I Am “Fatter” Than She Is: Language-Expressible Body-Size Comparisons Bias Judgments of Body Size

This article proposes and tests a comparison-induced distortion theory account of body-size judgments wherein language-expressible body-size comparisons (e.g., “Jane is fatter than Kimberly” or “Kimberly is thinner than Jane”) bias judgments of body sizes. Study 1 found that when actual differences were small, language-expressible comparisons biased body-size judgments away from the sizes with which they were compared even though the distribution of contextual body sizes was held constant. Study 2 found that when actual differences were large language-expressible comparisons biased judgments toward the sizes with which they were compared so that an extremely thin woman was judged larger if she was compared with someone who was much larger than her than if she was compared with someone who was only slightly larger than her. These results demonstrate that research on body-size judgments cannot ignore the effects of language-expressible comparisons.

Simultaneous and sequential comparisons of food quantity and consumption

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The language of magnitude comparison.

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PDF) Body-size stigmatization by preschool girls: In a doll's world, it is good to be Barbie

Simultaneous and sequential comparisons of food quantity and consumption

Simultaneous and sequential comparisons of food quantity and consumption

Who says “larger” and who says “smaller”? Individual differences in the language of comparison, Judgment and Decision Making

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