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Efstathiou M, Delicato LS, Sedda A. Emotional body representations: more pronounced effect of hands at a more explicit level of awareness. Exp Brain Res 2024; 242:1595-1608. [PMID: 38760470 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-024-06839-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2024] [Accepted: 04/16/2024] [Indexed: 05/19/2024]
Abstract
To understand conditions such as body dysmorphic disorder, we need to understand healthy individuals' perceptual, conceptual, and emotional representations of their bodies. Not much is known about the differences in these representations across body districts, for example, hands, feet, and whole-body, despite their differences at sensory and functional levels. To understand this, we developed more implicit and explicit measures of body satisfaction for these body districts. Sixty-seven participants (age M = 30.66, SD = 11.19) completed a series of online Implicit Association Tests (IAT) and a Body Image Satisfaction Visual Analogue Scale (BISVAS; explicit) for each body district (hands/feet/whole body). The results show no differences in the more implicit level of awareness in hands, feet and whole body, while differences are apparent at a more explicit level of awareness, with higher scores for body image satisfaction for the hands than the whole body and marginally significant lower scores for feet than hands. Those findings suggest that visual attention, level of concern attributed to a body district, and disgust drivers are possible factors affecting the experience of attitudinal body image satisfaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Myrto Efstathiou
- Centre for Applied Behavioural Sciences, Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh Campus, Edinburgh, UK.
| | - Louise S Delicato
- Centre for Applied Behavioural Sciences, Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh Campus, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Anna Sedda
- Centre for Applied Behavioural Sciences, Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh Campus, Edinburgh, UK
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Turnbull G, Alexi J, Mann G, Li Y, Engel M, Bayliss DM, Farrell S, Bell J. EXPRESS: The Influence of Three-Dimensional Cues on Body Size Judgements. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2022; 75:2318-2331. [PMID: 35034530 DOI: 10.1177/17470218221076850] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Research has shown that body size judgements are frequently biased, or inaccurate. Critically, judgement biases are further exaggerated for individuals with eating disorders, a finding that has been attributed to difficulties integrating body features into a perceptual whole. However, current understanding of which body features are integrated when judging body size is lacking. In this study, we examine whether individuals integrate three-dimensional (3D) cues to body volume when making body size judgements. Computer-generated body stimuli were presented in a 3D Virtual Reality (VR) environment. Participants (N = 412) were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: in one condition the to-be-judged body was displayed binocularly (containing 3D cues to body volume), in the other, bodies were presented monocularly (2D cues only). Across 150 trials, participants were required to make a body size judgement of a target female body from a third-person point of view using an unmarked visual analogue scale (VAS). It was found that 3D cues significantly influenced body size judgements. Namely, thin 3D bodies were judged smaller, and overweight 3D bodies were judged larger, than their 2D counterpart. Furthermore, to reconcile these effects, we present evidence that the two perceptual biases, regression to the mean and serial dependence, were reduced by the additional 3D feature information. Our findings increase our understanding of how body size is perceptually encoded and creates testable predictions for clinical populations exhibiting integration difficulties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georgia Turnbull
- School of Psychological Science, University of Western Australia (M304), 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley WA 6009, Australia 2720
| | - Joanna Alexi
- School of Psychological Science, University of Western Australia (M304), 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley WA 6009, Australia 2720
| | - Georgina Mann
- School of Psychological Science, University of Western Australia (M304), 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley WA 6009, Australia 2720
| | - Yanqi Li
- School of Psychological Science, University of Western Australia (M304), 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley WA 6009, Australia 2720
| | - Manja Engel
- Utrecht University, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Experimental Psychology/Helmholtz Institute. Heidelberglaan 1, 3584 CS Utrecht, Netherlands 8125
| | - Donna M Bayliss
- School of Psychological Science, University of Western Australia (M304), 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley WA 6009, Australia 2720
| | - Simon Farrell
- School of Psychological Science, University of Western Australia (M304), 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley WA 6009, Australia 2720
| | - Jason Bell
- School of Psychological Science, University of Western Australia (M304), 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley WA 6009, Australia 2720
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Lin L, Flynn M, O'Dell D. Measuring positive and negative body talk in men and women: The development and validation of the Body Talk Scale. Body Image 2021; 37:106-116. [PMID: 33610049 DOI: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2021.01.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2020] [Revised: 01/28/2021] [Accepted: 01/28/2021] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Research suggests that positive and negative body talk are important factors in people's body image, however, the instruments designed to measure body talk are generally designed for use with a specific gender and primarily measure negative body talk. To address the shortcomings in the existing measures, the Body Talk Scale (BTS) was designed to measure both positive and negative body talk in men and women. The current study examines the development and psychometric properties of this new scale in two samples of adults, both including men and women. Study 1 focused on the development and examined the factor structure of the original scale items. Study 2 confirmed the factor structure and examined the concurrent validity, incremental validity, test-retest reliability of the scale, and also gender differences. The results indicated that the BTS is a 14-item scale that contains three subscales (Negative Fat Talk, Negative Muscle Talk, and Positive Body Talk) and demonstrates good concurrent validity, incremental validity, and test-retest reliability. Gender comparisons on all three subscales indicated that men engage in more positive body talk than women. The findings demonstrate that the BTS is a useful measure of positive and negative body talk in both men and women.
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Gutiérrez E, Carrera O. Severe and Enduring Anorexia Nervosa: Enduring Wrong Assumptions? Front Psychiatry 2021; 11:538997. [PMID: 33658948 PMCID: PMC7917110 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.538997] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2020] [Accepted: 12/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
To the extent that severe and lasting anorexia nervosa (SE-AN) is defined in terms of refractoriness to the best treatments available, it is mandatory to scrutinize the proven effectiveness of the treatments offered to patients. The array of so-called current evidence-based treatments for anorexia nervosa (AN) encompasses the entire spectrum of treatments ranging from specialized brand-type treatments to new treatments adapted to the specific characteristics of people suffering from AN. However, after several randomized control trials, parity in efficacy is the characteristic among these treatments. To further complicate the landscape of effective treatments, this "tie score" extends to the treatment originally conceived as control conditions, or treatment as usual conditions. In retrospection, one can understand that treatments considered to be the best treatments available in the past were unaware of their possible iatrogenic effects. Obviously, the same can be said of the theoretical assumptions underpinning such treatments. In either case, if the definition of chronicity mentioned above is applied, it is clear that the responsibility for the chronicity of the disorder says more about the flagrant inefficacy of the treatments and the defective assumptions underpinning them, than the nature of the disorder itself. A historical analysis traces the emergence of the current concept of "typical" AN and Hilde Bruch's contribution to it. It is concluded that today's diagnostic criteria resulting from a long process of acculturation distort rather than capture the essence of the disorder, as well as marginalizing and invalidating patients' perspectives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emilio Gutiérrez
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, College of Psychology, University of Santiago, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
- Venres Clínicos Unit, College of Psychology, University of Santiago, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Olaia Carrera
- Venres Clínicos Unit, College of Psychology, University of Santiago, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
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