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Date of Award

Spring 2017

First Advisor

Katelyn Kurkul

Abstract

Body image and one’s perception of another’s body image is a substantial topic of concern amongst adolescents. This study that I conducted for my Honors contract focused on the ranks of intelligence and attractiveness based on a two second reaction time to various photos. In this study, there were eight categories. There were thirty-two photos that consisted of images that were in original form and then paired with their photoshopped version of the same image. Images included a balanced amount of male to female photos as well as a balanced amount of full body shots to headshot photos. I visited three of Professor Katelyn Kurkul’s Research/Applied Statistics in HD courses and conducted a small and convenient study. I presented a 5-10-minute slideshow to all three classes and the order of the photos were different for all three groups. Ultimately, through this study and analysis I wanted to be able to see if there was an association between a type of photo, whether it was a headshot or a full body shot or an original photo or a photoshopped photo, based on the ratings of intelligence and the ratings of attractiveness. At the start of this process I had successfully submitted an Exempt IRB Application into Merrimack College’s IRB services.

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