A re-examination of body image distortion: evidence against a sensory explanation.
OBJECTIVE
This study was designed to assess female bulimic and control subjects' sensitivity to changes in their own and a model's body.


METHODS
A video distortion camera was employed. Each subject (20 bulimics, 20 controls) compared a constant image of her undistorted body with 180 separate images of her body at various distortion levels (-16%, -12%, -8%, -4%, 0%, 4%, 8%, 12%, 16%) using the method of constant stimuli. The procedure was repeated using prerecorded images of a model.


RESULTS
Bulimics and controls were equally adept at detecting increases and decreases in the model's body and at detecting decreases in their own bodies. Bulimics, however, detected increases in their own bodies less well than controls.


CONCLUSIONS
The data provide evidence against a purely sensory/perceptual explanation of body image distortion.
Szymanski
L A
LA
Section of Psychology, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Morgantown 26506-9137, USA.
Seime
R J
RJ
D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention; D001824:Body Constitution; D001828:Body Image; D015992:Body Mass Index; D004193:Discrimination Learning; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D010469:Perceptual Distortion; D010552:Personality Assessment