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Abstract:
Mohler's research group have created novel methodologies to study perception and action such that we can investigate the underlying mechanisms for perceiving and recognizing body size for both healthy and clinical populations. The methods and stimuli we use for studying self-body perception have many advantages over traditional stimuli and methods typically used. Our stimuli of bodies are individualized to the specific person being tested and are also more ecologically valid since the distortions we make in each body (i.e. changes in BMI, muscularity, strength) are based on a large sampling of statistically possible human body shapes and perceptual research. Therefore, using these biometric self-avatars we can systematically and easily vary the visual cues about an individual and allow people to see the self avatar from first or third person perspective. We have conducted several experiments with both acute and chronic stroke patients, anorexic patients [Moelbert et al. 2017], obese individuals and people that vary in both their BMI [Thaler et al. 2017] and body satisfaction from the average person. With these individuals we use several methodologies that are extended versions of several key publications [Piryankova et al. 2014a, 2015b, Linkenauger et al. 2014, 2015a, 2015b] that aim to investigate body shape perception and the specificity of any distortions in body shape perception to self or other.
