title: Feeling bad posing as a model: an objective manner of study upward own-body comparisons in body-dissatisfied women.
abstract: Emotional effects of upward body comparisons are suggested to occur automatically. A startle reflex paradigm was used to objectively examine the emotions elicited by viewing a picture of one's own body adopting a model pose or a neutral pose, in 30 women with high body dissatisfaction (HBD) and 33 women with low body dissatisfaction (LBD). In-task emotional responses in perceived valence, arousal and control were assessed. Additionally, post-task positive/negative and body-related beauty feelings were recorded. The results revealed that HBD women, compared with LBD women, showed (i) less pleasure, higher activation and less control whilst viewing their own bodies and (ii) less pleasure, more negative/ugliness feelings and an increased startle response when viewing themselves posing as models. The data showed that their own bodies provoked an immediate negative emotional state in HBD women. However, greater aversive psychophysiological mechanisms were automatically activated only when these women posed as models, suggesting that they made upward own-body comparisons.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Personalidad, Evaluación y Tratamiento Psicológico, Facultad de Psicología, University of Granada, Granada, Spain.
authors.forename: Blanca
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ortega-Roldán
authors.forename: Sonia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Ruiz
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Díaz-Ferrer
authors.forename: M Carmen
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Fernández-Santaella
authors.forename: Jaime
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vila
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001143:Arousal / Q000502:physiology; D001828:Body Image; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D013216:Reflex, Startle / Q000502:physiology*; D012649:Self Concept; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: body dissatisfaction; self-body pictures; startle reflex; upward own-body comparison