The Relationship Between Self-attitude and Oculomotor Patterns in Self-face Perception in Women

Abstract

Introduction. The analysis of oculomotor activity makes it possible to better understand the perceptual strategies of self-face perception and to examine their associations with the mechanisms of self-attitude. Therefore, the study of the relationship between self-attitude and oculomotor activity in self-face perception is important. This study represents the first attempt to investigate self-face perception using eye-tracking in a mentally healthy sample of women and to compare the findings with women’s self-attitudes. In young women the components of self-attitude that contain the assessment of others determine the perception of their own attractive and unattractive features. A mechanism focused on the internal processes is more characteristic of mature women. Methods. The study used a psychodiagnostic method (Self-attitude Questionnaire by V. V. Stolin & S. R. Pantileev), structured interview, and a psychophysiological method (eye-tracking). The study sample comprised 31 women aged 20 to 48 years. Results. In young women significant correlations were found between the following parameters: (a) index of attention to attractive facial features and such components of self-attitude as autosympathy (r = 0.581), self-blaming (r = –0.589), self-interest (r = 0.543), and self-understanding (r = 0.509); (b) percentage of time spent on viewing attractive facial features and the integral scale of self-attitude (r = 0.513); and (c) percentage of time spent on viewing unattractive facial features and the attitude of others (r = 0.616) and self-blaming (r = 0.522). In mature women, significant correlations were found between the following parameters: (a) index of attention to attractive facial features and self-esteem (r = 0.610); (b) total time spent on viewing self-face and self-interest (r = 0.524); and (c) percentage of time spent on viewing attractive facial features and self-esteem (r = –0.548). Discussion. This paper considers two mechanisms of self-face perception, depending on the age group of the respondents. The external mechanism of self-perception is characteristic of young women; the internal one is characteristic of mature women. The findings may be of great help to cosmetologists, plastic surgeons, and psychologists.

Keywords

• восприятие лиц
• движения глаз
• окулография
• самоотношение
• аутосимпатия
• самообвинение
• самоинтерес
• самопонимание
• самоуважение
• отношение других