1991). "Thus, products congruent with ideal self would evoke low buying intention

when the gap between product image and the present state of self is excessive" (Zinkhan

and Hong, 1991, 352).

 According to the Social-Comparison Theory, people may compare themselves to

others for reasons other than self-evaluation (Martin and Kennedy, 1993). "The tendency

of female preadolescents and adolescents to compare themselves to models in ads

increases, and this tendency is greater for those with lower self-perceptions of physical

attractiveness and/or lower self-esteem" (Martin and Kennedy, 1993, 526). Self-

improvement prompts upward comparisons with others (Martin and Gentry, 1997).

 Girls are likely to view their bodies as objects, allowing physical appearance to

determine how they, and others, judge their overall value as a person (Martin and Gentry,

1997). According to the Social-Comparison Theory, people may compare themselves to

others for reasons other than self-evaluation (Martin and Kennedy, 1993). "The tendency

is greater for those with lower self-perceptions of physical attractiveness and/or lower

self-esteem to compare themselves to models in ads" (Martin and Gentry, 1997, 20).

This may be true because the more someone wants to become a member of a group (i.e.

supermodels), the more important it becomes for the individual to compare herself to that

group (Festinger, personal communication with Goodman).

 Yet, when women are exposed to a highly attractive model for an extended period

of time, as a result of comparison, evaluations of both the model and the model as a

spokesperson may be affected negatively because of model derogation (Bower, 2001).

Another study found that after viewing attractive models, women rated average women

as less attractive (Richins, 1991). "Images of highly attractive individuals can cause