How Plus-Size Fashion Models Boost Women’s Mental Health

Summary: A new study finds that viewing average and plus-size fashion models is linked with improved psychological wellbeing for women compared with viewing thin models.

Source: Florida State University.

A Florida State University study shows that women pay more attention to—and remember more about—average and plus-size fashion models in the media, and that exposure to these models is associated with higher body satisfaction than exposure to thin models.

Published in the journal Communication Monographs, the research combines psychophysiological measures with self-report data to examine how women respond, in real time, to images of fashion models across different body sizes.

Russell Clayton, an assistant professor in the FSU School of Communication, director of the Cognition and Emotion Lab and the study’s lead author, explained that psychophysiological measures allowed the team to capture the immediate cognitive and emotional processes that occur as women view model images.

“By measuring psychophysiological responses during image exposure, we were able to gain insights into the real-time cognitive and emotional responses that unfold when women are exposed to different-size media fashion models,” Clayton said.

The study was conducted by Clayton along with Jessica Ridgway, assistant professor in the Department of Retail, Merchandising and Product Development, and doctoral student Joshua Hendrickse from the FSU School of Communication.

Researchers recruited 49 college-age women who all reported wanting to be thinner. While participants viewed a series of images on a screen—featuring thin, average and plus-size fashion models—the team continuously recorded psychophysiological data, reflecting the interaction of cognitive and bodily responses. After each image, participants completed brief questionnaires about their level of body satisfaction and the degree to which they compared themselves to the pictured model.

Results pointed to clear and consistent differences in how women responded to thin versus average and plus-size models. When thin models were shown, participants reported making more social comparisons, paid less visual attention to the images, and retained fewer details about the models. Exposure to thin models was also associated with lower body satisfaction among the participants.

In contrast, average and plus-size models produced a more positive pattern of responses. Participants made fewer social comparisons when viewing these images, devoted more attention to the pictures, and remembered more details about the models. Importantly, viewers also reported higher levels of body satisfaction after exposure to average and plus-size models.

Clayton and Ridgway noted these findings suggest a measurable psychological benefit when media present more realistic or diverse body types instead of consistently promoting the traditional thin ideal. Ridgway summarized the implications succinctly: “We found overwhelmingly that there is a clear psychological advantage when the media shows more realistic body types than the traditional thin model.”

Clayton added a practical takeaway for media producers and advertisers: because average and plus-size models drew attention and reduced harmful social comparisons, using these body types could be an effective strategy for campaigns aiming to capture viewer engagement while promoting body positivity.

The study is titled “Is plus size equal? The positive impact of average and plus-size media fashion models on women’s cognitive resource allocation, social comparisons and body satisfaction” and appears in Communication Monographs.