Size Perception Research Articles

Body Size Perceptions Associated with Body Mass Index and Weight Loss Intentions Among Two Immigrant Populations.

The rates of obesity among immigrant populations within the USA rise with increasing duration of residency. The aims of this study were to examine weight self-perception and body image discrepancy within a large community sample of Hispanic and Somali predominantly immigrant adults. Utilizing a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach to collect survey data from a sample of adults who self-identified as Hispanic, Latino, or Somali in Southeast Minnesota. Correlations among actual body mass index (BMI), perceived weight category, and perceived body size were assessed with Spearman rank correlation coefficients. Associations of weight loss intentions with actual BMI, perceived weight category, perceived body size, and body image discrepancy were assessed using Kruskal-Wallis nonparametric tests. A total of 1256 adults completed the survey and biometric measurements (610 Hispanic, 646 Somali); 81% (457) and 50% (328) had a BMI in the overweight or obese category in the Hispanic and Somali cohorts, respectively. Among participants with a BMI of > 25, more participants reported a perceived body size that was overweight or obese than a perceived weight category that was in the overweight or obese category (79% vs. 48%, p = < 0.0001). Body image discrepancy, but not actual BMI, was associated with weight loss intentions for both groups. Perceived body size and perceived weight category were associated with weight loss intentions for Hispanic participants only. Perceived body size is a more accurate self-report proxy of BMI-defined weight status compared with the perceived weight category among Hispanic and Somali immigrant groups. Body image discrepancy may be more predictive of weight loss intentions than actual BMI.

Unlocking the potential of 'passive' modulation: How sensory stimulation shapes hand and face size.

Knowledge of the body size is intricately tied to multisensory integration processes that rely on the dynamic interplay of top-down and bottom-up mechanisms. Recent years have seen the development of passive sensory stimulation protocols aimed at investigating the modulation of various cognitive functions, primarily inducing perceptual learning and behaviour change without the need for extensive training. Given that reductions in sensory input have been associated with alterations in body size perception, it is reasonable to hypothesize that increasing sensory information through passive sensory stimulation could similarly influence the perception of the size of body parts. The primary aim of this study was to investigate the potential modulatory effects of passive sensory stimulation on the perception of hand and face size in a group of young adults. Passive sensory stimulation effectively modulated the size representation of the stimulated hand, supporting the notion that access to somatosensory and proprioceptive information is prioritised for the hands but may not extend to the face. Increased somatosensory input resulted in a reduction of distortion, providing evidence for bottom-up modulation of size representation. Passive sensory stimulation can induce subjective changes in body size perception without the need for extensive training. This paradigm holds promise as a potential alternative for modulating distorted size representation in individuals with body representational deficits.

Microphallus early management in infancy saves adulthood sensual life: A ‎‎comprehensive review.

Microphallus/Micropenis is a rare condition with significant physical and psychological implications for affected individuals. This article comprehensively reviews micropenis, its etiology, epidemiology, and various treatment options. We conducted a thorough literature review to collect relevant information on micropenis and microphallus, as well as related disorders. Our primary databases were PubMed, Medline, and Google Scholar. We searched for articles published in English between 2000 and 2023. Our analysis included 67 review articles, 56 research studies, 11 case reports, one guideline, and one editorial. Our search terms included "microphallus", "micropenis", "congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism", "androgen insensitivity syndrome", "pediatric management of micropenis", "testosterone therapy", and "psychosocial implications of micropenis". We focused on diagnosing micropenis and related conditions, including hormonal assessments, medical and surgical treatment options, psychosocial and psychological well-being, sexual development of adolescents, and sociocultural influences on men's perceptions of penile size. Additionally, we explored parenting and family dynamics in cases of micropenis and disorders of sex development, implications of hormonal treatment in neonates, and studies related to penile augmentation procedures and their effectiveness. The article highlights the importance of early diagnosis and intervention in addressing the physical and psychological well-being of individuals with micropenis. Surgical procedures, such as penile lengthening and girth enhancement, and non-surgical approaches like hormonal therapy are explored. The significance of psychological support, education, and lifestyle modifications is emphasized. Early management and comprehensive care are crucial for individuals with micropenis, from infancy to adolescence and beyond. A multidisciplinary approach involving urologists, endocrinologists, and mental health professionals is recommended. Regular assessment of treatment effectiveness and the need for updated guidelines are essential to provide the best possible care. Healthcare professionals should prioritize early diagnosis, and neonatologists should measure stretched penile length in neonates. A collaborative effort is needed among professionals, parents, and affected individuals to create a supportive environment that recognizes worth beyond physical differences. Continuous research and evidence-based updates are crucial for improving care standards.

Body Weight Perceptions Among Youth From 6 Countries and Associations With Social Media Use: Findings From the International Food Policy Study

BackgroundBody dissatisfaction is associated with poor psychological and physical health, particularly among young people. However, limited data exist on body size perceptions across countries and factors associated with dissatisfaction. ObjectiveThis study examined dissatisfaction prevalence and associations with sociodemographics and social media use among youth in 6 countries. DesignRepeat cross-sectional national online surveys were conducted as part of the 2019 and 2020 International Food Policy Study Youth Survey. ParticipantsThe sample included 21 277 youth aged 10 to 17 years from Australia, Canada, Chile, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Youth were recruited to complete the online survey through parents/guardians enrolled in the Nielsen Consumer Insights Global Panel and their partners’ panels. Main outcome measuresFigural drawing scales assessed self-perceived and ideal body images, with differences between scales representing body dissatisfaction. Statistical analyses performedMultinomial logistic regression models examined differences in body dissatisfaction by country, and associations with sociodemographics and either social media screen time or platforms used, including 2-way interactions with country. ResultsOverall, approximately 45% of youth reported the same perceived and ideal body sizes, whereas 35% were “larger than ideal” (from 33% in Canada and Australia to 42% in Chile) and 20% were “thinner than ideal” (from 15% in Chile to 22% in Mexico). Greater social media screen time was associated with a higher likelihood of moderate-severe dissatisfaction for being “thinner than ideal” and at least mild dissatisfaction for being “larger than ideal” (P < .003 for all contrasts), with greater dissatisfaction among users of YouTube and Snapchat than nonusers (P ≤ .005 for both contrasts). Modest differences in body dissatisfaction between countries were observed for age, ethnicity, body mass index, and weight-based teasing. ConclusionsBody dissatisfaction is prevalent among youth across diverse countries. These findings highlight the need to promote healthy body image in youth, particularly among social media users.

Shifting goalposts: widening discrepancies between girls' actual and ideal bodies predict disordered eating from preadolescence to adulthood.

Little is known regarding how disordered eating (DE) relates to perceived actual body size, ideal body size, and their discrepancy. This study examined changes in perceived actual body size, ideal body size, and actual-ideal discrepancies over time, and their relationship with subsequent DE. Participants were 759 female twins from the Minnesota Twin Family Study who reported on body image and DE every three to five years between approximately ages 11 to 29. We used multilevel modeling to examine developmental trajectories of body mass index (BMI) and Body Rating Scale Actual, Ideal, and Actual-Ideal discrepancy scores and compared the degree to which BMI, BRS body size perceptions, and body dissatisfaction predicted DE behaviors and attitudes over time. Participants were treated as singletons in analyses. Perceived Actual body sizes and BMIs increased from age 10 to 33, whereas Ideal body sizes remained largely stable across time, resulting in growing Actual-Ideal discrepancies. Body size perceptions and Actual-Ideal discrepancies predicted subsequent DE behaviors and attitudes more strongly than did body dissatisfaction as measured by self-report questionnaires. This research advances understanding of how female body size perceptions and ideals change across development and highlights their relationship with subsequent DE.

Gratitude letters to nature: Effects on self-nature representations and pro-environmental behavioral intentions

Although gratitude is often defined as an emotion that motivates reciprocity and social connectedness, people can also experience gratitude to nonhuman entities such as nature. Despite expressions of gratitude to nature being common in many cultures, little research has examined its implications for sustainability. In two studies, we explored how writing letters of gratitude to nature increase pro-environmental behavior by leading people to see nature as large and by leading to more inclusion of nature in one's self-concept. Study 1 compared the effects of nature gratitude letters to gratitude letters to built environments and to a control condition, finding that nature gratitude letters led to greater inclusion of nature in self and greater perceptions of nature size. Although there was no direct effect on intentions to act pro-environmentally, nature gratitude letters had indirect effects leading to greater pro-environmental intentions via both increased nature size and nature inclusion. Study 2 replicated these findings and explored two potential moderators: biospheric value orientation and personal norms of positive reciprocity. Replicating Study 1, nature gratitude letters led to more nature inclusion and greater nature size, and they produced stronger self-transcendent emotions and more pro-environmental behavioral intentions. Further, an interaction showed that the benefits of nature gratitude letters on pro-environmental behavioral intentions was only significant among those with relatively greater endorsement of biospheric values. Implications for sustainability and emotions research are discussed.

Exploring virtual reality object perception following sensory-motor interactions with different visuo-haptic collider properties

Interacting with the environment often requires the integration of visual and haptic information. Notably, perceiving external objects depends on how our brain binds sensory inputs into a unitary experience. The feedback provided by objects when we interact (through our movements) with them might then influence our perception. In VR, the interaction with an object can be dissociated by the size of the object itself by means of ‘colliders’ (interactive spaces surrounding the objects). The present study investigates possible after-effects in size discrimination for virtual objects after exposure to a prolonged interaction characterized by visual and haptic incongruencies. A total of 96 participants participated in this virtual reality study. Participants were distributed into four groups, in which they were required to perform a size discrimination task between two cubes before and after 15 min of a visuomotor task involving the interaction with the same virtual cubes. Each group interacted with a different cube where the visual (normal vs. small collider) and the virtual cube's haptic (vibration vs. no vibration) features were manipulated. The quality of interaction (number of touches and trials performed) was used as a dependent variable to investigate the performance in the visuomotor task. To measure bias in size perception, we compared changes in point of subjective equality (PSE) before and after the task in the four groups. The results showed that a small visual collider decreased manipulation performance, regardless of the presence or not of the haptic signal. However, change in PSE was found only in the group exposed to the small visual collider with haptic feedback, leading to increased perception of the cube size. This after-effect was absent in the only visual incongruency condition, suggesting that haptic information and multisensory integration played a crucial role in inducing perceptual changes. The results are discussed considering the recent findings in visual-haptic integration during multisensory information processing in real and virtual environments.

Early Career Teachers’ Sense of Professional Agency in the Classroom and Associations With Their Perception of Transformational Leadership Vision and School Size

This study explores the relationship between early career teachers’ sense of professional agency in the classroom, their perceptions of principals’ transformational leadership vision, and school size. The survey data were collected from 779 primary and junior secondary school teachers with a maximum of 5 years of teaching experience in China. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling in the Mplus statistical package. The results show that teachers possess a relatively high sense of professional agency and report that their principals exhibit a rather high ability to sustain shared transformational vision. The results also suggest that teachers’ sense of professional agency is positively correlated with their perceptions of transformational vision. Moreover, the results revealed that teachers’ sense of professional agency in terms of collaborative learning and transformative practice is significantly higher in small schools than in large schools. The results indicate the importance of transformational vision to facilitate teachers’ professional agency.

In the pursuit of a healthier diet among young Chinese adults: identifying important food quality attributes and factors that influence food choices

SummaryThe paper examines preferences for nutritional and health‐related food attributes, the importance placed on intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics of food and the individual, household and psychographic determinants when making choices. To address the lack of empirical studies, the paper estimates Poisson, negative binomial and linear regressions using data from 457 young Chinese adults between 18 and 30 years. The results show a strong preference for nutritional and health‐related food attributes. Gender and unemployment are associated with a decrease in the number of nutritional features valued in food choices. In contrast, a higher income and a positive perception of body shape are associated with an increase in the number of valued nutritional features. Also, older individuals assign lower importance to intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics in evaluating food, while larger household size, higher income, and positive body shape perception increase the importance placed on intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics in evaluating food.

Body size as a metric for the affordable world

The physical body of an organism serves as a vital interface for interactions with its environment. Here, we investigated the impact of human body size on the perception of action possibilities (affordances) offered by the environment. We found that the body size delineated a distinct boundary on affordances, dividing objects of continuous real-world sizes into two discrete categories with each affording distinct action sets. Additionally, the boundary shifted with imagined body sizes, suggesting a causal link between body size and affordance perception. Intriguingly, ChatGPT, a large language model lacking physical embodiment, exhibited a modest yet comparable affordance boundary at the scale of human body size, suggesting the boundary is not exclusively derived from organism-environment interactions. A subsequent fMRI experiment offered preliminary evidence of affordance processing exclusively for objects within the body size range, but not for those beyond. This suggests that only objects capable of being manipulated are the objects capable of offering affordance in the eyes of an organism. In summary, our study suggests a novel definition of object-ness in an affordance-based context, advocating the concept of embodied cognition in understanding the emergence of intelligence constrained by an organism’s physical attributes.

Body size as a metric for the affordable world.

The physical body of an organism serves as a vital interface for interactions with its environment. Here, we investigated the impact of human body size on the perception of action possibilities (affordances) offered by the environment. We found that the body size delineated a distinct boundary on affordances, dividing objects of continuous real-world sizes into two discrete categories with each affording distinct action sets. Additionally, the boundary shifted with imagined body sizes, suggesting a causal link between body size and affordance perception. Intriguingly, ChatGPT, a large language model lacking physical embodiment, exhibited a modest yet comparable affordance boundary at the scale of human body size, suggesting the boundary is not exclusively derived from organism-environment interactions. A subsequent fMRI experiment offered preliminary evidence of affordance processing exclusively for objects within the body size range, but not for those beyond. This suggests that only objects capable of being manipulated are the objects capable of offering affordance in the eyes of an organism. In summary, our study suggests a novel definition of object-ness in an affordance-based context, advocating the concept of embodied cognition in understanding the emergence of intelligence constrained by an organism's physical attributes.

Reduced influence of perceptual context in mild traumatic brain injury is not an illusion.

Perceptual grouping is impaired following mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). This may affect visual size perception, a process influenced by perceptual grouping abilities. We conducted two experiments to evaluate visual size perception in people with self-reported history of mTBI, using two different size-contrast illusions: the Ebbinghaus Illusion (Experiment 1) and the Müller-Lyer illusion (Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, individuals with mTBI and healthy controls were asked to compare the size of two target circles that were either the same size or different sizes. The target circles appeared by themselves (no-context condition), or were surrounded by smaller or larger circles (context condition). Similar levels of accuracy were evident between the groups in the no-context condition. However, size judgements by mTBI participants were more accurate in the context condition, suggesting that they processed the target circles separately from the surrounding circles. In Experiment 2, individuals with mTBI and healthy controls judged the length of parallel lines that appeared with arrowheads (context condition) or without arrowheads (no context condition). Consistent with Experiment 1, size judgements by mTBI participants were more accurate than size judgements by control participants in the context condition. These findings suggest that mTBI influences size perception by impairing perceptual grouping of visual stimuli in near proximity.

Encoding contact size using static and dynamic electrotactile finger stimulation: natural decoding vs. trained cues.

Electrotactile stimulation through matrix electrodes is a promising technology to restore high-resolution tactile feedback in extended reality applications. One of the fundamental tactile effects that should be simulated is the change in the size of the contact between the finger and a virtual object. The present study investigated how participants perceive the increase of stimulation area when stimulating the index finger using static or dynamic (moving) stimuli produced by activating 1 to 6 electrode pads. To assess the ability to interpret the stimulation from the natural cues (natural decoding), without any prior training, the participants were instructed to draw the size of the stimulated area and identify the size difference when comparing two consecutive stimulations. To investigate if other "non-natural" cues can improve the size estimation, the participants were asked to enumerate the number of active pads following a training protocol. The results demonstrated that participants could perceive the change in size without prior training (e.g., the estimated area correlated with the stimulated area, p < 0.001; ≥ two-pad difference recognized with > 80% success rate). However, natural decoding was also challenging, as the response area changed gradually and sometimes in complex patterns when increasing the number of active pads (e.g., four extra pads needed for the statistically significant difference). Nevertheless, by training the participants to utilize additional cues the limitations of natural perception could be compensated. After the training, the mismatch in the activated and estimated number of pads was less than one pad regardless of the stimulus size. Finally, introducing the movement of the stimulus substantially improved discrimination (e.g., 100% median success rate to recognize ≥ one-pad difference). The present study, therefore, provides insights into stimulation size perception, and practical guidelines on how to modulate pad activation to change the perceived size in static and dynamic scenarios.

Silhouette showcards confirm altered obesity-associated body image perception in international cohort study of African-origin populations

ObjectivesGiven the increasing prevalence of obesity and need for effective interventions, there is a growing interest in understanding how an individual’s body image can inform obesity prevention and management. This...

The contribution of semantic distance knowledge to size constancy in perception and grasping when visual cues are limited

To achieve a stable perception of object size in spite of variations in viewing distance, our visual system needs to combine retinal image information and distance cues. Previous research has shown that, not only retinal cues, but also extraretinal sensory signals can provide reliable information about depth and that different neural networks (perception versus action) can exhibit preferences in the use of these different sources of information during size-distance computations. Semantic knowledge of distance, a purely cognitive signal, can also provide distance information. Do the perception and action systems show differences in their ability to use this information in calculating object size and distance? To address this question, we presented ‘glow-in-the-dark’ objects of different physical sizes at different real distances in a completely dark room. Participants viewed the objects monocularly through a 1-mm pinhole. They either estimated the size and distance of the objects or attempted to grasp them. Semantic knowledge was manipulated by providing an auditory cue about the actual distance of the object: “20 cm”, “30 cm”, and “40 cm”. We found that semantic knowledge of distance contributed to some extent to size constancy operations during perceptual estimation and grasping, but size constancy was never fully restored. Importantly, the contribution of knowledge about distance to size constancy was equivalent between perception and action. Overall, our study reveals similarities and differences between the perception and action systems in the use of semantic distance knowledge and suggests that this cognitive signal is useful but not a reliable depth cue for size constancy under restricted viewing conditions.

3D versus 2D: Effects of the number of dimensions of product images on perceptions of product size

AbstractWhen shopping online, it is difficult to estimate size from visual cues in the form of product images. While package shape and color have been discussed as factors influencing perceptions of product size, this research focuses on the influence of visual cues, such as the number of dimensions of the product image (i.e., two‐dimensional image vs. three‐dimensional image) on perceptions of product size. This study involved three surveys whose results revealed that three‐dimensional product images are perceived as larger products than two‐dimensional product images. Moreover, three‐dimensional product images positively influenced perceived product weight, suggesting a downstream effect from perceived weight on willingness to pay (WTP, Study 3). The results of this study contribute to a better understanding of how consumers perceive product size from product images in online retailing. Specifically, the results of this study extend our understanding of the mechanisms behind product size perception by including the influential factor of product image dimensionality in size perception bias. In addition, these findings have practical implications. In recent years, food packaging has become smaller, but consumers may react negatively to smaller packages, even when the volume of the contents remains unchanged. For these practical concerns, it may be possible to mitigate the negative effects of downsizing by presenting product images in a three‐dimensional format.

What is the link between internal communication, organizational culture and environmental strategy? The context of company size and employee perception

PurposeThe article explores the linkages between the type of environmental strategy (ES), the use of internal communication (IC), and the greening of organizational culture (OC). Moreover, the article empirically examines whether company size matters in the use of environmental IC practices in the green context. Additionally, the article considers differences between people employed at different organizational hierarchy levels. The basis for such a comparison is their opinions about the effectiveness of communication practices.Design/methodology/approachEmpirical research employed a survey method done on 199 organizations in 2020. Statistical analyses used the chi-squared test, Kendall’s Tau-b correlation coefficient, and the Mann–Whitney U test.FindingsThe research showed that companies with a proactive green strategy more often use different communication practices related to ES and have a greener culture. The study proved that larger companies more often use the analyzed communication practices. However, we found no significant difference in opinion between middle managers and line employees about the effectiveness of these practices.Practical implicationsThe main contribution to business practice is the exploratory model based on the empirical study, which allows organizations to successfully implement the ES.Originality/valueStudies rarely combine the three organizational elements: IC, OC, and ES. This article provides new empirical evidence on relationships between features of OC, green strategy types, and communication practices.

The Addis Ababa Lions: Whole-Genome Sequencing of a Rare and Precious Population.

Lions are widely known as charismatic predators that once roamed across the globe, but their populations have been greatly affected by environmental factors and human activities over the last 150 yr. Of particular interest is the Addis Ababa lion population, which has been maintained in captivity at around 20 individuals for over 75 yr, while many wild African lion populations have become extinct. In order to understand the molecular features of this unique population, we conducted a whole-genome sequencing study on 15 Addis Ababa lions and detected 4.5 million distinct genomic variants compared with the reference African lion genome. Using functional annotation, we identified several genes with mutations that potentially impact various traits such as mane color, body size, reproduction, gastrointestinal functions, cardiovascular processes, and sensory perception. These findings offer valuable insights into the genetics of this threatened lion population.

Multi-modal Representation of the Size of Space in the Human Brain.

To estimate the size of an indoor space, we must analyze the visual boundaries that limit the spatial extent and acoustic cues from reflected interior surfaces. We used fMRI to examine how the brain processes the geometric size of indoor scenes when various types of sensory cues are presented individually or together. Specifically, we asked whether the size of space is represented in a modality-specific way or in an integrative way that combines multimodal cues. In a block-design study, images or sounds that depict small- and large-sized indoor spaces were presented. Visual stimuli were real-world pictures of empty spaces that were small or large. Auditory stimuli were sounds convolved with different reverberations. By using a multivoxel pattern classifier, we asked whether the two sizes of space can be classified in visual, auditory, and visual-auditory combined conditions. We identified both sensory-specific and multimodal representations of the size of space. To further investigate the nature of the multimodal region, we specifically examined whether it contained multimodal information in a coexistent or integrated form. We found that angular gyrus and the right medial frontal gyrus had modality-integrated representation, displaying sensitivity to the match in the spatial size information conveyed through image and sound. Background functional connectivity analysis further demonstrated that the connection between sensory-specific regions and modality-integrated regions increases in the multimodal condition compared with single modality conditions. Our results suggest that spatial size perception relies on both sensory-specific and multimodal representations, as well as their interplay during multimodal perception.

The effect of shape on visual size perception.

The Delboeuf illusion occurs when two circles (test figures) of equal radius are placed side by side and surrounded by concentric circles (inducers) of varying radii, resulting in the test figure being misestimated depending on the size of the surrounding inducer. This study conducted three experiments to explore the impact of shape and the contour attraction and parallel attraction on the Delboeuf illusion for different shapes. In Experiment 1 (n = 64), the test figures remained as circles while the inducers varied in shape. Experiment 2 (n = 64) involved simultaneous changes in the shape of both the test figures and the inducers. Experiment 3 (n = 64) replicated Experiment 2, with the exception that the areas of the inducers were equal and the distances between the inducers and the test figures were also equal. We conclude that the shape of the inducer and the test figure had an impact on the visual size perception, and in the magnitude of the Delboeuf illusion, varied depending on contour attraction. Configurations with circles or shapes resembling circles exhibit contour attraction, while configurations with shapes possessing longer parallel lines shift toward parallel attraction, both attractions enhance the perceived magnitude of the Delboeuf illusion.