title: Facial discrimination in body dysmorphic, obsessive-compulsive and social anxiety disorders.
abstract: Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is characterized by preoccupation with perceived flaws in one's own appearance. Several risk factors such as aesthetic perceptual sensitivity have been proposed to explain BDD's unique symptomatology. Although research on facial discrimination is limited so far, the few existing studies have produced mixed results. Thus, the purpose of this study was to further examine facial discrimination in BDD. We administered a facial discrimination paradigm, which allows to assess the ability to identify slight to strong facial changes (e.g., hair loss, acne) when presented with an original (unmodified) facial image, relative to a changed (modified) facial image. The experiment was administered in individuals with BDD, social anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and mentally healthy controls (32 per group, respectively). Overall, groups did not differ with respect to their ability to correctly identify facial aberrations when presented with other people's faces. Our findings do not support the hypothesis of enhanced general aesthetic perceptual sensitivity in individuals with (vs. without) BDD.
authors.affiliation: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Clinical Psychology, Germany; Leipzig University Medical Center, Integrated Research and Treatment Center AdiposityDiseases, Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, Germany.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hübner
authors.affiliation: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Clinical Psychology, Germany.
authors.forename: Wiebke
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wiesendahl
authors.affiliation: Philipps-University Marburg, Psychology and Psychotherapy, Germany.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kleinstäuber
authors.affiliation: University of Frankfurt, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Germany.
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Stangier
authors.affiliation: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Clinical Psychology, Germany.
authors.forename: Norbert
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kathmann
authors.affiliation: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Clinical Psychology, Germany; Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Germany. Electronic address: ulrike.buhlmann@wwu.de.
authors.forename: Ulrike
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Buhlmann
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D057215:Body Dysmorphic Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D005145:Face; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Aesthetic perceptual sensitivity; Aestheticality; Body dysmorphic disorder; Facial discrimination; Facial perception; Obsessive-compulsive disorder; Social anxiety disorder