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Perception of the Upright in Relation to Body Image

Netherne Hospital, Coulsdon, Surrey

ABSTRACT

1. The nature of bodily perception and its relationship to the more familiar "body image" concept is discussed.
   
2. Disturbances of the body percept with disorientation in space, displacement of the central bodily axis from the vertical or division in the sagittal plane of the perceived body into halves are described.
   
3. An experimental method using the measurement of errors in perception of the vertical is described and related to the disturbances in perception of the body.
   
4. Groups of normal subjects, schizophrenic, organic and body percept cases have been tested by this method and the results found in the different groups are compared and contrasted.
   
5. The errors in perception of the vertical of schizophrenic and normal subjects were found to differ significantly from the errors of organic and body percept cases. There was no significant difference between the results of organic and body percept cases.
   
6. A significant leftward tendency in perception of the vertical was found in normal females and in schizophrenic subjects of both sexes. A rightward tendency was found in normal men and organic and body percept cases.
   
7. The significance of this sex difference and of the rightward and leftward tendency, together with other proven and suggested causes of errors in perception of the vertical, are discussed.
   
8. The value of a study of errors in perceptual tests where two spheres of bodily perception are involved for the investigation of disturbances of body perception is emphasized.