Date of Award

1997

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Psychology

Abstract

This study examined whether there were significant differences in the manifest content of spontaneous and primed early recollections of women who have a positive body image and women who have a negative body image. The Manaster-Perryman Manifest Content Early Recollection Scoring Manual was used to score the early memories of participants. Participants in this study consisted of 94 women. Scores on the Body Shape Questionnaire were utilized to classify women into body image groups. Thirty-nine women were identified as having a positive body image; 55 women were identified as having a negative body image. Results indicated no significant differences between the group of women satisfied with their bodies and women dissatisfied with their bodies with regard to the following manifest content variables: Mother, Father, Sibling, Group, Illness/Injury, Mastery, Mutuality, Attention-Getting, Social Conformity, Visual, Motor, Active, Passive, Internal, External, Positive, and Negative. Results of this study indicated a significant within-group difference in the manifest content of the spontaneous early recollections and in the manifest content of the primed early recollections of participants. This difference occurred for the following variables: Mother, Father, Sibling, Group, Mastery, Mutuality, Social Conformity, Motor, Active, Passive, and Positive. Results indicated no significant differences in the personality characteristics of women who were satisfied with their bodies and women who were dissatisfied. Results also indicated that the nature of spontaneous and primed early recollections may differ, with each type of memory revealing something different about a person.

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