Male body image and visual attention towards oneself and other men.

Abstract

Whereas for women, body image disturbances have been shown to be associated with a biased, self-deprecating pattern of body-directed visual attention, it has never been directly studied how men look at their own and other bodies and whether gaze behavior is moderated by traits central to male body image (i.e., drive for thinness and muscularity). Therefore, 45 weight-training men were eye-tracked while being presented with photographs of their own body and photographs of 3 other men with various body builds (normal, muscular, hyper-muscular). With regard to one’s own body, men with a high drive for thinness showed a rather dysfunctional pattern of attention allocation, with a decreased focus on body parts with which they were most satisfied and increased attention toward body parts with which they were least satisfied compared with low-scoring men. Unexpectedly, comparing men with a high versus low drive for muscularity, the opposite pattern was observed. Among the 3 other bodies, the attractive body parts of the muscular body drew the most visual attention. Results confirm and extend recent findings on the relevance of muscularity for male body image. At the same time, they indicate a prominent role of drive for thinness for body-related attentional biases assumed to perpetuate body dissatisfaction even in men.

The influence of gender and body dissatisfaction on body‐related attentional bias: An eye‐tracking and virtual reality study

“…Previous eye‐tracking (ET) studies that have assessed AB for specific body parts found that both men and women with a higher drive for thinness showed an AB toward weight‐related body parts, when they were exposed to pictures of young, attractive men and women (Hewig et al, ). Similar results were found in weight‐training men with high drive for thinness who show AB toward their most unattractive body parts, when they were exposed to pictures of their own body (Cordes, Vocks, Düsing, Bauer, & Waldorf, ).…”

“…Some important limitations should be considered. First, neither BMI (Roefs et al, 2008) nor drive for thinness levels (Cordes et al, 2016;Hewig et al, 2008;Janelle, Hausenblas, Fallon, & Gardner, 2003) were controlled in this study, although they have been considered as important factors in body-related attention. Second, some of the body parts labeled as nonweight-related AOIs (e.g., the arms or the chest) may also be affected by an increase in weight, and thus considered as unattractive body parts.…”

Attentional biases toward body images in males at high risk of muscle dysmorphia

“…The results of several studies investigating the male drive for muscularity and those examining ED and body dissatisfaction displayed marked similarities in how visual perception is biased toward specific body information ( Cho & Lee, 2012 ; Cordes et al, 2016 ; Griffiths et al, 2014 ; Phillipou, Blomeley & Castle, 2015 ). These results have also suggested the involvement of negative self-schema in biasing one’s attention toward body information.…”

“…Body dissatisfaction has also been studied in men who aim to be stronger, with larger muscles and a well-toned body ( Cordes et al, 2016 ; Cordes et al, 2017 ; Joseph et al, 2016 ). Individuals with body dissatisfaction show attentional bias toward images of bodies when countering information from their own bodies or others ( Cho & Lee, 2012 ; Cordes et al, 2016 ; Cordes et al, 2017 ; Joseph et al, 2016 ), specific stature dissatisfaction ( Liu et al, 2014 ), and emotion regulation difficulties ( Griffiths et al, 2014 ). Although these findings reveal an increased focus on specific body information, these studies did not examine the mechanisms underpinning such an attentional bias.…”

Brazilian Photographic Figure Rating Scale for Men: Psychometric Investigation

“…The reader is referred to our earlier paper on the development of the Brazilian Photographic Figure Rating Scale (BPFRS) for a review of relevant literature and the rationale for developing this tool (see M. R. Castro, Morgado, & Freitas, 2017). Although the vast majority of body image research has focused on women, a growing number of studies have turned to male body image, finding that negative attitudes about the body and its appearance are also common in men (Frederick & Essayli, 2016;Frederick, Sandhu, Morse, & Swami, 2016;Griffiths et al, 2016), and that men are also susceptible to body image disturbances and associated behavioral dysfunction (Cordes, Vocks, Du¨sing, Bauer, & Waldorf, 2016;Dakanalis et al, 2013;Lavender, Brown, & Murray, 2017;McFarland & Kaminski, 2009). Lavender at al.…”