Relationship between Accentuations in Women and the Peculiarities of the Perception of Their Own Appearance

Introduction. Perceptual processing of one's own face plays a role in reducing self-identity and sense of self. Despite extensive research into the ability to recognize other people's faces, self-face perception remains an understudied area. In this perceptual processing, our faces are influenced by the medical and psychophysiological conditions of the individual. For example, accentuation of character can affect the perception of one’s own face. Understanding these processes is important for developing a patient-centered approach, personalized strategies for supporting and treating patients with different characterological characteristics who seek aesthetic medicine services. Objective. The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between character accentuations and perception of one’s own face. Methods. The study involved 86 women aged from 20 to 65 years (mean age 39±13 years). Oculomotor activity was recorded using a Gazepoint HD 150 Hz eye tracker. To measure personality accentuations, a questionnaire developed by K. Leonhard and G. Shmishek in 1970 was used. Results. When examining one's own face, the characteristics of eye movements reflect the patients' attitude towards themselves, associated with certain psychological characteristics of the individual. Thus, women with dysthymic personality traits tend to scrutinize their appearance, while women with excitable personality traits tend to focus on the positive aspects of visual information. Pedantry correlates with the number of returns and fixations on attractive features, which may reflect a desire to maintain a positive sense of self. Exaltation is associated with the length of the scanning path, the number of saccades on attractive features, which also reflects a positive self-perception. The personal profiles of the study participants are characterized by accentuated traits, among which the hyperthymic and exalted type of character accentuation predominates.The patients were divided into subgroups depending on which areas of the face they looked at more often and for longer - attractive or problem areas of the face. The study showed that, depending on their predominant personality traits, patients either looked primarily at attractive features or focused on facial flaws. Conclusion. Based on the data presented, it was concluded that it is advisable to carry out express diagnostics of the psychological characteristics of patients at the initial appointment in a cosmetology clinic. An initial psychological examination of the patient provides important information about the characterological characteristics of the individual and the perception of attractive features and flaws of his face, which will allow the doctor to predict difficulties that may arise during further medical interventions, as well as improve the level of mutual understanding and communication between patients and the doctor.

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