Lesson 4: Physical Self

• Physical Self refers to our body that includes basic parts of us such as our head, neck, and organs that plays an important role in our life.
• Physical Self is the concrete dimension, the tangible aspects of the person that can be directly observed and examined.
• Beauty, traditionally, was among the ultimate values along with goodness, truth, and justice. (for many philosophers)
• St. Augustine asked whether things were beautiful because it gave delight, or whether it gave delight because it was beautiful.
• Plato connected beauty to love and desire.
• Aristotle asserted that the chef forms of beauty are order, symmetry, and definiteness.
• David Hume: Beauty is no quality in things themselves, it exists merely in the mind which contemplates them.
• Francis Hutcheson- the perception of beauty does depend on the external sense of sight alone.
• A person who is perceived as attractive makes more money than a person of below-average looks.
• Tall people, tends to be more intellectually inclined.
• In politics, voters who are not actively engaged in social and political issues choose candidate based on “looks”.
• What did Psychology discover about beauty?

  ü  A person who is perceived as attractive makes more money than a person of below-average looks.

  ü  Tall people, tends to be more intellectually inclined.

  ü  In politics, voters who are not actively engaged in social and political issues choose candidate based on “looks”.
• Halo effect is the tendency of people to rate the attractive individuals more favorably for their personality traits or characteristics compared to those who are less attractive.
• Horn effect or Devil effect give low ratings to the person because of 1 negative attribute
• Culture and Perception of Beauty

  ü  Cultural traditions can either be a positive or negative influence on body image and on self-esteem. (environment is crucial)

  ü  The ideal standards of body sizes are culturally specific: shape of nose, lips, amount of body fat, length of feet (standards of beauty)
• Cultural traditions can either be a positive or negative influence on body image and on self-esteem. (environment is crucial)
• The ideal standards of body sizes are culturally specific: shape of nose, lips, amount of body fat, length of feet (standards of beauty)
• Korean beauty standards prioritize a slim figure, small face, V-shaped jaw, pale skin, straight eyebrows, flawless skin, and larger eyes
• Filipinos emphasize dieting (physical feature) and light skin
• A light flawless skin, high bridged nose, small/slim face, curly lashes, double eyelid, long legs, and a quiet personality
• Having fair or pale skin, being thin, having large eyes with double-fold eyelids and a “goose egg” shaped face
• Big eyes, a “tall” nose, a small frame, and of course, a fair complexion.
• The ideal Indian women is fair or medium-complexioned, has a narrow waist but wider hips and breasts, and has large eyes, full red lips, and long black hair that is either straight or wavy.
• Apatani Women, India- to look more unattractive for other men, they choose to wear nose plugs
• Mursi Tribe, Ethiopia- lip plates, but there are also other stunning beauty ideals that they follow. For instance, they love to decorate their heads with horns and floral crowns and paint their faces
• Body image refers to how individuals perceived, think and feel about their own body and physical appearance.
• Appearance everything about a person that others can observe, height, weight, skin color, clothes and hairstyles.
• Body image can affect physical and psychological well-being
• Causes of poor body image:

  1. Emphasis on thin ideal body

  2. Bullying and peer pressure

  3. Media
• THE EFFECTS OF BODY IMAGE

  1.     Body Dissatisfaction

  2.     Depression

  3.     Low self esteem

  4.     Eating disorders

  5.     Extreme Body Modification
• 3 Types of Eating Disorders

  1. Bulimia Nevosa
  2. Anorexia Nervosa
  3. Binge-eating disorder
• Bulimia Nervosa:

  Out of control eating episodes or binges are followed by self-induced vomiting, excessive use of laxatives or other attempts to purge (get rid) of food hence staying in their desired weight binging (eat a lot) and purging to feel good about their self and reduce anxiety
• Anorexia Nervosa:

  The person eats only minimal amount of food or exercises vigorously to offset food intake so body weight- sometimes drops dangerously (UNDERWEIGHT-what is perfect)

  -engage in continuous food restrictions to stay thin to reduce their anxiety
• Binge-eating disorder:

  Individual may binge repeatedly and find it distressing (feel guilt about their binges), but they do not attempt to purge the food (they don’t have the psychosocial skills to simply stop their binge)
• VARIOUS SOURCE OF EATING DISORDERS:

  1.     Biological Influences: may have inherited vulnerability

  2.     Psychological Factors: a person may be prone to anxiety focused on appearances or distorted body image

  3.     Social: cultural pressures to be thin, social presentations.

   
• EXTREME BODY MODIFICATION

   

  Body Dysmorphic Disorder

  -Imagined Ugliness (Psychological Disturbances); a preoccupation with some imagined defect in appearance by someone who actually looks reasonably normal

  -Subjective Ugliness (came from bullying); they may do something about their imagined ugliness (any method to eliminate their perceived ugliness)

  -any method sometimes dangerous/ unguided/ unhealthy

  -going to plastic surgeons again and again

  -anxiety is a normal response to abnormal situation