title: Body-shape adaptation cannot be explained by adaptation to narrow and wide rectangles.
abstract: Visual adaptation to certain body shapes alters visual perception of subsequently presented pictures of bodies. We investigated whether these effects can be explained by adaptation to low-level visual objects, ie narrow and wide rectangles. Participants (n = 29) adapted to manipulated photographs of their own bodies, depicting them either unrealistically thin or fat. The perceived shapes of their own bodies were subsequently assessed by an interleaved staircase paradigm. A second experiment (n = 29) used the same design to test for adaptation effects evoked by narrow and wide bars. After adapting to a thin picture of own body, participants also judged a thinner than actual body picture to be the most realistic and vice versa, resembling a typical aftereffect. Importantly, this effect could not be replicated by adaptation to narrow and wide bars, demonstrating that the body-shape aftereffect cannot be explained by adaptation to low-level properties. The results support the existence of a perceptual body-shape aftereffect, resulting from a specific adaptation to thin and fat body shapes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurocognitive Psychology, Institute of Psychology, Goethe University, Mertonstrasse 17, 60054 Frankfurt, Germany. hummel@psych.uni-frankfurt.de
authors.forename: Dennis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hummel
authors.forename: Ralph
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Grabhorn
authors.forename: Harald M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Mohr
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001828:Body Image / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005366:Figural Aftereffect / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment; D008297:Male; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult