BODY IMAGE

GROUP 4 – PHYSICAL SELF

BODY IMAGE
• Santrock stated that “adolescents become preoccupied with their
bodies and develop images of what their bodies are like”
• BODY IMAGE – the way one sees himself/herself or the way he/she
imagines how he/she looks.
• Young adolescents usually experience an imaginary audience where
the individual imagines and believes that people are actively listening
to or watching him/her.
• SPOTLIGHT EFFECT – the belief that others are paying attention
to the person’s appearance and behavior than they really are.
FA C T O R S T H AT
AFFECT
PERCEPTION OF
PHYSICAL SELF
PERSONAL FACTORS
• INTROSPECTION AND SELF-REFLECTION – process by which
one observes and examines one’s internal state after behaving in a
certain way
• SELF-PERCEPTION THEORY – explains that people can infer their
inner states by observing their own behavior
• SELF-CONCEPT – a cognitive representation of self-knowledge
which includes the sum total of all beliefs that people have about
themselves
• PERSONAL IDENTITY – the concept a person has about himself
that develops over the years
SOCIAL FACTORS
• ATTACHMENT PROCESS AND SOCIAL APPRAISAL – people
learn about their value and lovability when they experience how
their mothers/caregivers care for them and respond to their needs

• MAINTAINING, REGULATING, AND EXPANDING THE SELF IN

INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS – sense of self is continuously
shaped through ongoing interaction with others

• THE LOOKING-GLASS SELF THEORY – the self-image is shaped

and reflected from the social world
SOCIAL FACTORS
• SOCIAL COMPARISON – process of comparing oneself with
others in order to evaluate one’s own abilities and opinions
– two types of social comparison:
• Upward – compares himself to others who are better than him
• Downward – compares himself to someone who’s in a worse situation
than he is when he’s feeling so low

• SOCIAL IDENTITY THEORY (COLLECTIVE IDENTITY) – how

people achieve understanding about themselves by being a member
of their group