D.3 Case 3

Reality TV and cosmetic surgery.

How much influence does the media have on one’s decision to undergo cosmetic surgery? This was the question of interest in Body Image: An International Journal of Research (March 2010). In the study, 170 college students answered questions about their impressions of reality TV shows featuring cosmetic surgery. The five variables analyzed in the study were measured as follows:

• DESIRE — scale ranging from 5 to 25, where the higher the value, the greater the interest in having cosmetic surgery
• GENDER — 1 if male, 0 if female
• SELFESTM — scale ranging from 4 to 40, where the higher the value, the greater the level of self-esteem
• BODYSAT — scale ranging from 1 to 9, where the higher the value, the greater the satisfaction with one’s own body
• IMPREAL — scale ranging from 1 to 7, where the higher the value, the more one believes reality television shows featuring cosmetic surgery are realistic

The data for the study (simulated based on statistics reported in the journal article) are saved in the file. Selected observations are listed in the accompanying table. Multiple regression was used to model desire to have cosmetic surgery (\(y\)) as a function of gender (\(x_1\)), self-esteem (\(x_2\)), body satisfaction (\(x_3\)), and impression of reality TV (\(x_4\)).