Objectification theory predicts college women’s attitudes toward cosmetic surgery

摘要

This study investigated cosmetic surgery attitudesudwithin the framework of objectification theory. One hundredudpredominantlyWhite, British undergraduate women completedudself-report measures of impression management, global selfesteem,udinterpersonal sexual objectification, self-surveillance,udbody shame, and three components of cosmetic surgeryudattitudes. As expected, each of the objectification theoryudvariables predicted greater consideration of having cosmeticudsurgery in the future. Also, as expected, sexual objectificationudand body shame uniquely predicted socialmotives for cosmeticudsurgery, whereas self-surveillance uniquely predicted intrapersonaludmotives for cosmetic surgery. These findings suggest thatudwomen’s acceptance of cosmetic surgery as a way toudmanipulate physical appearance can be partially explained byudthe degree to which they view themselves through the lenses ofudsexual and self-objectification.