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I would like to thank all of the people who helped and supported me with completing this research project. Firstly, I would like to thank my research advisor Dr. Elise Lake for guiding me through this stressful process and sticking with me during this unconventional journey. Without you, this thesis would not be in existence and I would not have finished my time with the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College successfully. I would also like to thank my readers, Dr. Kirsten Dellinger and Dr. John Sonnett, for being part of this project. Thank you all for giving your time and providing advice and suggestions to make this research the best it can possibly be. I would also like to thank my family for the constant support and motivation that they have given me throughout this stressful experience. Thank you mom for emphasizing the importance of perseverance in your words and actions. Your support has been an integral part of this project reaching completion. iv ABSTRACT MARGARET ROSE HOVAN: Attitudes towards Plastic Surgery in College Men and Women (Under the direction of Elise Lake) The aim of this study is to determine whether exposure to extreme makeover based reality television programs is related to the attitudes of college-aged individuals towards the acceptability of obtaining plastic surgery procedures and how students view plastic surgery itself. Interviews consisting of closed- and open-ended questions measured the possible influence that exposure to plastic surgery reality television programs, familial experience with plastic surgery and parental attitudes towards plastic surgery, among other factors, have on one’s attitudes towards plastic surgery. The data collected were then entered into Qualtrics and analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) or coded for common themes to determine significance. This study found that college women have more exposure to plastic surgery reality television programs than college men. Qualitative responses suggest that many college individuals consider having cosmetic surgery private or personal and worry about being judged for having such procedures. The small sample size of the study was limiting in determining the significance of the findings, but analysis revealed many possibilities for future research. In the past few years, there has been an increase in the amount of plastic surgery related content on television. Exposure to programs where individuals alter their appearance by surgical means could possibly have an effect on the attitudes of viewers. The rise in numbers of this type of television programs suggests that younger generations are the primary viewers (Wegenstein 2012) and that adolescents are particularly susceptible to body modification because of risk taking tendencies (Rodriguez Cano and Sams 2010). Extreme makeover-based reality television programs present plastic surgery in a format that can potentially desensitize viewers and normalize taboos associated with body modification. In this study, I examine the relationship between exposure to extreme makeover reality television programs and the attitudes of college-aged individuals regarding the acceptability of obtaining plastic surgery procedures and how students view plastic surgery itself. I will investigate the attitudes of male and female college students towards plastic surgery to examine the possibility of positive experiences or reactions as they may be related to exposure to extreme makeover-based reality television programs. Many studies have attempted to discover the relationship between media exposure and body image and have found that unrealistic images of women in media are associated with body dissatisfaction and body anxieties. Identifying the relationship between exposure to plastic surgery reality television programs and attitudes about obtaining plastic surgery and plastic surgery as a practice could determine if altered perceptions of plastic surgery lead to individuals pursuing body modification or transformative procedures. Studies gauging attitudes towards plastic surgery in middle-aged females 2 have found that media have a primarily direct effect on attitudes towards cosmetic surgery (Slevec and Tiggemann 2010). Other studies examine the attitudes towards cosmetic surgery of college-aged females in relation to objectification theory (Calogero et al. 2010) and societal appearance ideals (Menzel et al. 2011). Frequent exposure to plastic surgery content in one’s life may desensitize individuals to the risks and taboos associated with having plastic surgery. In the past, plastic surgery was done secretly and rarely every spoken about (Adams 2009). The change in the presentation of plastic surgery in today’s society reveals the transition in cultural norms and may be
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