In a society where physical attractiveness and celebrity is glorified girls as young as three years old are beginning to internalize the idea that thin is preferable according to a new study by Dr. Jennifer Harriger assistant professor of psychology.
Harriger began her research at the University of New Mexico where she received her doctorate in 2009. Since coming to Pepperdine she has begun an effort to test 180 preschoolers on their body image attitudes. The group has already tested about 75 Malibu children.
Previous research indicates that adults are likely to discriminate against and think unfavorably of overweight people. Harriger is especially interested in whether preschool-age children have internalized these stereotypes toward overweight individuals.
“Kids ages three to five do endorse the same stereotypes that adults do Harriger said. Children are more likely to attribute negative adjectives to an overweight child and are more likely to choose a thinner child to be friends with. It’s very shocking.”
The initial challenge of the project was finding a way for the children to give genuine behavioral responses. And with the test subjects being only three to five years of age the less developed verbal ability led to a unique approach. Instead of simply asking questions Harriger designed a task that would capture internalization of body stereotypes among the preschool children.
The task would be hidden in a game of either Chutes and Ladders or Candy Land in which the children were tasked with choosing a game piece among three options. In the test the three game pieces were dressed alike and had the same skin and hair color but were distinguished by overweight average and thin body shapes.
After a child had selected a first game piece the researcher would ask him or her to select another testing how invested the child was in his or her original selection. Harriger believes that disguising the selection in a game format allows the potentially internalized stereotype to be revealed in young children.
“My question is do children truly really believe this or are they giving researchers what they consider to be the right answers from what they hear in the media or at home?” Harriger said. “Is it something that is central to their sense of self as a three-year-old?”
As the stereotypes settle into the minds of children as young as three years old many researchers including Harriger worry about the lasting psychological and physical effects. Internalizing the thin ideal may not only deprecate self-esteem but also increase the risk for obesity.
Harriger explains that internalization of the thin ideal can lead to “unhealthy weight-related behaviors like binge eating or restricting themselves then eating more because they’re hungry.”
Researchers say that those with skewed body image attitudes might even avoid exercise for fear of how they are viewed by others during physical activity.
“Because of the obesity epidemic children are at high risk for being overweight said Harriger. So if they’ve internalized the thin ideal by the age of three what does that mean for their own self-concept?”
Looking forward to many more innovating projects focused on the youth Harriger is hoping to study relational aggression in preschoolers. She described this behavior as aggression designed to create psychological damage.
Examples of relational aggression are “things like rumors withholding friendships saying ‘I’m not going to talk to you today'” Harriger explained. She is also interested in determining “how early preschoolers start using appearance to inflict psychological harm: ‘You look ugly’ or ‘Your shirt is stupid’ or any comment that focuses on physical appearance.”
Harriger aims to publish this ongoing research in the future.