Previous research suggests that the amount of food that women eat may fluctuate depending on their impression-management motivation; however, the results do not provide direct evidence supporting such an explanation. That is, no studies conducted to date have actually manipulated impression-management motivation and measured its effects on eating behavior. The present program of research aimed to confirm that eating behavior in women does, in fact, change as a result of impression-management motivation. Experiments 1, 2, and 3 tested this by manipulating impression-management motivation via direct and explicit instructions. Experiment 3 was also designed to investigate how impression-management motivation might affect eating in situations in which females are eating with a friend (as opposed to a stranger). The results demonstrate that women motivated to make a good impression on a male stranger (Experiments 1 & 2) and a female stranger (Experiments 2 & 3) eat less than do those for whom the desire to make a positive impression has been disrupted. The results also confirm previous findings showing that women eat less when eating with a male stranger than when eating with a female stranger (Experiments 1 & 2). The findings from Experiment 3 suggest that there may be a different pattern of eating associated with impression-management motivation when women eat with female friends; it was found that participants ate more with a friend when they were motivated to make a good impression compared to when this motive was not present. These results may be explained by impression-management theory, in combination with notions about the complexity of female friendships and female-female competition surrounding eating, dieting, weight, and appearance.

A growing body of literature is focusing on the influence of personality and emotion regulation on psychological health. Using archival data from an expressive writing project, the current study investigated the relationship between perfectionistic self-presentation and emotion regulation, and the influence of the interaction of these variables on psychological health among trauma survivors. The results indicate that both perfectionistic self-presentation and more difficulties in emotion regulation contribute to symptoms of distress. As well, higher levels of perfectionistic self-presentation were associated with more difficulties in emotion regulation. Further, emotion regulation mediated the relationship between perfectionistic self-presentation and psychological distress but not common physical complaints. More specifically, the non-acceptance subscale of emotion regulation was found to be significant in a test of multiple mediator model.

This study explored why individuals write personal blogs and the influences of blogging on their lives. Four structural equation models that specified the social and psychological process of blogging were tested in this study. The models included four major components: personal characteristics, blogging motives, blogging behaviors and blogging social outcomes. A total of 412 bloggers recruited online completed the survey questionnaire. A factor analysis revealed nine salient motives for writing personal blogs: self-documentation, information sharing, entertainment, emotion regulation, communication with existing friends, formation of new friendships, identity exploration, pass time and self-presentation. Significant associations between these motives and demographics, including gender, age and education, were also identified. The results of the structural equation modeling suggested that public self-consciousness was positively related to the self-presentation motive, which was in turn positively related to self-presentation in blogs. In the same vein, social anxiety was positively related to the motive to form new friendships, which in turn was positively related to the number of new friends made via blogs and the quality of new friendships. Social anxiety was found to be negatively associated with the number of new friends made, the number of existing friends communicated with, and the quality of existing friendships maintained through blogs, but positively related to the quality of new friendships established via blogs. Self-disclosure was positively related to the number of new friends made, the quality of new friendships and the quality of existing friendships. The mediation effects of blogging motivations and self-disclosure on the relationships between social anxiety and blogging social interaction outcomes were also tested. The content analysis of the responses to an open-ended question indicated that the majority of the respondents believed that blogging had positively influenced their lives. The major benefits of blogging reported by the respondents included keeping in touch with family and friends, making new friends, improved social interaction, writing and thinking ability, expanded vision, emotional relief and social support, identity exploration, and documentation of daily life. Interpretations of the findings, and implications for understanding the social use of the Internet, were discussed.

Previous research suggests that the amount of food that women eat may fluctuate depending on their impression-management motivation; however, the results do not provide direct evidence supporting such an explanation. That is, no studies conducted to date have actually manipulated impression-management motivation and measured its effects on eating behavior. The present program of research aimed to confirm that eating behavior in women does, in fact, change as a result of impression-management motivation. Experiments 1, 2, and 3 tested this by manipulating impression-management motivation via direct and explicit instructions. Experiment 3 was also designed to investigate how impression-management motivation might affect eating in situations in which females are eating with a friend (as opposed to a stranger). The results demonstrate that women motivated to make a good impression on a male stranger (Experiments 1 & 2) and a female stranger (Experiments 2 & 3) eat less than do those for whom the desire to make a positive impression has been disrupted. The results also confirm previous findings showing that women eat less when eating with a male stranger than when eating with a female stranger (Experiments 1 & 2). The findings from Experiment 3 suggest that there may be a different pattern of eating associated with impression-management motivation when women eat with female friends; it was found that participants ate more with a friend when they were motivated to make a good impression compared to when this motive was not present. These results may be explained by impression-management theory, in combination with notions about the complexity of female friendships and female-female competition surrounding eating, dieting, weight, and appearance.

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The present study investigated self-presentational predictors of shyness among university students via a mediational causal model, in which socially-prescribed perfectionism, perceived social skills, and perceived parental attitudes were proposed to interact with fear of negative evaluation and self-esteem to predict shyness. The sample consisted of 497 undergraduate students (287 females, 210 males) selected from Middle East Technical University by stratified random sampling. Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale, Revised Cheek and Buss Shyness Scale, Socially-Prescribed Perfectionism Scale, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Social Skills Inventory-Short, and Parental Attitude Scale were used in data collection. Pilot studies were conducted for assessing the reliability and validity of Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale, Revised Cheek and Buss Shyness Scale, and Social Skills Inventory-Short. Path analysis was utilized to test the causal model. The results revealed that shyness was positively predicted from fear of negative evaluation and socially-prescribed perfectionism / and negatively from self-esteem and perceived social skills. Fear of negative evaluation was predicted positively from socially-prescribed perfectionism and perceived strictness/supervision from parents, and negatively from self-esteem / whereas self-esteem was predicted positively from perceived social skills, perceived parental psychological autonomy and acceptance/involvement, and negatively from socially-prescribed perfectionism. These findings suggested that fear of negative evaluation partially mediated the relationship between shyness and socially-prescribed perfectionism / between shyness and perceived parental strictness/supervision / and between shyness and self-esteem. In addition, self-esteem partially mediated the association of shyness with socially-prescribed perfectionism / with perceived social skills / with parental acceptance/involvement / and with parental psychological autonomy. Findings are discussed within the self-presentational framework of shyness.

In modern society, individuals constantly pass judgments on their own body and physical competence as well as that of other people. All too often, the verdict is less favourable. For the person, these physical self-perceptions (PSP) may negatively affect global self-esteem, identity, and general mental well being. The overall aim of this thesis is to examine primarily the role that exercise, but also the roles that gender and culture, play in the formation of PSP. In Study I, using confirmatory factor analyses, strong support for the validity of a first-order, and a second-order hierarchical and multidimensional model of the Physical Self-Perception Profile (PSPP: Fox & Corbin, 1989) was found across three national samples (Great Britain, Sweden and Turkey) of university students. Cross-cultural differences were detected, with the British sample demonstrating higher latent means on all PSPP subdomains except for the physical condition subdomain (Condition), than the Swedish and Turkish samples. In Study II, a higher self-reported exercise frequency was associated with more positive PSP (in particular for Condition) and more importance attributed to PSP in Swedish university students. Males demonstrated higher overall PSPP-scores than females. In Study III, a true-experimental design with randomisation into an intervention and a control group was adopted. Strong support for the effects of an empowerment-based exercise intervention programme on PSP and social physique anxiety (SPA) over six months for adolescent girls was found. The relations of exercise, gender and culture with PSP, SPA and self-esteem are discussed from the standpoints of a variety of theoretical models (the EXSEM-model), and frameworks (self-presentation and objectification theory). The two theories of self-enhancement and skill-development are examined with regard to the direction of the exercise-physical self relationship and motivation for exercise. Arguments for the relevance of exercise and PSP for practitioners in promoting general mental well-being and preventing modern-day diseases are outlined.

This thesis investigated women’s self-presentation when seeking a romantic partner on an online dating site. Fifteen online dating profiles written by women, ages 25 to 29, seeking a male partner were collected and analyzed. Narrative analysis was used to study the profiles’ thematic content and structural form. From the thematic analysis, two stories emerged: the Single Woman Story and the Relationship Story. Within the Single Woman Story, there were four themes: Poetic and Philosophical, Idealistic, Independent, and Active. Within the Relationship Story, there were two main themes: Adventures of a New Life Stage, and Sharing a Life with Someone. From the structural analysis, a continuum was evident: at one end, women focused primarily on themselves (Who I Am) and at the other end, women primarily focused on a potential partner (Who You Are). The strengths and limitations of the study, along with implications of the results are discussed.

På sociala nätverkssidor tillåts användarna att presentera sig själva. Sociala medier ger användarna möjlighet att styra och kontrollera sin presentation på ett annat vis än hur presentationen kan styras i ansikte-mot-ansikte situationer. De sociala medierna tenderar dock att rikta sig till en bredare publik i jämförelse med den interpersonella situationen. Således måste användarna på de sociala medierna ge en konsekvent bild av sig själva för att inte ge en annorlunda självpresentation än den som har givits offline. Hur presentationer online skiljer sig från varandra har nyligen börjat studeras. Exempelvis finner vi en kartläggning om hur Facebook skiljer sig från LinkedIn i användarnas sätt att presentera sig. Fältet efterfrågar dock mer forskning som undersöker enskilda medier för att se om man i det valda mediet har mindre eller större tendenser till att skilja mellan presentationen online respektive offline. Utefter detta har vi identifierat studiens forskningslucka då vi konstaterat att det saknas forskning om hur vi presenterar oss på Instagram. Studiens syfte är att undersöka sociala mediers betydelse för människors självpresentation. Vi valde att tillämpa en kvalitativ metod. Vi genomförde semistrukturerade samtalsintervjuer med sex deltagare. Samtalsintervjun utgjorde den interpersonella offlinepresentationen som därefter jämfördes med onlinepresentationen, vilket utgjordes av deltagarnas instagraminnehåll. Studiens teoretiska ramverk behandlar publikanpassning och tre olika former av missrepresentation: idealisering, uteslutande av demografiska aspekter samt ett ogiltigt självkoncept. Vi har via innehållsanalyser letat efter just dessa fenomen. Studiens resultat visar att självpresentationen på Instagram är ytterst begränsad och dessutom uteslutande av fullständiga kontexter. Vi finner ingen påtaglig publikanpassning utan finner snarare att användarna utgår ifrån att deras följare, publik, är väl insatta i deras liv och därmed förstår den fullständiga kontexten som är utesluten i en uppladdad bild. Resultatet visar också att de tre formerna av missrepresentation inte går att tillämpa på Instagram som socialt medium trots att vi finner små tendenser av idealiserande. Idealiserandet beror antagligen främst på Instagrams tekniska utformning. / At social networking sites, the users are allowed to present themselves. Social media are providing the users with opportunity to control their presentations in a way that is not possible in face-to-face communication. The difference, when it comes to audience, is that the social media sites are tending to speak to a much wider audience than interpersonal situations. This leads to that the users have to communicate a consistent self presentation so that the online presentation will match the presentation given in offline situations. How online and offline presentations differs from each other is a relatively new subject. New studies show how Facebook’s and LinkedIn’s users are presenting themselves differently in these different kinds of mediums. Still, the field of communication and social media are requesting more research on how single mediums tend to differ in the presentation in contrast to the presentation which takes place in real life. Through this, and the fact that Instagram is an unexplored medium, were we able to identify this studies purpose, which is to investigate and create an understanding of the significance that social media has on self presentation. We used a qualitative approach in this study. We executed semi-structured interviews with six participants, which came to be treated as offline presentations of the participants lives. This presentation where later compared with content analysis to the participants Instagram profile. The theoretical framework of this study discusses audience accommodations and three different forms of misrepresentation online: idealizing, exclusion of demographic aspects and an invalid concept of the self. The result of the study shows that the self presentation on Instagram is highly limited and excluding of surrounding contexts. We do not find any substantial audience adjustment but instead that Instagram users tend to presuppose that their audience are well aware of their life and therefor are aware of the full context. The result also shows that the three forms of misrepresentation online cannot be applied on Instagram even if we see some tendency of idealizing.

In recent years, the internet has exploded of images. Not at least in the popular photo-sharing network Instagram as one of the fastest growing social network for the moment. Millions of people around the world share pictures and expose themself for friends and family. We were therefore interested in which experiences and attitudes users have towards their identities in relation to their self-image and self-presentation on Instagram. Furthermore, whether they in general have a primary interest in using Instagram as a tool to experiment with images to present their identity on Instagram, in which way they approach their Instagram follower’s expectations on how they present themselves on Instagram and if they are aware of any strategies in their self-presentation on Instagram. The result of this study is the fact that our respondents thinks that they do not intend to have a primary interest in experimenting with images on Instagram to present their identitiy, it is rather something that comes naturally in how they present themselves on Instagram. The primarily purpose of using Instagram do not appear to be for satisfying an experimental need in self-presentation on Instagram. It is rather to satisfy a social need. Following, it has emerged that they seems to have a varied self-awareness in terms of strategies and reasons for self-presentation and that they are significantly influenced by their followers expectations on their identity presentation.