Acute exercise has been shown to reduce
the negative affective states associated with
body image disturbance, such as anxiety
and depression (2, 19). However, these
beneficial effects might be mitigated with
the presentation of fitness posters and
exercise mirrors. Fallon and Hausenblas (6)
found that an acute bout of moderate
intensity exercise was not able to
significantly reduce the anxiety, depression,
or body dissatisfaction generated by
viewing media pictures of ideal female
physiques compared to quiet rest.
To our knowledge, no formal studies have
investigated the effects of mirrors on
exercise exertion. Additionally, despite
assumptions that ideal body types would
inspire people to exert more energy during
exercise, no studies have formally
demonstrated this relationship.
In the present study, we hypothesize that
the presence of a mirror will lead to
differences in post-exercise mood,
especially in women, compared to
exercising without a mirror. We also
hypothesize that this will be exacerbated by
the presence of ideal body fit images, by
highlighting the discrepancy between
actual (i.e., viewing oneself in a mirror) and
ideal (i.e., viewing highly fit celebrity
trainer posters) self. We also hypothesize
that exercising in the presence of media
images depicting body ideals would
dampen the potential mood boosting effects
of exercise compared to exercising without
the images, especially for women. We
further hypothesize that the presence of
ideal fit body images may increase exercise
exertion compared to conditions with
mirrors or with no stimuli; however, we do
not believe exercise intensity reflects a
positive mood state, an important
distinction. If true, the choices to inspire
exercise intensity may be at the cost of
diminishing some of the psychological
benefits of exercise.