Date of Award

2012

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Harley, Heidi

Keywords

Body Image, Drawing, Eating Disorders

Area of Concentration

Psychology

Abstract

Stunkard's Figure Rating Scale correlates with body image and BMI, but it lacks the necessary subtlety to assess individual body dimensions. Other methods for assessing body image include surveys and various approaches to estimate body measurements. Previous research has suggested that people are less accurate in perceiving their own body dimensions than they are at perceiving others'. Drawing tasks have been useful for studying psychological phenomena and may be a sensitive measure for studying body image. In this study, participants drew themselves and a friend, completed Stunkard's Figure Rating Scale, reported measurements to determine Body Mass Index, and completed a survey on risk of eating disorders. Participants drew the lower halves of their bodies (waist and hips) more accurately than their upper halves (shoulders and chest). No significant differences were found between perceptual accuracy of the drawings of Self and Other. These findings could be due to the homogeneity of the group, to participants' overall low risk of eating disorders, to participants drawing a standardized human figure, or to participants drawing themselves for both drawings.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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