ABSTRACT
It is impossible to discuss self-perception without some consideration of the perception of one's physical characteristics or judgments about one's own body. This particular self-perception or image of one's body is generally known as body image. However, as Lacey and Birtchnell (1986) point out, “body image is a complex concept, and although the term is widely used, its specific meaning remains unclear” (p. 623). Similarly, McCrea, Summerfield, and Rosen (1982) note that “the concept of body image is applied to a wide range of (phenomena)…. Unfortunately, this breadth of interest has resulted in vague, equivocal definitions of the concept” (p. 225). Thus, any attempt at a truly thorough review of the construct of body image is likely to be more exhausting than exhaustive. Accordingly, this chapter will concentrate on the psychological and social dimensions of body image as they pertain to body shape and size, focusing particularly on overweight and normal weight subjects. (This restriction necessarily excludes many aspects of body image related to appearance, neu-rological issues, the phantom limb phenomenon, dysmorphophobia, psychotic disturbances of bodily perception, or physical deformities. See Lacey & Birtchnell, 1986, for a review.) Our working definition of body image is as one's self-perception of appearance, comprised of one's own perceptual experience and one's subjective response based on the reactions of others. Body image thus defined may be separated into two distinct components, perception per se, and one's evaluation of what one perceives.
