusion of Becker’s (2002) study? (2 points)
TV media exposure had a negative impact on the disordered eating attitudes of Fijian adolescent girls - they previously had no incidence of anorexia or bulimia
Western media imagery shows role models whose thin body types are valued - promotes the risk of developing an eating disorder through body dissatisfaction and internalisation of values
How generalisable is Becker’s (2002) study? (3 points)
Gynocentric:
Beta-bias results cannot be generalised to eating behaviours and attitudes of males and older women
Ethnocentric:
+ Indigenous Fijians are a collectivist culture - the findings are difficult to generalise to individualist societies
+ The impact of social learning may not be as powerful for societies which promote autonomy and independence
How reliable is Becker’s (2002) study? (3 points)
High inter-rater reliability
The participants’ responses in the semi-structured interviews were recorded and transcribed
Thematic analysis of the transcripts could check for consistency of judgements - reduces the subjectivity of the interpretations
How applicable to real life is Becker’s (2002) study? (2 points)
Its findings can be applied to tackling eating disorders -
highlights the issue of models’ body images in mass media
Can act as advice for TV policy and advertising to value ‘fuller-sized’ models e.g. France fining models with BMI lower than 18
How does Becker’s (2002) study have high internal validity? (2 points)
Matched-pairs design (age and BMI) used for the ’95 and the ’98 groups - participant variables were controlled
Allows the causal link between the cause (TV exposure) and effect (eating behaviours and attitudes) to be established
How does Becker’s (2002) study have lowered internal validity? (2 points)
As the experiment was naturalistic, some extraneous variables were not controlled, including:
+ Participants’ proximity to fast-food restaurants
+ Type and duration of the TV shows participants chose to watch
This may prevent cause (TV exposure) and effect (eating behaviours and attitudes) from being established
How ethical is Becker’s (2002) study? (3 points)
Participants’ eating attitudes and behaviours may have actually been altered by the ideas of binging and purging behaviours being normalised in the EAT-26 survey
Participants left the study in a different psychological state in which they arrived - issue of protection from harm
Potential for lifetime eating disorders may be at the hand of Becker et al
