control practices and steroids to increase muscle mass for males and appearance selfesteem , body dissatisfaction , number of diets to lose weight , and use of pathogenic weight control practices for females ( Morrison et al ., 2004 ). Similar research looked at undergraduate females ’ interpersonal attraction to media personalities and found that attraction to thin media personalities positively predicted eating disorder symptomatology and drive for thinness , while attraction to average or overweight did not ( Harrison , 1997 ).
This study fills a gap in research on media effects and body image by using social comparison theory as a theoretical framework to investigate the potential effects of TV , specifically favorite TV character , on emerging adults ’ appearance importance , rather than focusing on adolescents or adults . Additionally , other research that examines social comparison theory and body image has coded TV programs that are watched by viewers for ideal body content , and asked directly whether respondents compare themselves to people on TV ( Morrison et al ., 2004 ). I believe that people will not readily admit to such comparisons and I also assume that when viewing TV , people will likely compare themselves with characters portrayed on TV , most likely their favorite one . It is unclear the way that these comparisons will affect appearance importance .
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