Preconscious processing of body image cues. Impact on body percept and concept.

Full Abstract

OBJECTIVE:
There is considerable evidence that body image is an elastic construct, which can be influenced by environmental and internal factors. The present study used a visual subliminal processing paradigm, with the aim of determining the impact of preconscious processing of verbal cues upon body image (percept and concept).

METHOD:
Forty nonclinical women completed measures of body percept and concept before and after being exposed to very rapid presentations (4 ms) of fatness and thinness cues.

RESULTS:
The women with relatively unhealthy eating attitudes were influenced by the fatness stimulus, with a worsening of their body percept and concept. In contrast, the women with healthier eating attitudes showed an improvement in their body percept in response to the thinness stimulus.

CONCLUSION:
The findings support the centrality of body image schemata in eating psychopathology, although there is a need for replication and extension in other groups.Copyright 2002 Elsevier Science Inc.

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Author information

Author/s: Waller, Glenn (G); Barnes, Juliette (J);

Affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, St George's Hospital Medical School, University of London, Cranmer Terrace, London SW17 0RE, UK. g.waller(-atsign-)sghms.ac.uk

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Journal of psychosomatic research (J Psychosom Res), published in England. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2002-Nov; vol 53 (issue 5) : pp 1037-41

Dates: Created 2002/11/26; Completed 2003/04/01; Revised 2004/11/17;

PMID: 12445593, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

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