ISSN 2079-6617 (Print)
ISSN 2309-9828 (Online)
Национальный психологический журнал

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body-oriented psychotherapy

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Kaminskaya N.A. (2017). A qualitative research on the psychological means of developing one’s personal image and appearance. National Psychological Journal. 1, 72-83.

This paper analyzes the internal mechanisms of the individual positive and negative attitude towards appearance, the description of which is under-represented in the psychological literature. The process of creating a consistent image of the physical «Self» and maintaining a positive emotional evaluation of the body and appearance particularly seen through the idea of assigning the individual components of appearance, committed throughout the whole course of life, and is understood as a specific psychological problem, addressable only in human personality as integrative unity, preserving and maintaining its integrity. The hypothesis of the study made by the assumption that a positive attitude to their external appearance is ensured, actualization processes semantic and symbolic mediation of the physical and expressive features, and on the contrary, a negative attitude toward the appearance indicates the failure of such processes. The following characteristics of body image were considered: emotional assessment and the nature of the work on the body, the internal means of maintaining a positive attitude to their appearance, and also the broader context of personal characteristics, particularly the motivational sphere, psychological defenses, the general harmony, integration of personality structure. Differences were demonstrated between conscious and unconscious relation to the external appearance among the subjects, presented significant correlations between the non-integration of personal organization and the negative attitude towards appearance, and between the presence of supervaluation group needs and the negative assessment by the subjects of their appearance. The subjects who accept their appearance are characterized by a greater representation of mediation systems as the assignment of funds in the structure of the physical image «Self», as compared to subjects not receiving their physical appearance.

Received: 10/23/2016

Accepted: 02/22/2017

Pages: 72-83

DOI: 10.11621/npj.2017.0109

Keywords: physicality; physical «Self»; body image; image of appearance; distortion of body image; body-oriented psychotherapy; assignment; integration; clinical method; qualitative research;

By: ;

Available Online: 03/30/2017