Am I Beautiful? Media, Women's Psychology, and Decision-Making towards Cosmetic Surgery

Abstract

Evidence revealed that cosmetic surgery has been a flourishing and highly demanding medical phenomenon in recent years. Social media and individual psychological characteristics were investigated as significant factors affecting individuals' attitudes toward cosmetic surgery. To expand this issue, this study examines the relationship between social media, perceived self-facial image, and attitudes towards cosmetic surgery, simultaneously investigating the moderating role of self-objectification and mental imagery on the hypothesized relationships.  To test the hypotheses, empirical data were collected using a judgmental sampling technique from 304 females aged 20-40 in the beauty clinics in Tehran, Iran, and were analyzed in structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The results demonstrated a significant relationship between appearance-related social media preoccupation, perceived self-facial image, and attitudes towards cosmetic surgery. The indices highlighted the strong influence of mental imagery and self-objectification sequentially. The outcomes of this study, both theoretically and empirically, contribute to the literature of psychology, beauty/cosmetics, and marketing, and will also serve as a valuable guide for consulting in surgical procedures.