Sociocultural influence and appearance-based rejection sensitivity among college students

Thepresent research examined the influence of parents, peers, and themedia in predicting college students ’ Appearance-based Rejection Sensitivity (Appearance-RS)—the degree to which individuals anxiously expect to be rejected based on their physical appearance. Given that women are socialized to be more appearance-focused than men, women were hypothesized to show greater Appearance-RS in response to sociocultural influences than men. A survey was administered to 220 students at a large public university in the United States. Overall, women showed greater sensitivity to appearance rejection than men. Specifically, perceptions of peer conditional acceptance based on appearance were associated with Appearance-RS among women. In addition, the more women and men internalized media ideals and felt media pressure to look attractive, the more sensitive they were to appearance rejection. No significant effects of parental influence were found. Thus, peer conditional acceptance predicted Appearance-RS among women, and media influence predicted Appearance-RS among women and men. Physical attractiveness is highly valued in Western cultures and is linked to important life outcomes (Bartky, 2003; Calogero, Boroughs, & Thompson, 2007). Physically at-tractive people are less stigmatized by others, are per-ceived to be more likeable and desirable as friends and romantic partners, and have significant advantages in em-ployment and job-related outcomes than those who are regarded as physically unattractive (Berscheid & Walster