Psychological characteristics of the physical image of myself. Peculiarities of the image of the physical “I” in the minds of teenage girls with piercings and tattoos. Theoretical analysis of the structural components of the image of the physical self: cognitive, affective, behavioral
Send your good work in the knowledge base is simple. Use the form below
Students, graduate students, young scientists who use the knowledge base in their studies and work will be very grateful to you.
Posted on http://www.allbest.ru/
Altaisk1st State University,
THE IMAGE OF THE PHYSICAL “SELF” OF BODY MODIFICERS
Belyanova IN. N.
Luzhbina N. A.
Russia,G.Barnaul
The article presents the results of an empirical study of the image of the physical “I” of body modifiers (using the example of an artistic tattoo), and describes the socio-psychological features of the image of the physical “I” of body modifiers.
IN modern world The study of body image in the directions of the socio-psychological approach is quite new, but at the same time an interesting direction for many researchers, where the image of the bodily self is considered as one of the components of the “I” concept (R. Burns, I.S. Kon, A.A. Rean, V.V. Stolin). . Most of the studies that have been carried out in this direction are devoted to general psychological issues of the relationship between the mental and physical in a person, as well as other, narrower aspects of the perception of a person’s own body (physiological characteristics and qualities characteristic of a certain gender). And yet, in our opinion, in many scientific works the problem of perception of the body in connection with its internal psychological characteristics and external influences of society is not sufficiently disclosed.
Most researchers who in one way or another study the problems of self-concept agree that the image of a person’s physical self is one of the most important in the holistic structure of personality (R. Burns, W. James, V.N. Kunitsina, M.O. Mdivani, E. .Erikson). This integral component of the self-concept influences not only the emotional and interpersonal spheres of a person’s life, but also sets the dynamics of the course of objective life processes. Therefore, in our opinion, the insufficient theoretical and methodological study of the features of the image of the physical self and the dynamics of their relationship, as well as the need to analyze the processes of stabilization of the physical self and normalization of the self-concept as a whole, shows the practical significance of their comprehensive study in order to reveal the phenomenon of the body from the socio-psychological sides.
Interest in this topic within the framework of our research is also dictated by the fact that an increasing number of young people are striving to modify their body, trying to make it individual, different, and give it uniqueness through its modification. In this regard, interest arose in various aspects of body modification, especially artistic tattooing, as the most common and accessible way making lasting changes to your external image, the role and significance of psychological factors in its structure. This study is devoted to the peculiarities of ideas about one’s own body among body modifiers (using the example of artistic tattooing).
To correctly describe the empirical research, we operationalize the basic concepts:
The image of the physical “I” (body image) is a unity of perception, attitudes, assessments, ideas associated with bodily appearance and body functions. (E.T. Sokolova) [2].
Body modification (body modification) is a biological and physical change in the human body that disrupts the existing structure of the body through surgical, genetic, plastic, and biological correction.
Tattooing is the process of applying a permanent (lasting) design to the body using the method of local injury skin with the introduction of a coloring pigment into the subcutaneous tissue.
During the study, the following methods were used: questionnaires, psychological testing (questionnaire “Evaluative and meaningful interpretation of external appearance components” by V.A. Labunskaya, E.V. Belugina) and mathematical and statistical data processing (Student’s t-test, factor analysis) with using the program for computer processing of statistical data "SPSS 19.0".
The study involved 124 people aged 21 to 33 years. Of these: 62 respondents have body modification (artistic tattoo). The sample includes 32 women and 30 men. 62 respondents do not have body modifications. The sample includes 33 women and 29 men.
In our work we relied on the age periodization of S.I. Slobodchikov, who classifies the age of 21 - 33 years as the “Individualization” stage. The appropriation and individualization of a social set of values in the context of a person’s personal position form the basis of this stage of development of the individual as a subject of social relations. This age stage is characterized by isolation from the assessments of society, overcoming the limitations of one’s own group affiliations, as a result of which a person becomes responsible for his own individuality, which before that often took shape not of his will and without his knowledge.
The study was carried out in several stages:
The first stage is preliminary (October 2015 - May 2016): study and analysis of sources of domestic and foreign literature on the research problem; definition of the object, subject, formulation of the purpose and objectives of the study, hypotheses; development of an empirical research program, identification and selection of research methods, sampling.
The second stage is research (September - December 2016): testing of research tools; conducting research and computer statistical processing of the results.
The third stage is generalizing (January - May 2017): analysis, generalization and systematization of the results obtained; research design; writing articles, developing psychological recommendations for practicing psychologists on the topic of research.
Research procedure: the subjects were given questionnaires, which they filled out individually, then the questionnaires were collected, the data were calculated, and the results were interpreted and presented in a generalized form.
The next stage of the study was a generalized presentation of the results using the method of “Evaluative and meaningful interpretation of the components of external appearance” by V.A. Labunskaya, obtained in two study groups.
Due to the fact that the methodology is built on the basis of a psychosemantic approach and is a set of bipolar constructs aimed at assessing various parameters of the physical “I”, we carried out a more differentiated and detailed analysis of the block “Aesthetic assessment of one’s external appearance” of this methodology, namely parameters for assessing “face”, “physique”, “appearance”. image bodymodifier behavior appearance
Thus, in the parameter “Evaluation of one’s face,” we obtained significant differences on the scales: “unfeminine/unmasculine-feminine/masculine” (p = 0.221), “attractive-unattractive for the opposite sex” (p = 0.084), “attractive-unattractive” (p=0.164), “expressive-inexpressive” (p=0.187), “sexual-non-sexual” (p=0.071), which means that body modifiers perceive their face as more feminine (masculine), attractive in general and to the opposite sex in particular, expressive and sexual (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Facial assessment in two groups of subjects"
Obtaining a qualitative, reliable assessment of the differences in the two research groups using the Student’s t-test showed that in terms of the parameter of assessing one’s physique, we obtained significant differences on the scales: “unfeminine/unmasculine-feminine/masculine” (p = 0.062), “attractive-unattractive for the opposite sex" (p=0.071), "attractive-unattractive" (p=0.347), "ugly-beautiful" (p=0.184), "unhealthy-healthy" (p=0.074). Based on these results, we can conclude that body modifiers evaluate their physique as more feminine/masculine, attractive in general and to the opposite sex, beautiful and healthy, and have higher scores on these parameters than people without body modifications (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Assessment of physique in two groups of subjects"
In general, body modifiers rate their appearance as significantly more feminine/masculine, attractive in general and to the opposite sex, beautiful and attractive than people without body modifications.
For the assessment parameter “Appearance” (hairstyle, jewelry, clothes), we obtained significant differences on the scales: “unfeminine/unmasculine-feminine/masculine” (p=0.299), “attractive-unattractive” (p=0.213),) , “pleasant-unpleasant” (p=0.344), “attractive-unattractive for the opposite sex” (p=0.264), “beautiful-ugly” (p=0.113),), “repulsive-attractive” (p =0.194) (Figure 3).
Figure 3. Assessment of appearance in two groups of subjects"
There were significant differences in the parameter “Expressiveness of behavior”: “inharmonious-harmonious” (p=0.119), “artificial-natural” (p=0.1), “unfeminine/unmasculine-feminine/masculine” (p=0.071), “ inexpressive-expressive” (p=0.065). In general, we can conclude that body modifiers evaluate the expressiveness of their behavior as more harmonious, natural, feminine/masculine and expressive (Figure 4).
Fig. 4 “Assessment of the expressiveness of behavior in two groups of subjects”
Analysis of all blocks of the methodology as a whole showed the following results: in the parameter “Aesthetic assessment of one’s external appearance”, significant differences were identified in the following parameters: “Face assessment” (p = 0.146), “Body assessment” (p = 0.167), “Appearance assessment” (p=0.282) and “Behavioral Assessment” (p=0.099) (Figure 5).
Figure 5. Aesthetic assessment of one’s appearance in two groups of subjects"
As a result of the conducted research, the following conclusion can be drawn: body modifiers undoubtedly rate their appearance more highly according to such criteria as “femininity/masculinity”, “attractiveness to the opposite sex”, consider the design of their appearance more beautiful and attractive, and characterize expressive behavior as more harmonious , feminine/masculine and natural.
Based on the experimental data presented in the work of V.A. Labunskaya, such differences can be explained by the fact that body modifiers have a somewhat inflated self-esteem of their appearance. Thus, we can conclude that the presence of body modifications (artistic tattoos) generally contributes to a high degree of satisfaction with appearance, but at the same time we can talk about a somewhat inflated self-esteem of the subjects.
Listliterature
1. Beskova D.A., Tkhostov A.Sh. Corporality as a spatial structure // Interdisciplinary problems of the psychology of corporeality./ Ed.-comp. V.P. Zinchenko, T.S. Levi. M. 2004. pp. 133-148.
2. Dorozhevets, A.N., Sokolova E.T. Study of the image of the physical “I”: some results and reflections / A.N. Dorozhevets, E.T. Sokolova //Human corporeality: interdisciplinary research. M.: Infan, 1991. 105 p.
3. Labunskaya V.A. The external “I” of a person or about non-verbal behavior as an individual-personal phenomenon / Individuality in the modern world. Proceedings of the international conference. Smolensk, 1995
4. Lavrova O.V. The concept of physicality in integrative psychotherapy / Journal of a Practical Psychologist, 2006.
5. Luzhbina N.A., Sheveleva I.V. Gender characteristics of the image of the physical self of middle-aged women // Collection scientific articles international conference “Lomonosov readings in Altai: fundamental problems of science and education”, Barnaul, October 20-24, 2015. Barnaul: Alt Publishing House. Univ., 2015. P. 1948-1953.
6. Slobodchikov V.I.: Development of subjective reality in ontogenesis: Tutorial/V.I.Slobodchikov, E.I.Isaev. M, PSTGU Publishing House, 2013, 400 pp. (Series “Fundamentals of Psychological Anthropology”, book two).
Posted on Allbest.ru
...Similar documents
Image and consciousness. Images of a disabled person in people’s minds, features of women’s perception of disability. The structure and content of the image of a disabled person. Methods for studying the image of a disabled person in the minds of women. Conducting a study of the image of a disabled person using the SOC(I) method.
course work, added 10/28/2008
The place of the “Image-I” in the structure of personality and individuality. Dialogical relations between “image-I” and “image of the world”. Fairy tales and fairy tale heroes and their place in children's subculture. Carrying out an analysis of the results of the study of “self-image” at different age stages.
dissertation, added 03/15/2015
A person's reaction to physical injury. Research of self-concept in domestic and foreign literature. Research results and discussion. Average values of situational and personal anxiety in persons who received severe physical injuries.
course work, added 12/28/2011
The influence of the appearance and speech of a service sector specialist on consumption. The appearance of a service worker as a signal of his competence. Informing the consumer about the service using speech signals. Correspondence appearance and clothing for the type of activity.
test, added 06/25/2010
Study of age-related characteristics of suicidal behavior. Typology and causes of suicide in adolescence. Empirical study of social psychological characteristics youth suicides. Evaluation of the effectiveness of the correction program.
thesis, added 06/10/2015
Research and interpretation of the concept of “image of the world” in psychology. Comparative analysis psychological characteristics of the image of the world among young people and people of retirement age according to vital signs, personal characteristics, functional mechanisms.
thesis, added 08/07/2010
Research on the psychological characteristics of patients with chronic somatic diseases. Characteristics of the concept and levels of personality adaptation to such diseases. Study of the motivational-need and emotional sphere of the subjects’ personality.
thesis, added 10/14/2010
The concept of image in psychology. Body awareness and neurological disorders. Preliminary remarks about the relationship between the physical and mental, the differentiation of body and soul. The relationship between one's own self and body image among Belarusian women.
course work, added 06/07/2010
Features of the self-concept at the youthful stage of development. Psychodiagnostic study of social-role and individual qualities of high school students (boys and girls) of secondary school No. 46. Comparative analysis of self-image in groups with different achievement motivation.
course work, added 04/28/2011
Studying characteristic features communication between subjects with feminine and androgynous gender identities. Study of the phenomenon of interpersonal communication. Conducting an empirical study on groups of students about the role of empathy in mutual understanding between people.
MDIVANI Marina Otarovna
RESEARCH OF THE STRUCTURE OF THE IMAGE OF THE PHYSICAL “I” OF SCHOOLCHILDREN
GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF WORKRelevance. School physical education, being essentially the initial stage of sports training, borrows methods and a system of indicators of its effectiveness from sports. Such indicators are criteria external to the subject: points, seconds, goals, etc., but the subject himself, his body does not become an object physical education At school. The modern humanization of education, concentrating the attention of researchers and practical teachers on the personality of the child, the herd, has motivated the interest of psychologists in the process of physical education of children and has required a new ideology of school physical education. This ideology is based on health and a healthy lifestyle. Since a healthy lifestyle is not given to urban children initially, but is associated with personal choice, the main psychological mechanism adequate to this level of life activity is self-awareness, and it becomes necessary to build a new theory and methodology for research in the field of psychology of physical education, in particular, considering such education as self-awareness , as the physical "I".
Hypothesis. The physical “I” of a subject is a complex biosocial complex that is formed on the basis of various sources. Firstly, this is the individual experience that the subject has acquired as a result of bodily functioning as a physical object, secondly, these are assessments of the social environment perceived by him in the process of communication, and thirdly, these are cultural norms, stereotypes and standards of physical development , assimilated in the system of relations between the subject and society. According to these fundamental sources, we distinguish three structural components in the idea of the physical “I”:
I-physical functional (this is the image that develops in the context of the functioning of the body as a physical object and is based, as a rule, on biological feedback);
I-physical social (this is the image that develops in the context of assessments of the social environment and is an idea of what the subject looks like in the eyes of other people);
The physical ideal self (this is the image that develops in the context of the assimilation of cultural stereotypes and group norms and is the subject’s idea of what one should be).
It should be noted that such a division is conditional in the sense that the real physical “I” is a syncretic image where all the indicated structural components are present. However, it can be assumed that everyone structural component still has some independent life. First, the components themselves may change differently with age. Secondly, their ratio may vary depending on age and gender. Thirdly, they can be differently associated with personality and communication characteristics, which play a significant role in the formation of the self-image.
The purpose of the work was a study of the age-related dynamics of the structure of the image of the physical “I” and the dependence of the components of this structure on the individual psychological and communicative characteristics of the individual.
In accordance with the goal and to confirm the hypothesis expressed, the following solutions were solved in the work: tasks:
1. Develop methods for diagnosing the components of the structure of the image of the physical self.
2. Investigate changes in the components of the structure of the image of the physical self with age.
3. Investigate the relationship between the components of the structure of the image of the physical self with the individual psychological characteristics of the individual and its place in the communicative structure of the group.
As object of study The following reflexive aspects of the physical self appeared: the idea of one’s coordination (dexterity) and the idea of one’s size (height and thickness) - among schoolchildren of the 1st and 6th grades of comprehensive Moscow schools.
Basic provisions submitted for defense:
1. The identification of three structural components in the image of the physical self is theoretically justified.
2. The components of the structure of the image of the physical self have different dynamics in ontogenesis.
3. The components of the structure of the image of the physical self of adolescents are differently related to their communicative and individual psychological characteristics.
4. Ideas about coordination and size have different structures depending on gender.
Scientific novelty is determined by the absence in modern pedagogy and psychology of physical education of approaches focused on the subject of activity. The work proposes a variant of this approach, in which the subject of physical education becomes one of the aspects of self-awareness - the image of the physical “I”. The three-component model of the structure of the physical self proposed in the work makes a certain contribution to the theory of self-consciousness. Specially created methods for diagnosing structural components are original developments, since this work was the first to set the task of assessing each component separately. The new data obtained on the dynamics of the structure of the image of the physical “I” in ontogenesis and its dependence on individual psychological and communicative characteristics contribute to the body of knowledge about human self-awareness.
Practical significance. The results obtained during the research process allow, firstly:
To formulate fundamental principles for constructing physical education programs at school, psychologically oriented towards age-related characteristics of the formation of the image of the physical “I”;
and secondly:
Approbation of work: The main theoretical and practical results of the study were discussed at the final scientific session of the Research Institute of General and Pedagogical Psychology of the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of the USSR (1990), in the laboratory of the psychology of physical education of schoolchildren (1988,1989,1990), at the Soviet-American seminar of sports psychologists, organized by the Moscow department Society of Sports Psychologists (1990) and reported at the conference on applied psychology in Kazan (1990).
Structure and scope of the dissertation. The dissertation consists of an introduction, three chapters, a conclusion, a bibliography and two appendices. The work is presented on 98 pages, contains 6 figures and 12 tables. The list of references includes 106 sources, 44 of them in foreign languages.
MAIN CONTENT OF THE WORKINTRODUCTION the relevance of the research topic is shown, a new approach to school physical culture, which aims to form healthy image life and based on the development of self-awareness. The introduction articulates the need to build a new theory and research methodology in the field of psychology of physical education, including consideration of the image of the physical self.
FIRST CHAPTER - “The image of the physical self as a product of self-consciousness” represents the theoretical part of the work. In studies of self-awareness that incorporate the physical self into the theoretical framework, there are two types of relationships between the physical self and the general self-concept. The first type of relationship, distinguished in the so-called “functional” schemes, presupposes the existence of many particular aspects of self-awareness, among which is the physical self (I am spiritual, I am social, I am physical, etc.) (Burns R., 1986). The second type of relationship, existing in the so-called “genetic” schemes, presupposes the existence of a physical self in the early stages of ontogenesis, as a prerequisite and basis for the formation of self-awareness (Dickstein E., 1977; Ericson E., 1967; Stolin V.V., 1983). As we grow older and socialize, the physical self loses its importance and fades into the background. However, the physical self is the same personal formation as the spiritual self, social self and any other. The idea that the physical self that exists in the early stages of ontogenesis develops into something else as socialization progresses, and instead organic sensations and well-being remain is obviously incorrect. It is impossible to imagine some kind of continuum where the physical Self is at one end and the spiritual Self is at the other. The physical self is located at both ends of the continuum, that is, it has an independent path of development in ontogenesis.
Researchers of the physical self have attempted to systematize the broad class of phenomena that fall under the definition of bodily experience in two ways. Some built “vertical” schemes, expressed in level or genetic models (Fisher S., Cleveland S., 1958; Shontz F.C., 1959). Others worked on a “horizontal” plane, trying to break down the many aspects of the manifestation of the bodily self into different groups.
In explicit form, two oppositions can be distinguished that guided the theoretical thought of researchers of the image of the physical self: “internal - external” and “whole - part”. Two large groups of studies fall within the framework of the opposition “internal - external”: studies of appearance and studies of body boundaries. Both Soviet and foreign researchers consider the body as a bearer of certain social meanings, values, etc. (Bodalev A.A., 1965)
Many researchers focus on emotionally to your appearance, and the value various parts and organs of the body turned out to be different for healthy and sick, men and women, children and adults.
Other appearance researchers view the body as an object with a certain shape, size, etc., and answer the question of the accuracy of perception of one's appearance. As a rule, these studies are based on the use of various hardware techniques - moving frames, mirrors with changing curvature, distorted images, television and video equipment, etc. It has been shown that the accuracy of perception depends on many factors: on the state of consciousness (Savage S., 1955; Gill M.M., Breman M., 1959), on age (Katcher A., Levin M., 1955, Nash H., 1951), from cultural stereotypes (Arcoff N.A., Weaver H.B., 1966), from IQ (Shonz F.S., 1969; Shaffer J.R., 1964). Many researchers have identified significant distortions in the assessment of their body size in patients anorexia nervosa and obesity (Garner D.M., 1976,1981; Dorozhevets A.N., 1986; Sokolova E.T., 1989)
The second large group of works that fall within the framework of the “internal - external” opposition concerns studies of the boundaries of the body. The body as a “container” of the Self was the subject of research by representatives of existentialism (Shonz F.S., 1960). Having no extension, the Self has its location. The distinction between “mine” and “not mine”, between “internal” and “external” is very important here. A new direction in the study of bodily experience has become the study of the boundaries of body image.
Within the framework of the “whole-part” opposition there is a large group of studies, united by a single view of the body and its parts, as carriers of a certain symbolic meaning (Fenichel O., 1945; Szasz T.S., 1975).
As a result of the research, data were obtained on the basis of which it is possible to propose a new model of the structure of the physical self. The subject’s idea of his body and bodily manifestations is formed on the basis of various sources. Since the body is a material object, in contrast to the spiritual world or the social status of the subject, at first glance it seems that the existence of an image of the physical self adequate to objective reality is more possible than an image of the spiritual or social self. A truly powerful source of ideas about one’s physical self is the system of biological feedback, necessary for the life of every organism. However, the image that has developed on the basis of objective information always has some “social” amendments, since we are dealing with ideas that belong to a person as a social individual. The biological picture of the world is superimposed on the image that the subject has in the eyes of the social environment. That is, the assessments of others are accumulated in the image of the physical self. The social environment makes another amendment to the physical self, but in the form of social standards and cultural stereotypes. It is clear that the standards of physical development that have developed in society and assimilated by the subject will influence his ideas about his body.
The physical self is formed like any other image of the self in the process of interaction of the subject with the outside world. The first level of interaction is the interaction of the subject with the object world. Since, as mentioned above, the body is a material object, some idea of one’s physicality, or rather one of the sources for constructing a complex image of one’s body, is formed at this level. And, therefore, in the self-image we can distinguish the corresponding structural component: I-physical Functional (this is the image that is formed on the basis of the functioning of the body as a physical object and is usually based on biological feedback).
The second level of interaction between the subject and the outside world: subject - subjective. Here the subject is faced with evaluating himself through the eyes of others. Naturally, such an assessment is a powerful source of constructing an image of the self, including the physical self. According to this level of interaction, another structural component can be identified in the idea of one’s physical self: the physical social self (this is the image that is formed on the basis of assessments of the social environment and is the subject’s idea of how he looks in the eyes of other people).
The third level of interaction is the interaction of the subject with society. As mentioned above, at this level the subject is faced with institutionalized assessments and cultural values. At this level there is another source of constructing a body image, according to which a structural component in the physical self can be identified: the physical ideal self (this is the image that is formed on the basis of the assimilation of cultural stereotypes and group norms and is the subject’s idea of what one should be ).
Thus, the physical self of the subject is formed on the basis of various sources. Firstly, this is the individual experience that the subject has acquired as a result of the functioning of his body as a physical object, secondly, these are assessments of the social environment perceived by him in the process of communication, and thirdly, these are cultural norms, stereotypes and standards of physical development , assimilated in the system of relations between the subject and society. According to these fundamental sources, we distinguish three structural components in the idea of our physical self;
I am physical functional;
I am physical social;
I am the physical ideal.
It should be noted that these three components are present both at each level of hierarchical models (vertical schemes) and in any aspect of the broad phenomenological field of bodily manifestations (horizontal schemes). Thus, the proposed model can serve as a third (volumetric) coordinate for considering one reality - bodily experience. In this case, all the ways of conceptualizing the bodily considered in the chapter, including the last one, do not contradict each other, but rather complement one another. The question arises only when this model is combined with genetic schemes, i.e. What happens to the structural components of the physical self as we age? It would seem that the easiest way is to consider three components - functional, social and ideal - as three stages of development of the physical self, but the levels of interaction with the outside world that generate these structural components - subject - object, subject - subjective and subject - social cannot be distributed in time. That is, the image of the physical Self is syncretic in the process of ontogenesis. However, it can be assumed that each structural component has some independence: firstly, the components can change differently with age, secondly, their ratio may vary depending on age and gender, and thirdly, they can be differently associated with personality and communication characteristics, which play a significant role in the formation of the self-image.
In this work, an attempt was made to experimentally verify the assumptions made. For the study, two reflexive aspects of the physical self were chosen: the idea of one’s size (height and thickness) and the idea of one’s coordination (dexterity), and two age sections: primary schoolchildren and teenagers.
IN THE SECOND CHAPTER studies of age and gender characteristics of the structure of the physical self are described. The first task that had to be solved for these purposes was the creation of special diagnostic procedures for studying the selected components of the structure of the physical self. To diagnose the social and ideal components of the idea of coordination and size, the Dembo self-assessment method was modified - Rubinstein. The subjects had to evaluate on the scales offered to them (dexterous - clumsy, tall - short and thin - fat) what they would like to be ( ideal component) and how they look in the eyes of others (social component).
To diagnose the functional component of the structure of the physical self, special experimental methods were created. In order to assess the functional component of the idea of coordination, the projective method “Drawing of a moving person” was developed. The main criterion when creating this method was the independence of the intention of the functional component of the structure from the social and ideal. Testing and validation of this method was carried out on 75 first-graders and 60 6th-grade students.
To diagnose the functional component of the idea of size, the “point” method of assessing body size was initially used (Dorozhevets A.N., 1986), which consisted of depicting one’s life-size dimensions on a sheet of white paper. However, during testing, which involved 50 first-graders and 46 sixth-graders, he found a significant dependence on the social component (r = 0.498; p≤0.01). Therefore, to assess the functional component of the idea of size, a special experimental procedure was developed, called “functional assessment”. The subject was positioned at a distance of two meters, facing a device that allowed him to raise a horizontal bar from the floor level at a uniform speed. The subject was asked to constantly evaluate the height of the bar and say “Stop” at the moment when the bar rose exactly to such a height that one could walk under it without tilting the head. Data after three trials were averaged. Functional assessment of width was carried out in a similar manner. The subject stood in front of two sliding slats and said “Stop” when, in his opinion, he could pass through the resulting hole. After this, the objective height and shoulder width of the subject were measured and the experimental data obtained using the “functional assessment” method were converted into percentages. Thus, the functional component of the idea of one’s size was expressed as a percentage relative to the objective body size. Testing and validation of the methodology was carried out on 64 first-graders and 68 6th-grade students.
The main experiment involved 74 first-graders (38 girls and 36 boys) and 62 sixth-graders (33 girls and 29 boys) from Moscow School No. 992
As a result of the experimental study, we wanted to get answers to the following questions:
1. How does each of the components of the structure of the physical self change with age?
2. What is the ratio of components in the structure of the physical self for each age period under study?
3. Are there gender differences in the structure of the physical self of schoolchildren? different ages?
To answer the first question, sample means were analyzed using Student's t test. For all three components, significant differences were obtained between the average values of the functional, social and ideal components in both primary schoolchildren and adolescents. The value of the functional component of self-image increased in adolescents compared to primary schoolchildren by an average of 17% (p≤0.001). This result is quite understandable, since the basis for the functional component of the physical self is the accuracy of biological feedback, which increases with the accumulation of motor experience. The value of the social component decreased by 20% (p≤0.001), which indicates a greater clarity of adolescents’ ideas about how they look in the eyes of others, which explains the greater spread of data among adolescents compared to the data of younger schoolchildren. The value of the ideal component in adolescents also decreased by an average of 12% (p≤0.01), which is also understandable, given that the values of the ideal component in younger schoolchildren are usually very high.
In order to assess the interaction of the components of the structure of the physical self at each age, correlation analysis was used. The social and ideal components in younger schoolchildren turned out to be related to each other with a high degree of probability (r=0.657; p≤0.001), and this pattern appeared in both boys and girls. These data indicate that it is still difficult for younger schoolchildren to distinguish in their self-image the differences between how they would like to be and how they appear in the eyes of others. It is obvious that the social component of the image of the physical self is not yet sufficiently developed in younger schoolchildren. Indeed, the values of the social component estimates are close to maximum values both boys and girls and have a small interindividual spread. If we take into account the poor mastery by children of this age of the variety of contingent movements available to an adult (Bernstein N.A., 1947), which leaves a deficit imprint on the functional component of the physical self, then we can conclude that for younger schoolchildren in the structure of the physical self the leading one is the ideal component.
In adolescents, when comparing the social and ideal components of the structure of the physical self, no statistically significant connection was found. When analyzing the combined results of boys and girls, this was true for all aspects of the physical self examined: both coordination and body size. Such results indicate that the social component of the structure of the physical self becomes independent of the ideal and acquires independent significance. This also confirms a smaller scatter of data than in younger schoolchildren and lower absolute values of the social and ideal components in adolescents compared to younger schoolchildren. The lack of connection between the social and ideal components of the structure indicates, on the one hand, the increasing role of the functional component in the image of the physical self in adolescents, and, on the other hand, confirms the prevailing idea in psychology about the increasing significance of peer assessments in adolescence.
Significant gender differences emerged when analyzing the structure of various reflexive aspects of the image of the physical self. Moreover, these differences manifest themselves both in children of the same age and in age dynamics. Boys of both ages assess their coordination capabilities more accurately than girls, and the standard of dexterity development for them is higher than for girls. Height is more important for boys than for girls in both age periods studied. Boys are more accurate in functional assessments of height and their ideal component of height perception is higher.
The age-related dynamics of the structure of the physical self are different for boys and girls. Thus, in younger schoolchildren of both sexes, the structure of the idea of their coordination coincides with the structure of the idea of their height (r=0.419; p≤0.001) and both are not associated with the structure of the idea of their thickness. In adolescent boys, a relationship is found between body sizes (height and thickness) for all components of the structure (r=0.395; p≤0.001; r=0.362; p≤0.001; r=0.359; p<0,01), что свидетельствует о более отчетливом представлении о пропорциях тела у подростков-мальчиков. И явно выпадает из общей картины представление о своей толщине у девочек-подростков. Обнаружена значимая зависимость между социальным и идеальным компонентами представления о толщине (r=0.529; p≤0,00l). Можно предположить, что представление о своей толщине у девочек-подростков не только формируется под влиянием товарищей, но и копирует групповые эталоны.
As was shown in the first chapter, the idea of the physical self is formed on the basis of three main sources. However, the end result, i.e. The physical self also depends on some objective and subjective reasons. Objective reasons include the conditions of activity and communication. The subjective reasons on which the formation of the image of the physical self depends include, first of all, the cognitive and personal characteristics of the individual. In the second part of the experimental study described in CHAPTER THREE , the main goal was to identify the sensitivity of individual components of the structure of the Physical Self to the individual psychological characteristics of the individual and the characteristics of communication. Since the greatest gender and structural differences were identified in adolescents, at this stage of the study, 83 students (44 girls and 39 boys) of the 6th grade of Moscow School No. 125 participated in the experiments.
In addition to the methods for diagnosing the components of the structure of the physical self, described in the previous chapter, a modified version of R. Cattell’s Children’s Personality Questionnaire (CPQ), which included 12 factors, and an original technique for measuring communicative distance (MICD), specially developed for studying communicative processes in a group, were used.
When developing this methodology, the specificity of information interaction was preserved, which is expressed, on the one hand, in the establishment of a certain distance between the communicating parties (further-closer) and, on the other hand, in the distribution of communicative positions between them according to the communicator-recipient type. This was achieved by having the subjects solve a corresponding test task, which boiled down to the fact that the subjects had to evaluate each member of the group according to the degree of his attractiveness as an object and subject of information interaction, i.e. as sources and consumers of information on a 100-point scale formed by two points in space, 100 mm apart from each other, without externally expressed graduation. The assessment of the attractiveness of a partner in information interaction was carried out by establishing a distance by drawing a straight line segment from one point, designated “I,” to another, designated by the surname of a particular partner, and vice versa. The length of the segment in the first case expressed the degree of interest in the partner as an object of information interaction, and in the second as a subject of this process.
The method used allows us to obtain two types of characteristics of the organization of the communicative process: real-subjective, indicating the degree of information activity of a particular communicant, and real-objective, characterizing the subject as a leader or follower of a real communicative process. To assess the connection between the structure of the physical self and individual psychological and communicative characteristics, the method of correlation analysis was used.
Based on the analysis of the results obtained, we wanted to get answers to the following questions:
1. What influences the structure of the physical self of adolescents to a greater extent: communicative or individual psychological characteristics?
2. Is this influence specific to different components of the structure of the physical self and various reflexive aspects of the image of the physical self?
3. Are there gender differences in the connections between the structure of the physical self of adolescents and their communicative and individual psychological characteristics?
In order to evaluate the strength of the relationship between various features and components of the structure, significant correlations obtained in the experiment were assigned weights depending on their level of significance. The sums of the weights of the obtained correlations indicate that the structure of the physical self of adolescents is influenced to a greater extent by individual psychological characteristics than by communicative ones (Σ 1 = 29 and Σ 2 = 12, respectively), and most of the significant correlations between the structure and characteristics of communication were obtained between components structure and real-subjective characteristics of the communicative process.
The specificity of the influence of individual psychological characteristics on different components of the structure of the physical self is manifested in the analysis of gender differences. Thus, in teenage girls, the closest connection between personality traits is found with the social component of the structure, and in boys, the social and functional components of the structure experience the same influence of individual psychological characteristics. For girls, the smallest connection was obtained between individual psychological characteristics and the functional component, and for boys, between individual psychological characteristics and the ideal component.
When analyzing the results of the influence of communication characteristics on the structure of the physical self, noticeable gender differences also emerged. For boys, the characteristics of communication are most closely related to the social component, that is, to the idea of how I look in the eyes of others. In girls, the ideal component of the structure of the physical self is most influenced, that is, in intragroup relationships, girls are more oriented toward group standards than boys.
Gender differences also appear when analyzing the influence of communication characteristics on ideas about individual reflexive aspects of the image of the bodily self. Thus, in boys, the idea of growth is most influenced. Moreover, this idea is most closely connected with the objective position of the individual in the “leader-follower” relationship. In girls, the idea of thickness most strongly depends on communicative processes and, unlike boys, this idea is not associated with the actual position on the “leader-follower” scale, but with a subjective predisposition to take one position or another.
The greatest influence, both from personality traits and communicative processes, is experienced by boys’ ideas about their height and girls’ ideas about their thickness.
IN CONCLUSION The main results of the study are summarized and the main conclusions are formulated:
1. An experimental study showed that the identification of three components in the structure of the image of the physical self: the physical functional self, the physical social self and the physical ideal self - was justified.
2. The developed research methods turned out to be valid for diagnosing the structural components of the image of the physical self in schoolchildren.
3. The structure of the physical self changes with age, and a common trend for boys and girls has been found in changes in the structure from primary schoolchildren to teenagers:
A) the importance of the functional component of the structure increases with increasing motor experience;
b) the absolute values of the ideal component decrease, i.e. the idea of the ideals of one’s physical development becomes more realistic,
V) the social component of the structure of the physical self becomes independent only in adolescence, that is, only adolescents develop a clear idea of how they look in the eyes of others.
4. The structure of various reflexive aspects of the image of the physical self is different for boys and girls:
A) for boys, the real assessment (functional component) and value (ideal component) of their coordination and growth is higher than for girls;
b) For girls, the social component of the idea of thickness is of great importance.
5. The influence of individual psychological and communicative characteristics on the structure of the physical self of adolescents depends on gender differences:
A) In boys, both personality traits and communication characteristics are most associated with the social component of the structure of the physical self.
b) in girls, personality traits are most associated with the social component, and the characteristics of intragroup communication are most associated with the ideal component of the structure of the physical self.
6. The personality and communication characteristics of girls are more related to ideas about their thickness, and for boys - to ideas about their height.
1. Method for measuring the communicative structure of a group // Questions of psychology. -1987. -N 1. - P. 159-161 (co-authored with Andreev A.N. and Ryzhonkin Yu.Ya.).
2. Study of the communicative structure of the group // Social and psychological problems of activating the human factor in the national economy / Theses of reports of the All-Union Scientific and Practical Conference - M.: Moscow State University, 1987 (co-authored with Andreev A.N. and Ryzhonkin Yu.Ya.)
3. Methodology for assessing the idea of movement in schoolchildren // Abstracts of the Republican Scientific and Practical Conference on Applied Psychology - Kazan: 1988. -P. 103-105.
4. Psychological counseling of children with difficulties in physical development // Abstracts of the Republican Scientific and Practical Conference on Applied Psychology - Kazan: 1988. -P. 90-92 (co-authored with N.I. Aleksandrova and others)
5. Study of the structure of the physical “I” in primary schoolchildren and adolescents // Abstracts of the XI All-Union Scientific and Practical Conference of Sports Psychologists. - Minsk: 1990. P. 109-110
One of the most important relations of a person’s social and psychological existence is his attitude towards himself, towards his own personality. The aspect of attitude towards oneself in the general context of the psychological study of personality is considered as a question about its self-awareness, about the personality as an “I”, which as a subject in one way or another “appropriates” to itself everything that a person does, and consciously or unconsciously attributes to itself the outgoing deeds and actions come from him. For the socio-psychological analysis of self-concept, the central focus is on the process of social interaction, which determines a person’s ideas about himself. At the same time, the individual’s ideas about himself are accompanied by one or another self-attitude, self-assessment of his characteristics and manifestations, or a general assessment of his “I” as some generalized integrity. Representations are social in nature).
One of the aspects of social ideas about a person and his place in society is the idea of the body, the Image of the Self. The studies of R. Burns and others emphasize that the size of the body and its shape serve as the most important source of the formation of the idea of one’s own Self. A person’s appearance, like nothing else, it is capable of causing a completely definite social reaction. This feedback has a strong influence on the formation of an individual's self-perception. Culturally conditioned stereotypical reactions, social norms and standards, expectations - all this indicates to the individual the undesirability of significant deviations in the shape of his body size from the ideal. The formed idea and attitude towards Body Image is one of the striking examples of self-presentation, which reflects the value of the body as such, as well as the sociocultural standards existing in society. The formation of the Image of the Physical Self occurs as a result of the influence of socio-psychological sources and is a dual process. On the one hand, this is the influence of society, which is expressed in judgments, opinions, ideas, stereotypes, and standards. On the other hand, it is independent comprehension and differentiated-selective work based on one’s own criteria.
The image of the Physical Self is understood as a unity of perceptions, attitudes, assessments, and ideas associated with bodily appearance and body functions. Moreover, the experience of experiencing one’s own body is considered the first step towards acquiring one’s identity and forming a self-concept. The image of the Physical Self as a social phenomenon has a number of features that are expressed by criteria of external attractiveness. Physical beauty manifests itself on two levels: external (a set of anatomical, functional and social characteristics) and internal (health, which is an important factor in regulating behavior in relation to changes in one’s Physical Self). External and internal characteristics form a single whole, which is expressed in the harmony of bodily beauty. Modern images, norms and standards of the body, reflecting social criteria of attractiveness, are under pressure from the media, the content of which is most accessible for analysis.
Body image is a much more important component of youthful self-awareness than adults usually realize. Just like teenagers, adolescence is characterized by a painful attention to ideas about the norm in relation to body height, its size, weight, proportions, etc. The age limit of 17-18 years is the borderline between early and late adolescence, a kind of psychosocial moratorium. At this age, there is already the presence of stable characteristics, values, worldview, etc. but the process of forming self-attitude is still influenced by the social environment (standards and stereotypes). A psychosocial moratorium is institutionalized in the form of a higher education system - the student period, where general activity, combined with age homogeneity, contributes to the formation of a specific group identity, a student subculture of behavior. All this seems to be the foundation on which further social relationships, testing of social and professional roles and successful personal self-realization will be built.
Changes in appearance are potentially more painful for girls than for boys, since appearance is more important to them. Therefore, in girls, the self-concept correlates more strongly with the assessment of the attractiveness of their body than with the assessment of its effectiveness. Confidence in one's own physical attractiveness is also interconnected with success in interpersonal communication and is manifested in self-presentations of appearance. A correctly formed self-image, compliance with physical development standards accepted in a group of peers and friends is emotionally experienced by girls more strongly and more often influences the generalized self-attitude, and is also a determining factor in social recognition and position in the group, successful gender identification.
Following recognition and recognition of one's appearance, the problem of assessing it arises. Compared to the descriptive component of the self-concept, there is much less terminological certainty in the designation of the aspect associated with the attitude towards oneself. But, nevertheless, recently it is increasingly used concept of "self-attitude". The structure of self-attitude can be represented as follows: firstly, there is some generalized self-attitude (self-respect, self-esteem), which is a holistic, one-dimensional and universal formation that expresses the degree of an individual’s positive attitude towards his own self-image; secondly, that this generalized self-attitude is somehow integrated from private self-evaluations, weighted by subjective significance. Self-esteem is considered as a person’s assessment of himself, his capabilities, qualities and place among other people.
Self-attitude develops as a result of social influence and interaction, where each specific social situation of development sets a hierarchy of leading activities and the corresponding basic motives and values, social ideas, stereotypes, standards, norms of behavior in relation to which the individual comprehends his own self, endows it with personal meaning . Scientists consider the process of social comparison to be the main mechanism for the formation of self-esteem. The criterion for social comparison is the social standard, and in its absence, the immediate social environment.
Self-attitude has a macrostructure with four emotional components: self-esteem, self-acceptance, auto-sympathy and expected attitude from other people and two subsystems, each of which is specifically related to the meaning of “I”: self-assessment system And system of emotional-value relations. The self-evaluation system performs the function of comparison with others (“I am in comparison with others”), and the emotional-value system signals the subjective significance of these self-evaluations (“I-I”).
However, at present, there are many disparate and contradictory facts, various methodological settings, and there is no generally accepted and established terminology associated with self-attitude and Body Image as objects of socio-psychological analysis. Russian social psychology still has insufficient theoretical and practical data on this problem. At the moment, in social psychology there are only a small number of works devoted to the problem of gender - social attributes of external appearance S. N. Yaremenko, D. Kyle. and etc.; studying ideas about ways of designing the external appearance of a masculine, feminine personality A. A. Bodalev, V. A. Labunskaya. There are no clearly established patterns of influence of the very content of the Image of the Physical Self, formed in the process of social interaction, its components, its formal and structural characteristics, both on private self-esteem and the global attitude towards oneself. The lack of comprehensive methods for studying the formation of Body Image and attitudes towards it under the influence of society determines the relevance of this topic and requires experimental research.
The study was conducted at Samara State Pedagogical University with 1st and 2nd year students - more than 252 people. The purpose of the study is to identify the characteristics of self-attitude to the Image of the physical self of female students aged 17-18 years.
The author’s methodology for studying self-attitude towards the Image of the Physical Self was used as the main empirical tool. To process the data, mathematical statistics methods were used: calculating the arithmetic mean for each test, content analysis, Pearson correlation analysis, Student’s t-test, factor analysis by the method of principal components followed by Varimax rotation. The data analysis computer program Statistica, Vers was used. 5.
In the process of the research, a methodology was developed for measuring self-attitude to the Image of the Physical Self in the “Self in comparison with others” and “Self in comparison with Self” systems. The developed methodology was tested for reliability and validity and ultimately received the name “Methodology for studying self-attitude to the Image of the Physical Self.” The Physical Self Image included anatomical, functional and social characteristics, which together represent the characteristics of external attractiveness. The presented characteristics are assessed according to two criteria: self-esteem (I am compared to others - worse or better than others) and subjective significance (I am compared to I - how valuable and significant this feature is for the individual, how much the assessment carries a personal meaning). The technique also allows you to measure the level of self-esteem of the proposed characteristics, which characteristics are most dominant in the subjective attitude of the individual and are the most personally significant. Approbation of the methodology for studying self-attitude to the Image of the Physical Self was carried out on girls 17-18 years old, 1st and 2nd year students of the Samara State Pedagogical University, the total number was 296 people.
It was found that the studied characteristics of the Image of the Physical Self, on the one hand, have close interaction with each other, confirming the theoretical existence of the external appearance in a single harmony of anatomical, functional and social characteristics. On the other hand, the elements of the characteristics of the Image of the Physical Self have the ability to dominate, which makes it possible to isolate them into separate components of the Image of the Physical Self and study them also separately, independently of others, which is what existing methods do.
Since the subjective attitude towards the Image of the Physical Self develops as a result of social comparison, which is the leading socio-psychological source, and the criterion for comparison is the social standard of external attractiveness, in its absence - the immediate social environment, a social standard of external attractiveness for girls 17-18 was identified years. This standard was obtained using content analysis; the stimulus material was the author’s methodology for studying self-attitude towards the Image of the Physical Self. The tested girls, 17-18 years old, about 117 people, were given the following instructions: “Describe the Image of the Ideal Girl using the listed anatomical, functional and social components characteristics".
As a final result, the social standard of external attractiveness for girls aged 17-18 is presented as follows:
Anatomical characteristics. Face. The hair is thick, medium length, natural color. Clean, slightly tanned skin. The face is round in shape, narrowed towards the chin. Not high, rectangular forehead. Not very thick, arched eyebrows. Medium-set eyes, large and expressive. Small, straight and slightly snub nose. The lips are naturally pink, plump, and bow-shaped. Smooth, white teeth. The chin is rounded. The ears are small in size and not far from the head. Smoothly flowing profile.
Figure. Height 165-170 cm. Weight 50-60 kg in accordance with height. Harmony of proportions – 90-60-90 (plus, min 2-3 cm). The neck is of medium length, thin. Not wide, slightly sloping shoulders. Moderately thin, raised, as if inhaling, with clear skin décolleté. Breasts are 2-3 sizes, elastic, round in shape. Narrow waist, 60-65 cm. Flat, toned stomach. The back is straight, with natural curves. Elastic, toned, rounded buttocks. The hips are not very pronounced on the sides, without cellulite, elastic, 90 cm (plus, about 2-3 cm). The lateral contour line of the body (front) is smooth, with natural curves of the waist and hips. The front contour line of the body (in profile) – raised chest, flat stomach. Posterior contour line of the back and buttocks (in profile) – natural curves of the back, toned buttocks.
Legs. Straight shape, rounded, elastic hips, the lower part from the knee is thin, with pumped up but slightly defined calves. Thin ankles, healthy, without flat feet, with an average instep, foot size 37-39.
Hands. The upper part to the elbow is taut, without muscles. The lower part from the elbow is thin, without hair, narrow 15-15.9 cm wrist. Well-groomed, small but elongated brush. Long, straight fingers with healthy, medium-length and evenly shaped nails.
Functional characteristics.Endurance. Well developed general and speed endurance. Strength endurance is average.
Force muscles of the arms, legs and back are average. The abdominal muscles are very well developed.
Rapidity movements are average. High level of reaction speed.
Agility. A well-developed sense of balance, without unnecessary hesitation, a light gait, from the hip, smooth, graceful movements.
Flexibility hip and ankle joints are above average. Ligaments and muscles are well stretched. Very flexible spine.
Social characteristics. Cloth. Definitely comfortable. You shouldn't chase fashion, but follow your style. It should correspond to the proportions of the figure and individual style, emphasize proportions and uniqueness. It should be harmoniously combined with the color type of appearance and social role. Doesn't have to be age appropriate.
Accessories. Mandatory compliance with clothing and color type of appearance. Comfortable, stylish shoes. Headwear is optional. Bags, scarves, umbrellas are stylish, one color. Uniform and small quantities of jewelry - rings, chains, bracelets.
Cosmetics. A must-have combination with clothing and appearance color type. Not bright, natural makeup. Neat, non-provoking manicure and pedicure. Not harsh, with a fresh scent. The hairstyle is neat and appropriate for the occasion.
The resulting social standard of external attractiveness for girls aged 17-18 was used as a criterion for comparison and identifying self-attitude to the Image of the Physical Self in girls 17-18 years old (n=252).
A study of self-attitude to the Image of the Physical Self in girls aged 17-18 showed that in comparison process Based on their characteristics of external attractiveness compared to the social standard, girls remain satisfied with their appearance and rate themselves quite highly - above average. Anatomical and social characteristics are rated highest; girls are not as satisfied with the functional characteristics compared to those listed above.
By compared to self-assessments who had a level above average, in the emotional-value component self-attitude, the characteristics of the Image of the Physical Self are given high importance. The most important importance in the “I-I” system is attached to the social attributes of appearance and the functional conditioning of external attractiveness. Anatomical characteristics do not occupy a leading position. Perhaps this is explained by satisfaction with the self-assessments of these characteristics (anatomical) and some dissatisfaction with the social and functional characteristics of the Image of the Physical Self. Such a different hierarchy of the position of the characteristics of the Image of the Physical Self is explained by the reliable differences we have identified in self-assessments and subjective significance (in the “I and others” and in the “I-I” system). When compared with the proposed social standard, girls 17-18 years old are more satisfied with the anatomical characteristics of the Image of the Physical Self, and social characteristics are significant as a form of self-presentation, as a way of expressing an attractive principle. The leading role of self-assessments of anatomical characteristics influences the formation of the personal significance of functional, social and partially anatomical characteristics. High self-assessments of functional and social characteristics also imply their high personal significance.