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Body Image

Body Image. Background. Carron – Athletes have certain beliefs, attitudes and expectations about their own body shapes in relation to broader social influences.

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Body Image

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  1. Body Image

  2. Background Carron – Athletes have certain beliefs, attitudes and expectations about their own body shapes in relation to broader social influences. Hart – people who do not have a perceived physique appropriate to the exercise situation may be less motivated. It can also cause anxiety

  3. Key words Body image belief and perceptions about ones own physical appearance Social physique anxiety a person’s anxiety over potential evaluations of other people about their physique Expectancy effects a bias in participants who expect a particular outcome from the study

  4. Hart et al. (1989) – Measurement of body - image anxiety • Aim - To develop a means of measuring social physique anxiety and to test whether those who score highly on this scale often develop feelings of anxiety about their body image when placed in a fitness evaluation conducted by other people. • Sample - 56 female undergraduates. Half scored in the top third of the social physique anxiety scale (SPAS) and the other half in the bottom third. Mean age - 18.4 years. • Procedure – Participants completed a fitness evaluation and then stress levels were tested using a questionnaire. The groups were compared. Participants were individually tested, weighed and read a standardised instruction. They were told the tests were concerning body fat and muscular tone. Stress was tested on an 11-point likert scale and women chose a body type from 8 body forms.

  5. Results - Women in high social physique anxiety (SPA) scored higher stress scores, felt less comfortable and had more negative thoughts about body image than the other group. Women in the high SPA group wieghed more, were taller and had a higher body fat percentage • Conclusions - The findings support the link between evaluation by other people and anxiety about body image and the most anxious women were at least partially justified in their concerns according to the objective measure of weight height and body fat.

  6. Strengths • Reliability – High in reliability as Hart used a standardised test social physique anxiety scale (questionnaire) and participants were asked to read a standardised instruction. The research can easily be repeated and produce consistent results. • Validity – good face validity. As it is expected that people who scored higher on the SPAS would show more stress. • Scientific - Participants’ weight, height and body fat were measured objectively and quantitative data is gathered from the SPAS, which is easy to analyse and the group can be compared using statistics. • Usefulness - can be used in training and improve sports performance. It is also useful when treating anxiety caused by body image.

  7. Weaknesses • Gynocentric – All female sample. Men may have reacted differently related to body image. • Quantitative data - No Qualitative data is gathered. Thoghts feelings etc about why they felt stressed or uncomfortable were not known. • Deterministic - The only reason the participants felt uncomfortable or stressed was because of their physique and issues with body image. It could have been because they lack ability in the physical activity. • Reductionist – Claims that feelings of stress etc. are only due to social factors and not cognitive or biological.

  8. Real life Application Top British sports women say body image insecurities rife in sport   80% of the athletes stating that they feel pressure to conform to a certain look and body type.  An overwhelming number feel these issues are not just confined to sport, with 97% claiming the problem stretches to women in wider society. 89% say that they empathise with the feelings of insecurity expressed by the former swimmer and Olympic champion Rebecca Adlington.  Victoria Pendleton said “I kind of accept it as part of being a female athlete, and it’s something that I regard as part of my job. It’s a harsh reality that you don’t have to be just talented, physically, you have to also be prepared to change the way you appear.”

  9. Responses by Coaches Sports Coach UK, the organisation responsible for recruiting, retaining and developing British coaches, have responded to the results of BT Sport’s body image survey of elite female athletes in January by announcing they will make changes to their training courses.The survey, conducted in the aftermath of double Olympic swimming champion Rebecca Adlington’s tearful breakdown over her insecurities on ‘I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here’ last year, identified the extent that body image issues are a worrying problem within women’s sport.

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