Photography As A Learning Experience In Self-perception.

Abstract

This study is concerned with the use of still photography as a technique in helping individuals improve their ideas about their physical appearance in order to enhance self-esteem. Eight women between the ages of twenty-nine and forty-two were told the purpose of the study was to explore the impact of being photographed. Data pertaining to how subjects felt about their own personal appearance, how they defined themselves as physical beings, how important they believed their personal appearance was, and who they identified as their significant others were collected using the Tennessee Self Concept Scale and a Personal Appearance Inventory developed specifically for this study. The women were then photographed in a studio setting and the resulting photographs were returned without specific instructions. After approximately ten days they were photographed the second time, and the resulting photographs returned. During the course of the study, subjects participated in tape-recorded interviews in which they responded to verbal probes introduced by the researcher. The probes were open-ended and general, designed to provide an opportunity for participants to tell how they felt while being photographed, how they felt about their photographs, what feedback opportunities were created, and the nature of the feedback received as a consequence of the photographs made during this study. Complete transcripts of each woman's interviews with the researcher are included, as are representative photographs which were generated. The women demonstrated a high level of interest and involvement in the study. Through self-reports they expressed many insights regarding their self-perceptions and described significant interactions with others because of their photographs. The experience of being photographed seemed to cause subjects to be in a state of heightened self-awareness with regard to their personal appearance just before and during the photographic session. During the photographic session each woman became very involved and her psychic energy seemed focused on the activity of the moment. The women experienced a high level of concentration on the content of their photographs. Once the photographs were presented to them and then all displayed for easy viewing, the women did not re-establish eye contact with the researcher for several minutes. This phenomenon was true in every photograph delivery session. The women experienced surprise that their photographs were pleasing to them, and often credited the researcher with unusual photographic skill. They critiqued and analyzed their photographs with a sense of detachment, yet with a sense of awareness that the person was indeed she. Most of them saw physical things about themselves which they identified as new perceptions and also attributed personality traits to themselves which were suggested by their photographs. Some of them also were open to suggestion from the researcher and accepted input in revising their own self-definition. All of the women received feedback from others as a result of sharing their photographs with them. Direct verbal feedback from others was the most common, but not the only process operating. The subjects also observed and interpreted the non-verbal cues others displayed while viewing their photographs. Having patients view photographs of themselves has been identified by those who use photo therapy as self-confrontation. In this study, the photographs which were given to the subjects were produced with the goal of being pleasing to them. This technique may be thought of as controlled self-confrontation. Potential clinical uses are altering self-perceptions, improving self-esteem, enhancing involvement in treatment, exploring roles, and observing interaction processes. This study provides some evidence that a household cliche also may be a clinical truth: one picture is worth a thousand words.