Affective & Perceptual Body Representations

Research into body ownership and embodiment has consistently demonstrated that it is possible to alter the perceptual experience of our body (perceptual body representation), both in terms of subjective experience, and by mediating perceptual changes in the brain. However, despite an intuitive link between body perception and body satisfaction, until recently research into how we feel about our body (affective body representation) has remained an entirely separate field. This talk will present a series of studies looking at the interaction between affective and perceptual processes relating to the body. Specifically, our research addresses questions about how these affective and perceptual processes are modulated by body size and the visual perspective from which the body is viewed.