Attitudes Towards Cosmetic Surgery - Essay Example

The results of the study would allow for a presentation of an integrated model showing individual and personality differences towards acceptance of cosmetic surgery as Buss and Hawley (2011, p. 17) write.

Discussion

From the results, we get a revelation of the association between attitudes toward acceptance of cosmetic surgery and age and gender. This confirms the initial predictions. Other invariants include self-esteem (more to do with age), conformity, and attractiveness from self-assessment (Sarwer & Magee, 2006, p. 32 Sherry, et al., 2007, p. 352). The variables played a role in the explanation of the ACSS variance factors (social, consider, and intrapersonal). With this, we can say that the hypothesis is right as the results support it. This method was immensely helpful as it covered both qualitative and quantitative information.

It is necessary to note that this study may have several limitations, bearing in mind that it involved sampling. Gosling, et al. (2003, p.504) wrote that generalization limits the rest of the population since it took into account only one case in the study.
The results, it implies that most people who prefer cosmetic surgery are women and youths. This means that their attitude towards cosmetic surgery is positive, while that of men and the old is negative and this reveals that everyone possesses individual differences and preferences as written by Premuzic, Stumm, and Furnham (2011, p. 17).

The results also revealed that more women had more accepting attitudes towards cosmetic surgery. This meant that gender was a factor that affects attitudes towards cosmetic surgery. In this regard, the study found out that women would consider having cosmetic surgery while men would mainly accept it for social reasons (Perry, 2007, P. 67). The study concluded that women view cosmetic surgery as something normal since it keeps them beautiful and makes them look young. According to Sarwer and Magee (2006, p. 19), women specifically consider remaining attractive. This is the reason why gender dominated as a determinant of the attitudes toward acceptance of cosmetic surgery.

For men, their attitude toward cosmetic surgery was generally negative. The reason for this is that they will mainly consider it for pragmatic reasons. An example is if one wants to use it for business purposes or further a business career.

The study hypothesis expected men and women to have similar preferences using the social factor (Sherry et al.2007, p. 79). It came out clear after the study that they would be similar in consideration. This is because both genders are conscious of body surveillance, shame, and public self-consciousness. These are some of the reasons why there were similarities in the social aspect and consider aspect of the ACSS. Of major importance that would make both men and women, regardless of age was appearance and self-esteem. This led to a conclusion that both social and consider factors of the ACSS scale correlate and generate positive attitudes towards cosmetic surgery in males and females of any age.

In conclusion, the research confirms that there is a positive attitude among women and the youth towards cosmetic surgery. This is because they have attractive concerns coupled with social advantages (Frederick, Lever & Peplau, 2007, p. 63). The research did not consider if there were any side effects, but the people who undertake it did not seem concerned about any.  

To sum up, general similarities in both genders’ attitudes towards acceptance of cosmetic surgery reveal that they are both affected by social and cultural standards for prettiness and intrinsic feelings about themselves (Swami et al. 2008, P. 47). These factors affect the people’s attitudes towards cosmetic surgery.

The results of this study give gender differences regarding attitudes toward cosmetic surgery. Future research should also base on other variables as based on this alone may bring issues of egoism and gender domineering in the public. Further, this study limits to generalization since there was sampling and it cannot represent the general opinion of the world.