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Chapter 47 - Body Matrices

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 November 2025

Virginia Ramseyer Winter
Affiliation:
University of Minnesota
Tracy L. Tylka
Affiliation:
Ohio State University
Antoinette M. Landor
Affiliation:
University of Missouri
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Summary

The Body Matrices (Frederick & Peplau, 2007; Gray & Frederick, 2012) contain 28 computer-generated images of shirtless men varying in body fat and muscularity and 32 images of women in bikinis varying in body fat and breast size. The male matrices present seven levels of muscularity and four levels of body fat. The female matrices present eight levels of body fat and four levels of breast size. Each matrix contains all possible combinations of these body fat and muscularity/breast size level (e.g., slender women with large breasts; heavier women with smaller breasts). Consistent with self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987), they assess men’s and women’s perceptions of their current bodies and their ideal bodies, and discrepancies between these perceptions. They can be administered to adolescents and/or adults and are free to use. This chapter describes the development and psychometrics of The Body Matrices. Test-retest reliability was high for current and ideal bodies for men and women, and moderate to high for self-ideal discrepancies. BMI (self-reported height and weight) was strongly associated with current body images chosen by participants. The chapter provides the images, response scale, and scoring procedure. Logistics of use, such as permissions, copyright, and contact information, are provided for readers.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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References

Brown, T. A., Cash, T. F., & Mikulka, P. J. (1990). Attitudinal body-image assessment: Factor analysis of the Body-Self Relations Questionnaire. Journal of Personality Assessment, 55, 135144. http://doi.org/10.1080/00223891.1990.9674053CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frederick, D. A., Brillhart, M., Sharma, A., & Buchanan, G. M. (2025). The Muscle Silhouette Measure and Fat Silhouette Measure. In Ramseyer-Winter, V., Tylka, T. L., & Landor, A. M. (Eds.), Handbook of Body Image-Related Measures (pp. 288–290). Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Frederick, D. A., Buchanan, G. M., Sadeghi-Azar, L., Peplau, L. A., Haselton, M. G., Berezovskaya, A., & Lipinski, R. E. (2007). Desiring the muscular ideal: Men’s body satisfaction in the United States, Ukraine, and Ghana. Psychology of Men and Masculinity, 8, 103117. https://doi.org/10.1037/1524-9220.8.2.103.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frederick, D. A., & Peplau, L. A. (2007). The UCLA Body Matrices: Computer-generated Images of Men and Women Varying in Body Fat and Muscularity/Breast Size to Assess Body Satisfaction and Preferences. Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Memphis, TN. https://doi.org/10.1037/e633982013-708.Google Scholar
Gray, P. B., & Frederick, D. A. (2012). Body image and body type preferences in St. Kitts, Caribbean: A cross-cultural comparison with U.S. samples regarding attitudes towards muscularity, body fat, and breast size. Evolutionary Psychology, 10, 631655. https://doi.org/10.1177/147470491201000319.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gruber, A. J., Pope, H. G., Borowiecki, J., & Cohane, G. (1999). The development of the somatomorphic matrix: A bi-axial instrument for measuring body image in men and women. In Olds, T. S., Dotman, J., & Norton, K. I. (Eds.), Kinanthropometry (pp.217232), Sydney: International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry.Google Scholar
Stunkard, A., Sorensen, T., & Schulsinger, F. (1983). Use of the Danish Adoption Register for the study of obesity and thinness. In Kety, S. (Ed.), The Genetics of Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders (pp. 115120). Raven Press.Google Scholar
Tossell, C. C., Gómez, A., de Visser, E. J., Vázquez, A., Donadio, B. T., Metcalfe, A., et al. (2022). Spiritual over physical formidability determines willingness to fight and sacrifice through loyalty in cross-cultural populations. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(6). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2113076119.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed

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