Body image counseling

Body image as cognitive self-schema :

What is it? 

Body image is an internalized view of one's appearance that drives behavior and influences information processing.

Theories of internalized self-representation. 

1. Higgins' self-discrepancy theory 

The self-discrepancy theory states that individuals compare their “actual” self to internalized standards or the “ideal/ought self”. Inconsistencies between “actual”, “ideal” (idealized version of yourself created from life experiences) and “ought” (who persons feel they should be or should become) are associated with emotional discomforts (e.g., fear, threat, restlessness). Self-discrepancy is the gap between two of these self-representations that leads to negative emotions.

Developed by Edward Tory Higgins in 1987, the theory provides a platform for understanding how different types of discrepancies between representations of the self are related to different kinds of emotional vulnerabilities. Higgins sought to illustrate that internal disagreement causes emotional and psychological turmoil.

2. Heider 's balance theory

Fritz Heider originated Balance Theory to show how people develop their relationships with other people and with things in their environment. Balance Theory says that if people see a set of cognitive elements as being a system, then they will have a preference to maintain a balanced state among these elements. In other words, if we feel we are 'out of balance', then we are motivated to restore a position of balance. The felt discomfort at imbalance will increase with the strength of the attitude and the overall interest in the matter. Analytically, Balance Theory can be described as follows: P: the a person to analyse O: A comparison person (O) X: A comparison 'thing', such as a impersonal entity, which could be a physical object, an idea or an event. This may also be a third person.  3. Cognitive dissonance theory  Festinger's (1957) cognitive dissonance theory suggests that we have an inner drive to hold all our attitudes and behavior in harmony and avoid disharmony (or dissonance). ... When there is an inconsistency between attitudes or behaviors (dissonance), something must change to eliminate the dissonance.  The importance of the cognitions; things that involve beliefs that are highly valued typically result in stronger dissonance. The ratio between dissonant (clashing) thoughts and consonant (harmonious) thoughts. The greater the strength of the dissonance, the more pressure there is to relieve the feelings of discomfort. Why is it important to think about how cognitive dissonance relates to your own health and wellness? Because the mental or emotional distress it can cause can definitely affect your health and well-being. The intensity of the discomfort that comes from cognitive dissonance depends somewhat on personality. People who are flexible enough to adjust their thoughts or live with “gray areas” may not have a strong response when they notice the discrepancies. “Some people may experience it more intensely or frequently if they have a high need for consistency in their lives,” Dr. Leikam says. And recognizing and addressing those negative thoughts or emotions is important. Why Recognizing Cognitive Dissonance Can Be Helpful The discomfort, tension, shame, and anxiety that can come with cognitive dissonance are all negative feelings you’d probably like to avoid. But cognitive dissonance in and of itself doesn’t have to be a bad thing, or only cause distress. It can have a positive effect, too, if it leads to increased self-awareness that can help you grow, Johnson says. Being aware of cognitive dissonance when you experience it can push you to change whatever behaviors aren’t consistent with who you’d like to be. Let’s say it’s a particularly cold and dreary month of the year and someone who typically sees herself as a social butterfly finds herself spending a lot of evenings in, alone. Recognizing that that behavior doesn’t fit her personality might lead her to realize that she might overall be happier if she made more of an effort to reach out to friends or make plans to be more social in her free time. As a result of changing her behavior to fit what she believes makes her happy, she might actually become happier, Leikam says. Alternatively, maybe resolving that dissonance means that she recognizes she’s more introverted than she thought she was, and enjoys that alone time. As a result she might start to feel grateful for and happy about those nights in, rather than beat herself up for being “lazy” or not sociable enough.

Semantic differential scale 
Semantic is also known as intrinsic meaning. In a programmatic language: Syntax is like having the words in a sentence in the right order. whereas Semantics is like having the sentences in a paragraph in the right order.
Semantic Differential (SD) is a type of a rating scale designed to measure the connotative meaning of objects, events, and concepts. The connotations are used to derive the attitude towards the given object, event or concept.

Pioneered by Charles Osgood in 1952, semantic differential scales are a popular technique for measuring people’s attitudes toward nearly anything. Semantic differential scales use a standardized set of bipolar adjectives (see Figure 1) on which research participants rate an issue or object. This simple procedure confers a variety of benefits, both for researchers and study participants.

Through a series of statistical analyses, Osgood identified three recurring, stable dimensions on which people can judge nearly anything (see Table 1): (a) evaluative, focused on the value of the object (e.g., good/bad); (2) potency or power of an object (e.g., strong/weak); and (3) activity or movement of an object (e.g., slow/fast). To use a semantic differential scale, research participants respond to several bipolar adjectives designed to measure each dimension ...