ABSTRACT
In addition to our perception of our body, including evaluation of our size, there is an emotional or attitudinal aspect to our image of, or evaluation of, our bodies, i.e. the way we feel about our body. This is the aspect on which we usually focus when we talk about negative body image in people with eating disorders, using the terms body dissatisfaction or disparagement. Slade (1988) describes the perceptual and the attitudinal aspects in his de®nition:
More recent psychologists have added a third component ± our behaviour. Hence, Rosen (1995: 369) de®nes body image as
Thomas Cash (Cash and Deagle 1997; Cash and Pruzinsky 2002) distinguishes an evaluative component and investment component (the importance or salience of one's appearance). Evaluation refers to the satisfaction or dissatisfaction with one's body and beliefs about one's appearance. Investment refers to the importance placed by the person on their appearance.
