This thesis focuses on the development of negative body image and disordered eating in adolescence. More specifically, on the role of sociocultural influences in individual vulnerability to experiencing negative body image and using disordered eating behaviours.

Syftet med föreliggande studie var att undersöka om det fanns könsrollsskillnader i kroppsuppfattning och självkänsla utifrån könsrollerna maskulinitet, femininitet ochandrogynitet, om det fanns samband mellan kroppsuppfattning och självkänsla och även omdet fanns skillnad mellan könen gällande de två variablerna hos gymnasieelever (n = 79). Könsroller mättes enligt formuläret Bem Sex-Role Inventory SE – BSRI-SE,kroppsuppfattning i enlighet med skalan Body-Esteem Scale for Adults and Adolescents –BESAA och självkänsla enligt Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale – RSE. Resultatet visade attmaskulinitet korrelerade positivt med kroppsuppfattning och självkänsla. Vidare fanns ettnegativt samband mellan femininitet och kroppsuppfattning och självkänsla och gällandeandrogynitet fanns ett positivt samband med självkänsla. Det fanns ett signifikant sambandmellan kroppsuppfattning och självkänsla och männen rapporterade både bättrekroppsuppfattning och högre självkänsla än kvinnorna. Resultatet diskuteras i förhållande tilltidigare studier och egna slutsatser gällande samhällets påverkan på oss och vår självbildframförs. Att leva efter sin könsroll behöver inte påverka oss negativt om vi är medvetna omvarför vi beter oss efter dem och om det är vårt eget val.

国立情報学研究所で電子化したコンテンツを使用している。

国立情報学研究所で電子化したコンテンツを使用している。

<p>Theories of self-regulation address the continuous process in which individuals compare their behavior to salient goals or standards. Two well-known theories of self-regulation, self-discrepancy theory (SDT) and regulatory focus theory (RFT), each make distinctions regarding the types of standards and goals in reference to which individuals self-regulate. Authenticity--the idea of being one's true self--has the potential to influence the kinds of goals or standards that individuals come to possess and may have implications for understanding the outcomes of self-regulatory processes. This research links the construct of authenticity with SDT and RFT, emphasizing how individual differences in authenticity could influence the motivational and affective consequences of self-regulation predicted within each theory. Individual differences in authenticity were expected to influence the nature of the goals and standards that individuals hold, as well as the acute and chronic affective consequences of discrepancies between the actual self and the ideal and ought self-guides respectively. Specifically, individual differences in authenticity were expected to predict magnitude of actual:ideal and actual:ought self-discrepancy as well as the intensity of distress that individuals report (acutely as well as chronically) in association with self-discrepancies. More importantly, self-discrepancies were expected to be less prevalent among individuals high in authenticity, but more distressing among high-authenticity individuals than among individuals with lower levels of authenticity. The results of this research suggest that individual differences in authentic behavior do have a direct influence on both acute and chronic affect. Authenticity was found to interact with self-discrepancies in predicting chronic affect. Authenticity has a unique role in the process of self-regulation, distinct from the contributions of SDT and RFT.</p> / Dissertation

国立情報学研究所で電子化したコンテンツを使用している。

This study examines how adding avatars, personal visual representations of the user, on online forms impacts self-reported willingness for behavioral change, when considering health habits. Avatars are a gamification element proposed to have a positive impact on behavioral change. No earlier research has examined the distinction between the effects of the contemplation that occurs when acquiring an avatar and those of the actual avatar. This distinction was explored with a randomly controlled trial in the form of three questionnaires (pretest, self-reflection, posttest), distributed to a control group and an intervention group. 37 participants (20 women, 17 men, M = 33.4 years, age span 29–38 years) completed the study. The pretest consisted of questions about their current health situation, followed by the self-reflection task. The posttest measured the outcome variable: ”How willing are you to make a change in your everyday life in order to improve or maintain your general health?”. For the intervention group, the self- reflection and posttest were accompanied by an avatar. The results were analysed with a Mann- Whitney’s U-test, which showed that the avatar groups' self-reported willingness for behavioral change was higher compared to the control group. The effect was statistically significant. We discuss the applications and practical and ethical implications of avatars for increasing motivation. Further research should be done to replicate these findings to further examine the mechanics of the avatar representation. / Denna studie undersöker hur tillägget av avatarer, en personlig visuell representation av användaren, i webbformulär kan påverka självrapporterad villighet för beteendeförändring kopplat till hälsovanor. Avatarer är ett spelifieringselement som föreslås kunna ha en positiv påverkan på beteendeförändring. Ingen tidigare forskning har gjorts på distinktionen mellan effekter av självreflektion som sker vid förvärvandet av en avatar och den faktiska avataren. Den här distinktionen undersöktes genom en randomiserad kontrollerad studie i form av tre enkäter (förtest, självreflektion, eftertest) för en kontroll- och interventionsgrupp. 37 deltagare (20 kvinnor, 17 män, M = 33.4 år, åldersspann 29–38 år) slutförde studien. Förtestet bestod av frågor om deltagarnas nuvarande hälsa, följt av självreflektionen. Eftertestet innehöll utfallsmåttet: “Hur villig är du att göra en förändring i din vardag för att förbättra eller bibehålla din generella hälsa?”. För interventionsgruppen ackompanjerades självreflektionen och eftertestet av en avatar. Resultaten analyserades med ett Mann-Whitneys U-test, som visade att avatargruppens självskattade villighet för beteendeförändring var högre jämfört med kontrollgruppen. Effekten var statistiskt signifikant. Vi diskuterar tillämpningar samt praktiska och etiska implikationer av avatarer för att öka motivation. Vidare forskning bör göras för att replikera dessa fynd för att ytterligare undersöka mekaniken bakom avatar-representation.

The present study was designed to obtain a sexual self-discrepancy score and to examine if it correlates with other variables that are linked with self-discrepancy theory, such as anxiety, depression, self-acceptance, and other-acceptance (homonegativity). We developed a measure based on self-discrepancy theory that theoretically assessed a participant's level of discrepancy between sexual beliefs and practices. The questions on sexual beliefs were based on the "ideal/ought" dimensions of self-discrepancy theory, and the questions on sexual practices were based on the "actual" self. There were less than 10 participants of the 294 respondents who reported sizeable discrepancies between their sexual attitudes and actual behaviors. This was problematic in light of the original research hypothesis, so a decision was made to treat the present study as exploratory in nature and examine potential correlations between beliefs, behaviors, and the study variables, as well as examine potential gender differences in beliefs and behaviors. Using the available data, I elected to regress the study variables on the two constructs that were pivotal to this study: sexual beliefs and sexual behaviors. Taken together, the study variables significantly predicted sexual beliefs. The individual variables that contributed significantly to the prediction of sexual beliefs were (in order of magnitude): religiosity, attitudes toward gays and lesbians, and self-esteem. Higher levels of religiosity, prejudice toward gays and lesbians, and low self-esteem were associated with limited acceptance of sexual activity. Age, self-acceptance, and symptoms of maladjustment were not associated significantly with sexual attitudes.

Higgins (1987) argued that perceived discrepancies between actual-self and ideal-self increase vulnerability to depression. Ogilvie (1987) argued that discrepancies between actual-self and undesired-self are more powerful determinants of depression. To test these claims, and to assess the effects of mood on reported discrepancies, 190 psychology undergraduates completed measures of their actual, ideal, and undesired selves, along with measures of depression (Depression Adjective Checklist and Beck Depression Inventory) and depression proneness (Depression Proneness Rating Scale). Approximately 3 weeks later, 147 of these participants were assigned to either a positive, negative, or no mood induction procedure, and again completed measures of actual, ideal, and undesired selves. Actual-ideal discrepancies were associated with current depression (' r' =.19, 'p' =.008) and with depression proneness ('r' =.28, 'p' =.001). More importantly, the relationship between actual-ideal discrepancies and depression proneness was, to some extent, independent of current mood, as measured by the DACL (partial ' r' =.19, 'p' =.008). <p>Nevertheless, induced moods also affected the reporting of actual-ideal discrepancies, with negative mood induction increasing discrepancy scores and positive mood induction decreasing discrepancy scores (<math> <f> <g>b</g></f> </math> =.49, 'p' <.0005). The above results are qualified by finding that when induced into a negative mood, high depression-prone participants (those with a history of depression) showed greater increases in actual-ideal discrepancies than low depression-prone participants, suggesting that self-discrepancies are cognitive structures that can be made accessible (primed) by mood. Lastly, no support was found for Ogilvie's claim that actual-undesired self discrepancies can be more powerful determinants of depressive vulnerability than actual-ideal self-discrepancies.

Den här studien har tittat närmare på vilka informationskvalitativa faktorer som påverkar användarens upplevelse av informationskvalité i en e-handelskontext. Studien bygger på vetenskapliga artiklar och litteratur inom områdena informationskvalité och e-handel. Det gjordes även en egen datainsamling där sex informanter deltog. Dessa fick svara på intervjufrågor och genomföra ett användartest på en befintlig e-handelswebbplats. Uppgifterna i användartesterna presenterades i form av scenarios där informanten fick genomföra olika handlingar som är vanliga vid e-handel. Svaren från den egna datainsamlingen mappades sedan för att kunna identifiera vilka faktorer som påverkar användarens upplevelse av informationskvalité. Dessa jämfördes sedan med de faktorer som identifierats i tidigare studier. Resultatet från den egna datainsamlingen visar på att Förtroende, Informationsarkitektur, Information och Användbarhet är viktiga informationskvalitativa faktorer. Ett resultat som går i linje med tidigare forskning. / This study has looked into which information quality factors that affect the users’ experience in the context of e-commerce. The study is based on scientific articles and literature within the areas of information quality and e-commerce. There were also a separate data collection where six informants participated. These were asked to answer interview questions and carry out a user test on an existing e-commerce website. The tasks in the user test were presented in the form of scenarios were the informant had to carry out various actions that are common within e-commerce. The answers from the own data collection was then mapped to be able to identify which factors that affect the user's experience of information quality. These were then compared to the factors identified in previous studies. The result of the data collection in question shows that Trust, Informations architecture, Information and Usability are important information quality factors. A result that is in line with previous research.