Body Image Flashcards
Body image
the picture of our own body which we form in our mind, i.e., the way in which the body appears to ourselves
attitudinal
the way one feels about their body
perceptual
the way one sees their own body, an internal picture
Body image: attitudinal
- body related emotions and feelings
- thoughts and beliefs
- evaluation and investment
negative body image
can lead to dramatic attempts by the individual to alter their appearance, concerns self-evaluation and attitudes, often referred to as body disatissfaction and to feelings of unease or distress
Perceptual body image
the picture of our own body that we form in our mind
body image disortion
difference between a person’s actual body size and their judgement about their body, i.e., their size/shape they believe themselves to have
measuring perceptual body image
- metric body part estimation
- participants adjust the distance between moveable indicators to match the perceived width of body parts
positive body image
uniquely associated with well-being, self-care and eating
Dual pathway by Stice and colleagues
- pressure to be thin-deal internalisation predicted increases body dissatisfaction
- body dissatisfaction predicted increased in dieting behaviour and negative affect
Tripartite influence model
- proposes 3 formative influences - peers, family and media
- these 3 transfer body image ideals via thin-ideal internalisation, appearance comparison
social comparison theory
people are driven to gain accurate evaluation of themselves by comparing themselves to others to reduce uncertainty
- putting attributed into a context, define themselves, their worth
upward/downward comparison
women with high body concerns were found to report to engage in upward body comparisons more often than body satisfied women
direct influence of family
- food and activity choices made for or encouraged in children
- direct encouragement to change shape/size
indirect influence of family
- home environment
- acceptance of appearance based teasing
- role modelling
- attitudes to physical activity
peers
- depends on age
- adolescent girls particularly valued the opinions of their peers in judging appearance
positive peer influences
- reduce dieting and purging behaviours
- may protect each other against such extreme behaviours
objectification theory by fredrickson and robers 1977
“society has a tendency to objectify the female body on a much larger scale than the male body; the theory attempts to understand the consequences of being female in such society”
Cash’s cognitive behavioural model
proposes that development of body image perception and attitudes are shaped by historical/developmental influences and proximal influences
proximal influences
current life context and events, via an interplay of cognitive, emotional and behavioural processes
