INFLUENCE OF PRECONCEPTION ON BODY-IMAGE

The purpose of this study was to establish whether preconceived body i mages influence quantitative perceptions of body shape. 59 healthy fem ale subjects were subdivided into four groups by amount of activity an d body mass index. The body shape of the same person, dressed differen tly to appear like a model, a student, and a cook, was classified by r eference to an adiposity scale based on line drawings. A significant d ifference was shown between the representations of the types of occupa tion, with the model viewed consistently as the slimmest and the cook as the fattest. The obese women classified all three occupational grou ps as slimmer than the nonobese, and the active groups as slimmer than the inactive. The implications of this work relate to a better unders tanding of body-image distortion, to treatment for eating disorders, a nd a recognition that people retain preconceived perceptions developed on the basis of experience.