Why Don’t I Look Like Her? Gender and Social Comparisons

Katie Martin ‘15
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Marie LePage
Summer 2013

Katie Martin received a competitive South Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities (SCICU) grant to conduct her research project, Gender Roles and Social Comparisons: A Study Using Ecological Momentary Assessment. She worked with Dr. Marie LePage in the Department of Psychology.

Katie said, “I was interested in this topic because I wanted to bring about more understanding in the realm of body dissatisfaction and social comparison. I  hoped that increased awareness on these topics could bring about positive changes in internalization and perception of body image and body weight in our society.”

Katie’s mentor, Dr. LePage, noted that “this research was beneficial for Katie in several ways. Specifically, this research allowed Katie the opportunity to learn to collect data using a novel methodology (ecological momentary assessment), learn an advanced statistical analysis (Hierarchical Linear Modeling) which she would otherwise not have the opportunity to learn at the undergraduate level, and examine an important issue for young woman (the impact of social comparisons on their body image and mood).”