Discussion section

Attitudes towards Cosmetic Surgery This study considered the influence of two main variables on attitudes towards cosmetic surgery. It looked at the influence that age and gender have on individual attitude towards cosmetic surgery. Randomly taking a sample of 60 people; out of which 33 were female and 27 were male, 39 between 18 and 30 years while 21people above 30 years as samples, the experiment applied the acceptance of the cosmetic surgery scale. It measured the age and gender influence on attitudes considering social, intrapersonal and consider variables. The results would allow for a presentation of an integrated model showing individual and personality differences towards acceptance of the cosmetic surgery as Buss and Hawley (2011, p. 17) write.
Discussion
From the results, we get a revelation of the association between attitudes towards acceptances 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 and Sherry, et al., 2007, p. 352). The variables played a role in 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 a number of 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.
With 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 posses 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 actually 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 towards acceptance of cosmetic surgery.
For men, their attitude towards cosmetic surgery was generally negative. The reason for this is that they will mainly consider it if for pragmatic reasons. An example is if one wants to use it for business purposes or further a business career.
The study hypothesis had 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 actually be similar in considering. This is because both genders are conscious of the body surveillance, shame and public self consciousness. These are some of the reasons why there were similarities in the social aspect and consider aspect on the ACSS. Of major importance that would make both men and women, regardless of age was the 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 male and female 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’ attitude 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 have effect on the people’s attitudes towards cosmetic surgery.
The results in this study give gender differences regarding the attitudes towards cosmetic surgery. Future research should also base on other variables as basing 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.
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