Body dissatisfaction and mirror exposure: evidence for a dissociation between self-report and physiological responses in highly body-dissatisfied women.

Background: Weight and shape concerns are widespread in the general population. Mirror exposure has been used to reduce body dissatisfaction but little is known about the mechanisms which underlie this therapeutic technique. The present study examined emotional, cognitive, and psychophysiological responses, in women with high and low levels of body dissatisfaction, exposed to their own bodies in a mirror.