Intrasexual competition and eating restriction in heterosexual and homosexual individuals

1. Intrasexual competition and eating restriction in heterosexual and homosexual individuals by Lizzie Bell and Vanessa Bobadilla

2. Introduction • Approximately 11 million Americans suffer from eating disorders. • Viewing thin women in the media negatively impacts women’s body image satisfaction.

3. Background Studies • Adaptive reproductive suppression • Unfavorable conditions cause some female mammals to temporarily halt fertility through the restriction of eating. • An example of such conditions is a perceived lack of social support for childrearing and local norms valuing women in the workforce.

4. Background studies • Adaptive mechanisms for intrasexual competition. • Attraction tactics • Heterosexual Men: youth + fertility = physical attractiveness/desirable mate • Homosexual Men: youth + physical attractiveness = desirable mate

5. Current Studies • Study 1 hypothesis: Cues to intrasexual competition among women, but not among men, would be manifest in concerns of thinness and restrictive eating attitudes. • Study 2 hypothesis: Intrasexual competition cues should also lead to more negative body image in heterosexual women and gay men.

6. Study 1: Intrasexual Competition and Eating Attitudes • Restrictive eating attitudes more prevalent in women than men. • Methods • Priming intrasexual competition • Profile picture with self-description (competitive vs. noncompetitive) • Eating attitudes • 26-item Eating Attitudes Test • Higher EAT scores are associated with more restrictive and eating-averse attitudes. • Competitiveness and appearance satisfaction • Questions (1= strongly disagree, 9= strongly agree)

7. Study 1: Intrasexual Competition and Eating Attitudes • Results Fig. 1. Influence of intrasexual competition motives on eating restriction

8. Study 1: Intrasexual Competition and Eating Attitudes • Discussion • Exposure to competitive vs. noncompetitive same-sex others led to changes in women’s, but not in men’s eating attitudes. • This pattern of results is consistent with women’s desire to be thin, showingintrasexual competition.

9. Study 2: Heterosexual and Homosexual Individuals • Intrasexual competition cues should lead to more negative body image in heterosexual women and gay men. • Methods (Same as study 1’s) • PLUS… • 34-item Body Shape Questionnaire • Kinsey Scale of Sexual Orientation • (0= exclusively heterosexual, 6=exclusively homosexual)

10. Study 2: Heterosexual and Homosexual Individuals • Results Fig. 2. Influence of intrasexual competition motives on eating restriction in heterosexual individuals

11. Study 2: Heterosexual and Homosexual Individuals Fig. 3. Influence of intrasexual competition motives on eating restriction in homosexual individuals

12. Study 2: Heterosexual and Homosexual Individuals • Results • Body Image Concerns • Heterosexual women and gay men reported greater body image concerns in the competitive condition than in the noncompetitive condition. • Heterosexual men and lesbian women did not differ in body image concerns between conditions. • Discussion • Exposure to intrasexual competition cues had a very different effect on eating attitudes on body image depending on individual’s sex and sexual orientation. • These findings support the intrasexual competition hypothesis for thinness-related eating restriction.

13. General Discussion • As predicted by the hypotheses, cues to intrasexual competition led heterosexual women and gay men to report worse body image and more restrictive eating attitudes. • Results extend beyond the adaptive reproductive suppression hypothesis. • Because manipulations of intrasexual competition consisted of pictures of normal-weight, average-looking peers, findings suggest triggers for restrictive eating may be broader than previously considered.

14. Conclusion • These findings support the idea that the ultimate explanation for eating disorders is related to intrasexual competition, particularly in heterosexual women and gay men, whose mates value physical attractiveness and thinness.