Social comparison, in which people evaluate their opinions and abilities by comparing them with the opinions and abilities of others, is a central feature of human social life. Previous work has highlighted the importance of social comparison in reward processing. However, the time-course of the social comparison effect in outcome evaluation remains largely unknown. The purpose of this study wa...

Recognizing emotion using facial expressions is a key element in human communication. In this paper we discuss a framework for the classification of emotional states, based on still images of the face. The technique we present involves the creation of an active appearance model (AAM) trained on face images from a publicly available database to represent shape and texture variation key to expres...

The aim of the present study was to investigate British Indian men and women’s perceptions of Indian physical appearance ideals and related attributes. Eight semistructured interviews with men and women were conducted, and the data were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Four themes emerged from the data: 1) Cultural similarities and differences in physical appearance, 2) ...

This thesis examines primetime television’s negative portrayal of the aging process as well as the double standard in aging that benefits men and punishes women. Unlike their male counterparts, older women in television shows are often portrayed in a negative light or, even worse, not represented at all. Older women are almost invisible in prime-time television shows and movies. In my analysis ...

Although research on positive body image has increased, little research has explored which variables protect body appreciation during body-related threats. Self-compassion may be one such variable. Individuals high in self-compassion are mindful, kind, and nurturing toward themselves during situations that threaten their adequacy, while recognizing that being imperfect is part of "being human."...

BACKGROUND Body image concerns are infrequently studied in systemic sclerosis (SSc), even though significant visible disfigurement is common. The objective of this study was to identify sociodemographic and disease-related correlates of dissatisfaction with appearance and social discomfort among people with SSc. METHODS SSc patients came from the 15-center Canadian Scleroderma Research Group ...

The college years represent an important developmental period in the lives of young women, who report health-related difficulties such as sleep disturbance and body/eating concerns. This study explored whether expressive writing (EW) can decrease health-relevant complaints among college women. College females (n = 111) were randomised into an EW condition (writing about body concerns) or a cont...