Anschutz, Doeschka. .., and Rutger C. M.E. Engels. “The Effects of Playing with Thin Dolls on Body Image and Food Intake in Young Girls.” Sex Roles, vol. 63, no. 9-10, Springer US, 2010, pp. 621–30, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-010-9871-6.
- Abstract
Paragraph 1- This is a study on 6-10 year old dutch girls to test if their playing with thin dolls has an affect on their body image and food intake. After 10 minutes of them either playing with a thin doll, an average sized doll, or a lego, they did a taste test and took a questionnaire about their body image.
- Introducion
Paragraph 2- little is known about the effects thin dolls have on young girls which is why this study is being done. Researchers already know that body image issues have arised from young girls watching television.
Paragraph 3- Many studies done in Western societies show issues with body image in young girls. Media teaches the young that bigger people don’t have friends and ugly people are considered bad whereas thin and nice looking people are considered good.
Paragraph 4- Thin dolls like Barbie set an unrealistic standard for young girls and convince them that Barbie’s body is normal and what their bodies should look like.
Paragraph 5- A study was done in girls ages 5-8 in the UK on the effect Barbie has one their body image. Studies show that girls under 7.5 use Barbie as a norm as their body image is still developing. There were no effects found in girls above the age of 7.5 playing with Barbies on their body image.
Paragraph 6- This study was made to replicate and extend the one done in the UK. In the Uk study, pictures of the dolls were used. In the study on dutch girls, they were to use actual dolls. This study also involved a food intake part to test if girls’ body dissatisfaction has an effect on their eating.
Paragraph 7- Girls either played with a thin doll, an average sized doll, or a lego for 10 minutes and then were given a taste test as a measure of actual food intake.
Hypothesis 1- girls who play with thin dolls will have lower body esteem compared to those who played with the average size doll or the lego. Younger girls would report a lower body esteem than older girls. Average size doll and lego won’t negatively impact body esteem.
Hypothesis 2- girls who play with the thin dolls will report an actual-ideal body size discrepancy compared to tier girls who played with the average sized doll or the lego. Younger girls would report a larger body actual-ideal body size discrepancy than older girls.
Hypothesis 3- Girls who play with the thin dolls would eat less than the girls that play with the average sized dolls or the lego. The younger girls would eat less than the older girls after playing with the thin dolls.
- Method
Paragraph 8- 117 girls were involved in this study. The mean age of the sample was 8.04
Paragraph 9- The girls either played with a Barbie doll which represented a UD size 2, an Emme doll which represented a US size 16, and another doll that is comparable to the height of the Emme doll and very slim like Barbie.
Paragraph 10- The girls were given 9 female body silhouette drawings ranging from very thing to very large to compare the dolls bodies to the silhouettes. They were also given a Visual Analogue Scale to see the extent of thinness the girls considered the dolls.
Paragraph 11- a response format was used with pictures of smiley’s where the girls had three response options; no, in between, and yes. They were scored with a 0, 1 or 2, respectively. Facial pictures were used to illustrate the response options.
Paragraph 11- the girls were asked to indicate which of the 9 drawings of female bodies looked the most similar to their current bodies and their ideal body shape.
Paragraph 12- during the taste test, the girls could freely eat from three bowls of chocolate covered peanuts, Their food intake was measured with a professional scale.
Paragraph 13- BMI was calculated based on height and weight
Paragraph 14- Girls were asked how hungry they were before beginning the test.
Paragraph 15- Girls were presented with a Visual Analogue Scale to measure if they liked the test food.
Paragraph 16- The girls were asked whether or not they owned a Barbie at home
Paragraph 17- The girls were asked how often they play with Barbie’s.
Paragraph 18- The girls were asked if they enjoyed being a part of the experiment.
- Procedure
Paragraph 19- Parents were fully informed about why this study was being done and asked whether their child could participate in the study or not.
Paragraph 20- girls playing with Barbies were asked to dress Barbie for a party so that they would be exposed to her naked body. After 10 minutes, the girls were given a questionnaire concerning body esteem Afterwards, the girls were presented with three bowls of chocolate covered peanuts with a different color in each bowl. They were asked to evaluate the chocolate covered peanuts to see which color tasted the best.
- Preliminary analysis
Paragraph 21- No real differences were found between the Barbie doll and the tyler doll so those conditions were combined. No effects were found in the playing of Barbies/Tyler dolls on body esteem
Paragraph 22- Girls were split by if they were over 7.5 or under.
- Results
Paragraph 23- No differences were found between Barbie and the Tyler doll on the figure rating scale and the VAS slimness, so the conditions were combined into a single thin doll condition for analysis.
Paragraph 24- The body esteem of the girls did not differ between the three conditions. No main effect was found in age group either. Therefore, hypothesis 1 was not supported.
Paragraph 25- Playing with thin dolls vs average size dolls did not alter the actual-ideal body size discrepancy. There was no effect found in age group either. Therefore, hypothesis 2 was not supported.
Paragraph 26- Girls ate less after exposure to thin dolls than after exposure to average sized doll. There was no effect in age group. Hypothesis 3 was somewhat supported in that girls ate less after playing with thin dolls, but there was no effect in age difference.
Paragraph 27- No interaction effects were found in body esteem and owning a Barbie. No interaction effects were found in body esteem and time spent playing with Barbie. No interaction effects were found in body esteem and how much the girls like being a part of the experiment.
- Discussion
Paragraph 28- the most important thing found was that girls who played with thin dolls ate less in their food-test.
Paragraph 29- There was no effect found in peking with Barbie on young girls body esteem and dissatisfaction. Since the girls had physical control of the dolls rather than looking at the image, it led to no direct causation on their body esteem because they were in control.
Paragraph 30- Perhaps the girls were inspired by Barbie to achieve her thinness by not eating in the taste-test. Maybe the girls who played with the Emme doll felt more free to eat as its size provides a norm regarding food intake.
Paragraph 31- The Emme doll may have had a relief effect and freed the girls from any dietary restraints.
Paragraph 32- A suggestion for another study might be to use girls who have never been exposed to these thin dolls before and do the same tests on them also involving food intake.
Paragraph 33- Future studies could also use a different measure of body esteem to see how consistent the present findings with regard to body esteem are.
Paragraph 34- This study was meant to look at the effects of thin dolls on body esteem but at the end of the day, the only information derived is that the girls who played with the thinner dolls ate less.
Key phrases: Barbie doll, Emme doll, thin dolls, body esteem, bod image, food intake
Very thorough and attentive summary, Aria. I especially appreciate how you pulled out the key hypotheses in addition in the summary.