Anorexia Contemporary Study

Question 1

Guardia et al. (2012)

APFC

Answer 1

A - Testing whether AN patients overestimate body size in action, and wether this overestimation was limited to just their own bodies

P - 25 females w AN & 25 female controls. Underwent psychiatric eval. Body weight measured 6 months before and again at the start. Image of a 2 metre high door projected. Did BSQ & EDI-2 Questionnaires.
2 Conditions done by each group: 1PP - Stood 5.9m away from door and decided whether they could pass through without going sideways, 3PP - Said whether experimenter could pass through door

F - AN had higher medians on BSQ & EDI-2. Percieved passability ratios significantly higher for AN group in 1PP, higher but not significant in 3PP

C - Supports that AN think body is bigger than it really is, but this doesn’t extend to others bodies.

Question 2

Guardia et al. (2012)

eval.

Answer 2

Strength
Supported by other studies e.g. Case (2012). AN people less affected by size-weight illusion, suggesting info from multiple senses is disturbed in AN

Weaknesses
LACKS ECOLOGICAL VALIDITY. nOT ACTUALLY GOING THROUGH DOOR

Confounding variable. Experimenter in 3PP Condition is closer in weight and size to control, so easier for them to imagine them going through the door