Self assessment questionnaire

Here is a paragraph which supplements the lecture on The Body Project from last week’s lesson.

Think about it in terms of questions you asked yourself after listening to the lecture and as if you have gone to the library and found a book and decided to read this section of the book. Questions afterwards will relate to how you approached this paragraph of text.

Body image plays a part in the marketing of anything from trainers and exercise equipment to cosmetics, clothes and jewellery. Ultimately, advertising attempts to sell dreams, by creating a desirable image around a product. However, the dream can be unrealistic. Advertising favours unblemished skin and ‘perfect’ figures. Although images are often airbrushed and models below average weight, insecurities may be sparked:

“I don’t look like this – I am not good enough.”

Young people may be particularly affected. At this stage of life, insecurities may be heightened and there is often a need to be accepted; to fit in. Image may be used as a measure of self-worth – true self-acceptance often comes much later in life. A constant bombardment of ‘perfection’ can encourage low self-esteem and a sense of inferiority.

Negative feelings about body image are common, particularly (but not always) in females. Some susceptible individuals may develop an eating disorder such as bulimia or anorexia. There are many complex triggers, but sufferers are often perfectionists who are especially unforgiving of their own perceived shortcomings. For them, the pressure of ‘perfection’ may become an obsession.

In a world of difference, advertising favours one body type – thin, toned and flawless. Subliminally, we receive the message that this is what we should aspire to.

Around 90% of British and American women are dissatisfied with their bodies.

A) Which statement applies to what you did before you read the piece of text?:

1. I didn’t do anything.
2. Before reading the text I thought about what it might be about.
3. Before reading I thought about the Body Project lecture and the questions that had come from that lecture.

B) Which statement applies to what you did as you began to read the text?:

1. I just started reading.
2. I thought about how it fitted in with the Body project lecture.
3. I started making notes on key points.

C) Which statement applies to you as you finished reading the text?:

1. I just got the end and finished reading.
2. I thought about how it related to the lecture and how it increased my knowledge of the subject.
3. I reviewed my notes and made sure I understood what I had written.

D) Which statement applies to what you did at the end of the exercise?:

1. I didn’t do anything afterwards.
2. I thought a bit about how useful or not the text had been.
3. I thought about other questions that had come from reading the text.

Feedback

If you chose all 1s you probably need to have another go at the week’s lesson. You need to be more active in the process of reading so that you get more out if it and make more effective use of your time.

If you chose mostly 2s you are doing well in applying yourself to the task, and are starting to be a more active reader.

If you chose mostly 3s you are on the way to becoming a critical reader, which is the most effective way of reading and where you will get the most out of your study time.