Preconscious processing of body image cues. Impact on body percept and concept.

OBJECTIVE

There is considerable evidence that body image is an elastic construct, which can be influenced by environmental and internal factors. The present study used a visual subliminal processing paradigm, with the aim of determining the impact of preconscious processing of verbal cues upon body image (percept and concept).

METHOD

Forty nonclinical women completed measures of body percept and concept before and after being exposed to very rapid presentations (4 ms) of fatness and thinness cues.

RESULTS

The women with relatively unhealthy eating attitudes were influenced by the fatness stimulus, with a worsening of their body percept and concept. In contrast, the women with healthier eating attitudes showed an improvement in their body percept in response to the thinness stimulus.

CONCLUSION

The findings support the centrality of body image schemata in eating psychopathology, although there is a need for replication and extension in other groups.