Lululemon, a leading brand name in the athletic apparel field, has been promoting community building on its official media channels as part of its IDEA concept, Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Action. This thesis examines the visual strategies Lululemon employs to advocate for body type inclusivity and diversity on its official Instagram account by using its female Ambassadors representatives. It also explores the audience’s reaction to this promotional activity. We used visual analysis methods and semiology to analyse and interpret the photographs posted in the context of the Ultramarathon event for Women’s Day, 2024 and examine whether and how they incorporated the company’s IDEA concept. We also used netnography to record, analyse, and interpret the comments posted by the followers of the Lululemon account in response to this event. Ambassador models of all origins and sizes were shown in the photographs as dedicated and strong in achieving their goals, deviating from media stereotypes. The comment analysis showed that, while on the whole, the Ultramarathon was regarded in a positive light and was saluted for furthering inclusivity and diversity, Lululemon’s external business practices overshadowed the promoted IDEA concept and reduced its impact. The findings of this study are essential for understanding the strategies brands utilise to promote their products via social impact and how audiences affect the outcome and success of such endeavours.

The purpose of the present study was to gain knowledge and understanding on fitspiration, itsbody ideal perception and exercise behaviour in a sample of young adults who are exercisers, daily social media usersand also fitspiration followers. To that end, semi-structured interviews were carried out to gather information from eight young adult exercisers (M = 22.5, SD =3.5 years). Thematic analysis (TA; Braun & Clarke, 2006) was used to analyse the data. The results were divided into three parts, 1) perception of fitspiration which has three main themes: Fitspiration as a tool that supports healthy behaviour, Untrustworthy fitspirational content, and Negative outcome on emotional well-being. 2) Fitspiration’s body ideal perception, which consists of one main theme: Unrealistic body ideals. 3) And lastly exercise behaviour in relation to viewing fitspirational content and has also one main theme: Inappropriate fitness goals. In summary, viewing fitspirational content on social media can provide young adults with information and motivation that supports healthy lifestyle behaviours like exercising. However, negative feelings appeared to arise from fitspiration viewing which may have an effect on psychological well-being. Although body ideals shown through fitspiration were perceived as unrealistic, the content seemed to adversely affect our participant’s fitness goals and determination. / Syftet med denna studien var att få kunskap och förståelse om fitspiration, uppfattning av fitspirations kroppsideal och träningsbeteende i ett urval av unga vuxnasom är motionärer, daglig användare av sociala medier och även anhängare av fitspiration. Semi-strukturerade intervjuer genomfördesför att samla information av åtta unga vuxna motionärer (M = 22,5, SD = 3,5 år). Tematisk analys (TA; Braun & Clarke, 2006)användes för att analysera data-information. Resultaten delades in i tre kategorier, 1) uppfattning av fitspiration som har tre huvudteman: Fitspiration som ett fenomen som stöder hälsosamt beteende, opålitlig fitspirations källa och negativ resultat på emotionellt välbefinnande. 2) Uppfattning av fitspirations kroppsideal som består av ett huvudtema; Orealistiska kroppsideal. 3) Och slutligen träningsbeteende i samband med att titta på fitspirations innehåll, som har huvudteman; Olämpliga träningsmål. Sammanfattningsvis kan fitspirations innehåll på sociala medier ge unga vuxna information och motivation som stöder hälsosamma beteenden, som att träna. Men negativa känslor upplevdes uppstå genom att titta på fitspirations inlägg som kan ha en inverkan på psykologiskt välbefinnande. Vidare, även om fitspirations kroppsideal upplevdes som orealistiska, innehållet verkar ha en roll i deltagarnas träningsmål och determination.

Research has identified a relation between exposure to thin-ideal magazine and television media images and eating disorder pathology. However, few studies have examined the potential influence of Internet media on eating disorder behaviors and attitudes. This study investigated the associations among appearance-orientated media exposure, body dissatisfaction, eating pathology and thin-ideal internalization in a sample of 421 female undergraduate students. Results indicate that undergraduate women spend significantly more time viewing appearance-oriented sources online, rather than reading appearance-orientated magazines. Appearance-oriented Internet consumption was also more strongly associated with eating disorder pathology than was use of other media (television and magazines). Relations between appearance-orientated media use (all types) and body dissatisfaction was mediated by thin-ideal internalization. These findings are consistent with those of previous research, and highlight the vulnerability individuals high in thin-ideal internalization might have following media exposure. They also suggest that Internet media might be an important topic to include in eating disorders prevention and treatment.

Grounded in Festinger s (1954) theory of social comparison processes, this thesis aims to examine three aspects of this theory in the physical education context, where ability is the characteristic under comparison: adolescent motives for comparison; frames of reference; and consequences of comparison. Although there is a growing evidence base investigating social comparison processes in academic subjects, there remains a dearth of knowledge concerning the role that comparison can play in determining outcomes in physical education. Furthermore, there is very little research within psychology in general that examines young peoples motives for and outcomes of comparison. This thesis begins to address this lack of knowledge by providing an in-depth exploration of social comparison processes (Study 1) which is followed by an examination of the role that two frames of reference (the class and a chosen individual) and motives for comparison (evaluation, improvement, enhancement) play in determining: physical self-concept; engagement; disaffection; self-efficacy, positive affect and negative affect (Studies 2-4). Additionally, the moderating role of behavioural regulations, motivational climate and perceived autonomy support are also investigated. Across the four studies, comparative evaluations with the class are influential in determining both positive and negative outcomes whilst the role of individual comparisons varies according to the dependent variable under investigation. Evidence for both the moderating and direct role of motives for comparison is presented as well as support for the moderating role of motivational climate and behavioural regulations. The findings highlight the need to investigate multiple aspects of social comparison processes simultaneously in addition to investigating moderators of comparative evaluations in order that a more comprehensive understanding of social comparison processes is achieved.

Cette thèse vise à étudier les effets, bénéfiques ou délétères, de l’intensité de la comparaison ascendante sur l’évaluation de soi et la performance. Dans une série de cinq études, nous avons placé au coeur de nos investigations une controverse relative aux effets d’une comparaison ascendante forte par rapport à une comparaison ascendante modérée.La comparaison ascendante forte se révèle bénéfique à court terme, les participants améliorant leur performance, ce qui n’est pas systématiquement le cas pour une comparaison ascendante modérée (études 1, 2 et 3). En revanche, en ce qui concerne l’évaluation de soi, à l’exception de l’étude 1, une comparaison ascendante forte n’entraîne pas toujours une évaluation de soi inférieure à une comparaison ascendante modérée.Nous avons également cherché à clarifier cette controverse en interrogeant le rôle joué par les attributions causales (Weiner, 1985) dans l’évolution constatée de la performance. En interrogeant les attributions des participants, nous constatons une prévalence des attributions à l’effort (étude 2) ainsi qu’une corrélation positive entre celles-ci et les attentes de réussite (études 3, 4 et 5) dans la condition de comparaison ascendante forte. D’autre part, en manipulant les attributions de la cible de comparaison, il apparaît que les participants exposés à un feedback d’échec et des attributions à l’habileté présentent un niveau d’évaluation de soi plus faible qu’en l’absence de feedback d’échec (étude 4). De surcroît, les attributions à l’effort contribuent au maintien de l’évaluation de soi uniquement en présence de trois cibles en comparaison d’une seule cible (étude 5). / This thesis aims to study the beneficial or deleterious effects of intensity of upward comparison on self-evaluation and performance. In a series of five studies, we have placed at the heart of our investigations a controversy which deals with the effects of a strong upward comparison with regard to a moderate upward comparison.The strong upward comparison is beneficial in the short term, participants improving their performance, which is not always the case for a moderate upward comparison (Studies 1, 2 and 3). In contrast, as regards of self-evaluation, except for Study 1, a strong upward comparison does not always mean a lower self-evaluation than a moderate upward comparison.We also sought to clarify this controversy by questioning the role of causal attributions (Weiner, 1985) in the observed evolution of performance. By measuring participants’ causal attributions, we see a prevalence of effort attributions (Study 2) and a positive correlation between them and expectations of success (studies 3, 4 and 5) in the strong upward comparison condition. Furthermore, by manipulating causal attributions of the comparison target, it appears that participants exposed to a failure feedback and ability attributions have a lower level of self-evaluation than in the absence of feedback of failure (study 4). Moreover, effort attributions contribute to the maintenance of self-evaluation only in the presence of three targets compared to only one target (Study 5).

Les recherches récentes ont mis en évidence le rôle des processus de catégorisation et de comparaison sociale pour comprendre les similitudes et les différences de genre au niveau du concept de soi. Cette thèse propose un prolongement méthodologique et théorique de ces travaux afin d’en vérifier le bien-fondé et d’évaluer leurs implications éventuelles pour le développement d’une psychologie sociale de la personnalité. Ainsi, nous montrons d’abord qu’il existe des relations significatives entre les différents instruments visant à mesurer le concept de soi, confirmant la validité de ces instruments (étude 1). L’hypothèse d’une interaction « genre X culture » sur le concept de soi est alors examinée dans une étude comparant des étudiants français et coréens. Comme prévu, les résultats montrent que les différences de genre sur le soi, peu importe la mesure du concept de soi utilisée, sont plus importantes en France qu’en Corée du Sud. Les études 3, 4, et 5 cherchent ensuite à vérifier si de telles manifestations de la malléabilité du concept de soi en fonction des contextes peuvent également être obtenues en mesurant les traits de personnalité. Il est démontré qu’il existe des stéréotypes de genre sur les dimensions de la personnalité identifiées dans la théorie de la personnalité en cinq facteurs (étude 3, étude 4) et que le processus d’auto-stéréotypie proposé dans la théorie de l’auto-catégorisation (Turner, 1987) semble effectivement influencer la manifestation de certains traits de personnalité. Les études 4 et 5, en utilisant les paradigmes expérimentaux originaux, contribuent à mettre en évidence les conditions sous lesquelles les individus vont « changer » de personnalité en fonction de la situation. Ces premiers résultats permettent de conclure qu’il existe certains traits de la personnalité qui sont stables et qui ne changent pas selon la situation mais également qui se transforment de manière significative en fonction des interactions sociales et des processus de catégorisation. / Recent researches have highlighted the role of categorization and social comparison process in understanding the gender differences and similarities at the level of self-concept. This thesis proposes a methodological and theoretical extension of these works to verify their soundness and assess their possible implications for the development of social psychology of personality. Thus, we first show that there are significant relations between several instruments for the measure self-concept, in confirming the validity of these instruments (study 1). The hypothesis of an interaction “gender X culture” on self-concept is then examined in a study comparing French and Korean students. As expected, the results show that gender differences on self are, no matter what self-concept measures are used, bigger in France than in South Korea. Then the studies 3, 4, and 5 seek to ascertain whether such manifestations of the malleability of the self-concept in different contexts may also be obtained by the measure of the personality traits. It is shown that there are gender stereotypes on certain personality traits of the five-factor model (Study 3 Study 4) and that the self-stereotyping process proposed by the self-categorization theory (Turner, 1987) seems to actually influence the manifestation of personality traits. Studies 4 and 5, using the original experimental paradigms, help to highlight the conditions under which individuals will "change" their personality according to the situation where they find themselves. These results suggest that there exist certain personality traits stable and they do not change according to the situation but there also exist certain traits that vary significantly in accordance with social interaction and self-categorization process.

Sociala mediers roll i unga människors liv har kommit att bli en tredje viktig omvärldskomponent i identitetsskapandet och utgör en unik kontext för social jämförelse. Tidigare forskning har visat att Internet och dess tillgänglighet kan ha en inverkan på unga kvinnors självbild och identitetsskapande. Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur unga kvinnor upplever att deras användande av sociala medier har betydelse för deras självbild. Studien genomfördes med en kvalitativ metod och datainsamlingen bestod av halvstrukturerade intervjuer. Undersökningsdeltagarna bestod av nio kvinnor i åldrarna 23–28 år. Det transkriberade materialet analyserades enligt kvalitativ manifest innehållsanalys med latenta inslag. Analysen resulterade i tre huvudkategorier 1) Användandet av Sociala Medier 2) Självförstärkande och 3) Självnedsättande. Resultatet visade att kvinnorna upplevde att sociala medier kan ha både positivt och negativt inflytande på självbilden. Avslutningsvis diskuteras relevansen av att kontinuerligt bevaka och problematisera sociala medier, både för den enskilde individen men även för samhället i stort. / Social media has become a third important external component of identity creation and constitutes a unique context for social comparison. Previous research has shown that the exposure of internet can affect young women’s self-image and identity creation. The aim of the study was to understand how young women experiencing that their use of social media affects their self-image. The study was conducted with a qualitative method and the data collection consisted of semi-structured interviews. The study participants consisted of nine women in the aged of 23-28 years old. The transcribed material was analyzed according to qualitative manifest content analysis with latent elements. The analysis resulted in three main categories 1) The use of Social Media 2) Self-reinforcing and 3) Self-derogatory. The result of the study showed that social media can have both negative and positive effects on young women’s self-image. The relevance of continuous monitoring and problematizing social media is discussed, both for the individual but also for the society.

abstract: Social media has been extensively researched, and its effects on well-being are well established. What is less studied, however, is how social media affects romantic relationships specifically. The few studies that have researched this have found mixed results. Some researchers have found social media to have a positive influence on relationship outcomes, while other have found social media to have a negative influence. In an attempt to reconcile these discrepancies, the current thesis study explored possible mediators between social media use and relationship health outcomes which, to my knowledge, has not been investigated in previous literature. Three moderators were explored: type of social media use (active use versus passive use), relationship-contingent self-esteem, and social comparison orientation. The baseline portion of the study had 547 individuals, recruited from Arizona State University’s SONA system as well as Amazon’s Mechanical Turk, who were in a romantic relationship for at least three months; the follow-up portion of the study had 181 participants. Results suggest that women who passively use social media exhibit a negative association between hours per day of social media use and baseline relationship satisfaction. Men who passively use social media exhibited a negative association between hours per day of social media use and follow-up relationship satisfaction, as well as a negative association with baseline commitment. While relationship-contingent self-esteem did not moderate the association between hours per day of social media use and relationship health, it was positively related to both men and women’s baseline relationship satisfaction and baseline commitment. Social comparison orientation (SCO) produced minimal results; women low on SCO exhibited a negative association between social media use and baseline relationship satisfaction, and higher SCO for men was associated with lower baseline commitment. Finally, exploratory post-hoc mediation models revealed that relationship comparisons mediated the association between hours per day of social media use and baseline relationship, as well as baseline commitment, for both men and women. Previous research supports the findings regarding passive social media use, while the findings regarding relationship-contingent self-esteem and relationship comparisons add new findings to the romantic relationship literature. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Psychology 2019

The present thesis focuses on causes and consequences of paid working hours and housework hours among women and men in Sweden and Europe. It consists of four studies. Study I investigates changes in the division of housework in Swedish couples when they become parents. The study shows that women adjust their housework hours to the number and age of children in the household, whereas men do not. Longer parental leave periods among fathers have the potential to counteract this change towards a more traditional division of housework. Study II explores the associations between psychological distress and paid working hours, housework hours and total role time in Sweden. The results suggest that women’s psychological distress decreases with increasing paid working hours and housework hours, but that a long total role time is associated with high levels of distress. The gender difference in time spent on housework accounts for 40 per cent of the gender difference in psychological distress. Study III asks whether hours spent on paid work and housework account for the European gender difference in well-being, and whether the associations between well-being and hours of paid work and housework is influenced by gender attitudes and social comparison. The results indicate that gender differences in time spent on paid work and housework account for a third of the gender difference in well-being. Gender attitudes and social comparison do not to any great extent influence the associations between well-being and paid work and housework, respectively. Study IV examines possible differences between European family policy models in the associations between well-being and hours of paid work and housework. Some model differences are found, and they are accounted for by experiences of work-family conflict among men, but not among women. For both women and men, work-family conflict appears to suppress positive aspects of paid working hours.

This thesis aimed to investigate predictors of body image which were irrational beliefs, socially-prescribed perfectionism, social comparison, physical activity level and satisfaction with life among university students. Participants were included of 790 undergraduate students from different departments of in a large state university and sample is selected according to convenience sampling method. Multidimensional Body Self Relations Scale, Irrational Beliefs Scale-Short, Socially-Prescribed Perfectionism Scale, Social Comparison Scale, Satisfaction with Life Scale and demographic information form were used to collect the data. Multiple regression analysis was used to explain the hypothesized model of predictors of body image. Results indicated that irrational beliefs, social comparison, physical activity level and satisfaction with life predicted body image positively whereas the relationship between socially prescribed perfectionism was positive but non-significant. In addition comparing the mean scores of scales by gender, total score of body image was higher in men than women. Findings of this study revealed that social comparison was playing a significant role in forming body image followed by spending little time vs. much time engaging with sportive activities, irrational beliefs, satisfaction with life and having little time vs. average time for physical activities. Results were discussed regarding to the relevant literature.