Abstract

Obesity bias has become the most acceptable form of prejudice in American society (Latner, O'Brien, Durso, Brinkman, & MacDonald, 2008). Stigmatization of the obese has tremendous social and economic costs both for the stigmatized population and for society as a whole. Few studies have been done to show effective ways to reduce obesity bias. This study looked to expand the research on effective ways to reduce obesity bias. Using a between-participants experimental design, the present study investigated whether multi-faceted information content about the causes of obesity (including psychological, social, and physiological causes) would be more effective in reducing obesity bias than any one of these causes presented alone. Results showed that participants' evaluations of a target woman who was overweight did not differ between the information content conditions, nor did they differ from a control condition. Implications, as well as limitations in the current study, are discussed.

Notes

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Thesis Completion

2013

Semester

Spring

Advisor

Murdoch, Erin Q.

Degree

Bachelor of Science (B.S.)

College

College of Sciences

Degree Program

Psychology

Subjects

Dissertations, Academic -- Sciences;Sciences -- Dissertations, Academic

Location

UCF Cocoa

Format

PDF

Identifier

CFH0004391

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Document Type

Honors in the Major Thesis

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Included in

Psychology Commons

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