This study extends the Theory of Planned Behavior by drawing on research investigating the 'halo effect,' which posits that physically attractive people are more likely to be hired, get a raise, perceived positively, and/or live happily within certain professions. Extant work has shown this trend is not generalizable across all fields. For example, scientists who are viewed as relatively unattractive and unsociable are perceived as producing higher quality research compared to their more attractive and sociable counterparts. The fitness industry, and the bodybuilding community in particular, presents an interesting issue where muscularity is an indicator of expertise and credibility, however, for female bodybuilders a muscular physique may diminish her perceived attractiveness and diminish such evaluations. Drawing on the Theory of Planned Behavior, this study examines how muscularity influences assessments of attractiveness, credibility, and homophily and indirectly influences participants' attitudes and perceived control over theory own weight lifting behavior. Though the hypothesized model was not a good fit, an exploratory respecification of the proposed model shows physical attractiveness plays a central role in assessments of homophily, credibility, and attitude. / Master of Arts / There has been a recent increased focus on the fitness and health industries over the past decade. With the expansion of photo-based social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook, there has been an emphasis on individuals representing more physically fit and athletic body types. Many of these female “fitness models” and social media influencers break typical gender norms and are depicted as more muscular than the traditional female thin ideal. These social media influencers are arguably judged on their physical attractiveness, homophily, and credibility with regards to exercise and nutrition. This online experiment looks to identify if muscularity plays a role in how participants perceive two of these female bodybuilders on physical attractiveness, credibility, and homophily, and indirectly perceives their attitudes and perceived control to weight lift. This is accomplished by using a questionnaire consisting of 68 questions pertaining to the thin ideal, muscular ideal, physical attractiveness, credibility, homophily, attitude, and perceived behavioral control. Physical attractiveness was found to be a driving force for attitude and perceived behavioral control to weight lift. These results provide practical implications for society as we continue to judge women based on their physical attractiveness.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/83530 |
| Date | 12 June 2018 |
| Creators | Hotter, Jessica C. |
| Contributors | Communication, Tamul, Daniel J., Ivory, James Dee, Waggenspack, Beth M. |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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