Testing the discrepancy between actual and ideal body image with the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP)

Abstract

Plain English summary Body dissatisfaction can be thought of as the discrepancy between actual and desired body size. This is typically measured with rating scales depicting a series of body silhouettes of increasing size, from extreme thinness to fatness. Respondents mark the points that match their current body size and the one they would ideally like to be (the more distance between both, the more body dissatisfaction). Like all self-reports, these scales are liable to self-presentation biases. Experimental procedures that require respondents to answer under time pressure (implicit measures) tap into more automatic reactions that are less amenable to deliberate manipulation. This study used one such procedure (the IRAP) to examine how rapidly participants identified themselves (or not) with pictures of underweight or overweight, and how rapidly they expressed a desire to be (or not) like such pictures. Participants did not show a clear discrepancy between their actual and their ideal body size with the IRAP. However, automatic reactions indicative of acceptance/rejection of the idea of becoming fatter, predicted the degree of body image distress as measured with different instruments. Unwillingness to accept this idea was associated with more severe symptoms of disordered eating.

Keywords

• Figural drawings
• Body image
• Body dissatisfaction
• Implicit attitudes
• Implicit relational assessment procedure
• IRAP