2024
By Priska Breves, Marthe Möller, and Jan-Philipp Stein
Social media platforms confront individuals with diverse body-focused content on a daily base, triggering social comparison processes that profoundly impact well-being, body satisfaction, and health-related behaviors. However, traditional self-assessment scales often fall short in capturing these automatic processes. This project aims to investigate the feasibility of using eye tracking as a novel method to measure social comparison intensity. By conducting a lab experiment manipulating influencer body shapes and user comments on Instagram posts, we discern when and where individuals direct their attention within a social environment and assess the predictive ability of eye tracking compared to self-report measures.