Oliver Michael D, Datta Subimal, Baldwin Debora R
Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, United States of America.
Department of Anesthesiology, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2017 Oct 30;12(10):e0185703. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0185703. eCollection 2017.
The portrayal of obesity in the media is often one of negativity. Consequently, it may generate an increase in stigma. Obesity stigma, a form of social discrimination, is responsible for many of the negative psychological and physiological effects on individual wellness. These effects not only impact individual health, but also affect the economy, and ultimately, societal wellness. In an attempt to examine the influence of the media on obesity stigma, this study tested the hypothesis that positive priming would lead to a reduction in obesity stigma. To further our understanding of this relationship, we: 1) examined the role of priming on physiological measures (e.g. salivary alpha amylase and skin conductance) in 70 college students by introducing positive and negative media images of individuals with obesity, and 2) assessed psychological measures (e.g. perceived stress, need to belong, and self-esteem, and Body Mass Index). After the priming manipulation, participants read a vignette depicting the discrimination of an individual with obesity and answered subsequent questions assessing participants' attributional blame of obesity. Results of this study revealed that priming affects physiological responding to obesity stigmatization. In conclusion, these findings suggest that incorporating positive media images of individuals with obesity may be an effective tool for reducing stigma and the various physiological consequences associated with it, which in turn, can enhance societal health and wellness.
媒体对肥胖的描绘往往是负面的。因此，它可能会加剧污名化。肥胖污名是一种社会歧视形式，会对个体健康产生许多负面的心理和生理影响。这些影响不仅会影响个人健康，还会影响经济，最终影响社会健康。为了研究媒体对肥胖污名的影响，本研究检验了积极启动会导致肥胖污名减少的假设。为了进一步理解这种关系，我们：1）通过引入肥胖个体的正面和负面媒体形象，研究启动对70名大学生生理指标（如唾液α淀粉酶和皮肤电导率）的作用，2）评估心理指标（如感知压力、归属感需求、自尊和体重指数）。在启动操作后，参与者阅读了一篇描述对肥胖个体歧视的短文，并回答随后评估参与者对肥胖归因指责的问题。本研究结果表明，启动会影响对肥胖污名化的生理反应。总之，这些发现表明，纳入肥胖个体的正面媒体形象可能是减少污名以及与之相关的各种生理后果的有效工具，这反过来又可以促进社会健康。
