Social Psychology Research: Male Body Image And Muscularity

Social Psychology Research The study of how one thinks, feels, and behaves in a social context is known as social psychology (Kassin, Fein, & Markus, 2013). Basic research, aimed to improve understanding human behavior by testing a specific hypothesis from a certain theory, and applied research, aimed to increase comprehension of naturally occurring events and add to the solution of social problems, are closely tied in social psychology (Kassin, Fein, & Markus, 2013). A common style of research is a survey. Two examples of surveys that one can participate with online are Male Body Image and Muscularity and Masculinity, Identity, and Mental Health.
Male Body Image and Muscularity Conducted by Teodora Pavlovic, Lisa Mask, Ph.D., and Fushia …show more content…
Ronald F. Levant at the University of Akron and Dr. Ryon McDermott at the University of South Alabama, the study Masculinity, Identity, and Mental Health assess the validity of the Male Role Norms Inventory-Short Form (MRNI-SF), a measure of masculinity, through its relationship to measures of reference group identity and mental health/substance use (The University of Akron, 2015). It is theorized in the Reference Group Identity Theory that men are dependent on a reference group for their gender role self-concept, and therefore their relationships with other men and their level of identity development are interdependent (The University of Akron, 2015). This survey consists of a demographic questionnaire and five additional questionnaires that come to a total of 96 questions that take approximately fifteen to twenty minutes to complete. A potential risk includes discomfort because some questions pertain to mental health issues, but the benefits of partaking in the survey is assisting the researcher’s understanding of the factors that influence men’s mental health. The first general questions ask about age, gender, relationship status, sexual orientation, education, finances, religious affiliation, and past drug and alcohol use. The second questionnaire asks about mental health over the last two weeks. The next questionnaire gives statements concerning personal beliefs and askes participants to rate it from one (strongly disagree) to seven (strongly agree). The following questionnaire asks about more mental problems that one has experienced in the last two weeks. The final questionnaire gives statements about how the participant may feel about oneself, other males, and one’s relationship with other males and asks participants to rate it from one (strongly disagree) to seven (strongly