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Looking at the figures: Visual adaptation as a mechanism for body-size and -shape misperception
Citation
Brooks, KR and Mond, JM and Mitchison, D and Stevenson, RJ and Challinor, KL and Stephen, ID, Looking at the figures: Visual adaptation as a mechanism for body-size and -shape misperception, Perspectives on Psychological Science, 15, (1) pp. 133-149. ISSN 1745-6916 (2020) [Refereed Article]
Copyright Statement
Copyright 2019 The Authors
DOI: doi:10.1177/1745691619869331
Abstract
Many individuals experience body-size and -shape misperception (BSSM). Body-size overestimation is associated
with body dissatisfaction, anxiety, depression, and the development of eating disorders in individuals who desire
to be thinner. Similar symptoms have been noted for those who underestimate their muscularity. Conversely, individuals
with high body mass indices (BMI) who underestimate their adiposity may not recognize the risks of or seek help for
obesity-related medical issues. Although social scientists have examined whether media representations of idealized
bodies contribute to the overestimation of fat or underestimation of muscle, other scientists suggest that increases in the
prevalence of obesity could explain body-fat underestimation as a form of renormalization. However, these disparate
approaches have not advanced our understanding of the perceptual underpinnings of BSSM. Recently, a new unifying
account of BSSM has emerged that is based on the long-established phenomenon of visual adaptation, employing
psychophysical measurements of perceived size and shape following exposure to "extreme" body stimuli. By inducing
BSSM in the laboratory as an aftereffect, this technique is rapidly advancing our understanding of the underlying
mental representation of human bodies. This nascent approach provides insight into real-world BSSM and may inform
the development of therapeutic and public-health interventions designed to address such perceptual errors.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | body image, adaptation, distortion, vision, eating disorders, body dysmorphia, misperception |
| Research Division: | Psychology |
| Research Group: | Cognitive and computational psychology |
| Research Field: | Sensory processes, perception and performance |
| Objective Division: | Health |
| Objective Group: | Public health (excl. specific population health) |
| Objective Field: | Mental health |
| UTAS Author: | Mond, JM (Dr Jon Mond) |
| ID Code: | 139512 |
| Year Published: | 2020 |
| Web of Science® Times Cited: | 7 |
| Deposited By: | UTAS Centre for Rural Health |
| Deposited On: | 2020-06-18 |
| Last Modified: | 2020-08-17 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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