The present study investigated body-image distortion and body-image dissatisfaction for a sample of 75 male and 75 female university students, in relation to personality variables implicated in the literature, such as sex-role orientation, self-esteem, locus of control, and depression. Women perceived their weight deviation from the norm at over 15% above their actual deviation, whereas men distorted less than 1%. In a multiple regression analysis, none of the personality measures correlated significantly with body-image distortion; however, sex of subject accounted for 25% of its variance. Body dissatisfaction was significantly associated with low self-esteem, externality, depression, and distortion. The relationship between body-image distortion and dissatisfaction, although significant, was surprisingly small. Apparently, these two aspects of body-image disturbance represent quite distinct constructs.

Separate groups of rats were trained and tested on asymmetrically and symmetrically reinforced successive delayed matching-to-sample (DMTS) or delayed discrimination (DD) tasks in Experiment 1. Each rat received training and testing on symmetrically reinforced DMTS and DD tasks in Experiment 2. The only difference between each task was that the rats had to respond correctly to a light or tone test stimulus, S2' if it matched a light or tone sample stimulus, S" in DMTS, but could respond to either S2 if S, had been a particular stimulus in DD. Only correct leverpresses were reinforced in the asymmetrically reinforced version of each task. Both correct presses and correct omissions were reinforced in the symmetrically reinforced version of each task. Response biases to leverpress during tests for delayed responding to S. were reduced in both symmetrically reinforced tasks, but only in the DD task did such contingencies produce consistently poorer performance in responding to either S. in Experiment 1. Declines in accuracy of performance that occurred in both experiments were greater to the visual than to the auditory S, only in the DMTS tasks with increased intervals between S, and S2. A third experiment, in which rats had to respond to S2 if it matched S. (DMTS) or if S2 mismatched S. (DMmTS), was carried out. Modality of S. similarly affected accuracy of delayed responding in each task, as in the first two experiments. Methodological and theoretical implications of these results are discussed in terms of Honig and Thompson's (1982) dual-process theory of working memory.Honig and Thompson (1982) distinguish between retrospection, memory of a previous stimulus, and prospection, retention of an instruction for future responding to the previous stimulus, in short-term memory of nonhuman animals.

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The present study investigated the reliability and accuracy of the Body-image Distortion Questionnaire, a paper-and-pencil self-report measure. Forty male and 41 female college students completed the questionnaire on each of two occasions 21 days apart. During the second session, height, weight, and body build were measured. Results indicated that the questionnaire is a reliable and accurate measure of body-image distortion.