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.

Method: Forty-two university-attending women (21 high body-dissatisfied (HBD) and 21 low body-dissatisfied (LBD)), were confronted with their own body during four 5-min trials in which participants were instructed to focus their attention on different parts of their body under standardized conditions. Emotional and cognitive measures were taken after each exposure trial. Heart rate (HR) and skin conductance (SC) were recorded continuously.

Results: HBD women experienced more negative emotions and cognitions following body exposure compared to LBD women but, conversely, showed a reduced physiological reaction in terms of HR and SC. In both groups greater physiological responses were observed looking at the thighs, buttocks, and abdomen. Extent of negative emotions and cognitions were positively associated with HR and/or SC in LBD women but no associations were observed in HBD women.

Conclusion: The dissociation between self-report and psychophysiological measures in HBD women supports the existence of a passive-behavioral inhibited coping style in HBD women and suggests deficiencies in the generation of physiological correlates of emotion related to body dissatisfaction.