Short-term visual adaptation to body shape induces sustained aftereffect on body size estimation

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Perception
• Body Image

Background:

• Visual adaptation can alter the perception of body normality.
• Previous studies show adaptation shifts subjective body shape perception.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate the persistence of short-term body size adaptation.
• Track the time-course decay of body size adaptation.
• Examine adaptation in young, healthy Chinese women.

Main Methods:

• Participants underwent adaptation to contracted or expanded body images using a top-up paradigm.
• Subjective point of normal body size (PNS) was measured pre-adaptation, immediately post-adaptation, and at 10, 20, and 30 minutes post-adaptation.
• Time-course data were fitted using exponential, power, and logarithmic functions.

Main Results:

• Adaptation to altered body shapes shifted participants' estimations of body normality.
• The adaptation effect persisted for over 30 minutes.
• Logarithmic models best described the decay of the body size adaptation effect.

Conclusions:

• Short-term exposure to distorted body shapes of others induces a lasting bias in body size estimation.
• The persistence and decay patterns of body size adaptation offer insights into perceptual recalibration.
• Findings highlight the malleability of body image perception.