Evaluation: Guardia

Generalisability
1. The sample was limited which reduces the generalisability of results. The sample consisted of 25 anorexic participants which is a small sample, and all participants were female and from the same clinic in France.
  1. Therefore, the results may be insufficient to be generalised beyond France and the age group that was tested, as well as lacking generalisability to males as they were not represented in the sample.
2. However, as most people suffering from anorexia are young females, the sample is generalisable to the target population.
  1. Despite this, evidence suggests that the prevalence of anorexia in males is growing and therefore the results are starting to lack generalisability more as the target population is changing.
Reliability
1. Participants followed a standardised procedure and there were many controls put in place, increasing the reliability of results. For example, the anorexic group and control group were matched on age and education, reducing the effect of individual differences on results, each aperture was shown 4 times, the same experimenter was used for each participant in the 3PP condition, and participants were stood 5.9m from the wall which the apertures were being projected on to.
  1. This high level of control increases the reliability of the study's results as it makes the study easy to replicate and for more results to be collected and compared.
2. Furthermore, this study is a replication of a previous study, which Guardia did to make sure the previous findings were reliable.
Application
1. The results of this study suggested that people suffering with anorexia perceive their own body as larger, whereas they perceive others as mostly true to their real weight.
  1. These results have high applicability as they help deepen our understanding of anorexia and allow us to conduct further research in order to support these findings further.
2. Guardia suggested that the reason for the body image distortion experienced by the anorexic group is due to their CNS not fully updating so they are unable to see the extent of their low body weight.
  1. This helps explain a reason why anorexics have issues with their body image (distorted cognition), and could help inform treatment options.
Validity
1. The study was conducted in a lab setting which could have impacted the results as they didn't reflect real life. "Door like" apertures were projected on a wall rather than real door frames being used, so the task being done was more artificial as making a visual judgement of a projection is not the same as judging a physical frame.
  1. Therefore, the results of the study may lack ecological validity as they might not reflect the real perception participants have of themselves or others.
2. However, some controls were put in place to make sure the projected apertures were as realistic as possible. For example, they were 2m in height which is similar to the height of a real doorframe and they were projected a certain distance from the wall to ensure they reached the floor like a real doorframe would.
  1. As the apertures were made to resemble a real door frame, the results will likely be more ecologically valid and would reflect more realistic attitudes to body image in anorexics.
Ethics
1. As the study was exploring a sensitive and personal subject, participants could have potentially become upset. Participants were essentially asked to consider their own body weight and compare it to someone else's, which may have made them feel fat and unable to fit through the aperture.
  1. As anorexia is often linked to weight insecurities, this could be distressing for the participants, suggesting participant protection was poor, which is an ethical issue that needs consideration. This could have potentially led to a deterioration in their disorder also.
  2. However, there was an ethics panel involved to combat this, which improves the ethics of the results by increasing the level of protection for participants.

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Evaluation: Guardia

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