2014 Volume 30 Issue 1 Pages 45-56
Body image disturbance and body image discrepancy considered as factors of body dissatisfaction and a drive for thinness were investigated. Participants were presented with new figural stimuli (contour drawings/silhouettes) ranging from thin to heavy developed based on real and objective data—human body size measurements and 3-D image data. Results indicated that female participants overestimated their body size, though the degree of overestimation is not particularly large. It is suggested that competition with members of the same sex generates body dissatisfaction and a drive for thinness. Furthermore, participants rated ideal body size thinner than their perceived body size. It was found that the differences between perceived body size and ideal body size relate to body dissatisfaction and a drive for thinness.
