PHYSICAL SELF

Physical body

It refers to the body. Both physical extremities and internal organs work together for the body to perform many of its functions such as breathing, walking, eating, and sleeping, among others.

Body image

refers to how individuals perceive, think and feel about their body and physical appearance.

Appearance

refers to everything about a person that others can observe, such as height, weight, skin color, clothes and hairstyle.

Gregor Mendel

He first figured out how genes are passed from parents to offspring in plants, including humans. His experiments on pea plants showed that genes are passed intact from generation to generation and that traits are not blended.

“This body is a bridge”

This quote suggests that the physical body serves as a passage for our existence allowing us to connect with the world and those around us.

WILLIAM JAMES

• He believed that the body serves as the primary source of sensation and is essential for the development and maintenance of personality.

• He also regarded the body as a tool for expressing consciousness and emphasized that good physical health arises from a well-trained, muscular body, which instills a sense of satisfaction and serves as a vital component of spiritual hygiene

Sigmund Freud

He created the psychoanalytic tradition posited that the body is at the core of human experience and personality. Though Freud considers the body as the ego in his writings on therapy seldom address the body.

Wilhelm Reich

 He is a Western theorist the body for him is a crucial element in all psychological functioning and plays a vital role in storing and channeling the bioenergy that forms the basis for human existence and experience.

Erik Erikson

He believed that the foundation of human experience lies in the blueprint of the body. He placed specific importance on the role of bodily organs during the early stages of development.

In later stages of life, the development of physical and cognitive abilities plays a crucial role in determining an individual’s sense of competence and their ability to take on complex roles in society. 

Carl Gustav Jung

In Analytical Psychology, he focused solely on analyzing the psyche and did not explicitly address the role of the body. He believed that physical processes were only relevant to the extent that they were represented in the psyche. He considers the body and spirit to be mere aspects of the reality of the psyche, stating that psychic experience was the only immediate experience

B. F. Skinner (Burrhus Frederic)

A staunch behaviorist emphasized the primary importance of the body. He considered personality and self to be explanatory fictions, believing that all there is, is the BODY. Though he did not show genuine interest in the body, treating humans as unopened but not empty boxes. 

Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers

Who were the prominent figures in the Humanist tradition?

Abraham Maslow

His “Need-Hierarchy” theory suggests that once a person’s physiological needs are met, they become more concerned with higher-order needs.

Carl Rogers

 His person-centered work appears to focus on physical feelings but he has not given special attention to the role of the body (Fernald, 2000; Singh, n.d)

• Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD)

• Eating Disorder

• Body Image Disturbance (BID)

What are the different obsession with beauty that may result to the certain disorders?

Body Dysmorphic Disorder

a severe form of body image disturbance characterized by an obsessive preoccupation with one’s appearance and weight.

Anorexia

is defined as a serious mental illness where people are of low weight due to limiting their energy intake. It can affect anyone of any age, gender, or background. As well as restricting the amount of food eaten, they may do lots of exercise to get rid of food eaten. Some people with anorexia may experience cycles of bingeing and the purging.

Binge-eating

eating large amounts of food at once

• Perceptual Component

• Attitudinal Component

What are the two components of Body Image Disturbance?

Body Image Disturbance (BID)

 important aspect of several pathologies in psychology, particularly eating disorders. 

19th century in Africa, Tahiti

When and where did the “forcing to be fat” culture was recorded? Where some men and women were set aside in a special place for fattening purposes (Pollock, 1995). In addition, they were covered in large amounts of tapa bark cloth, which, after the ritual is over, reveals a lighter skin for those who were selected. The goal of this ritual is to enhance their beauty, not only by feeding them but by making sure that they get a lighter skin afterwards. 

Physical Efficiency

This generally peaks in early adulthood between the ages of twenty and thirty, and then slowly declines into the middle age.