Senior Project: The Anorexic Conscience

The aphorism "You are want you eat," runs deep in our food-conscious culture. Studies have suggested Western peoples have the belief that a person's food intake affects not only her physical being, but her character (Nemeroff & Rozin, 1989). We praise, even glorify thin individuals for their self-discipline, while we chastise overweight individuals, and are more likely to view obese people as undisciplined, greedy, and lacking self-respect (Lupton, 1996; Orbach, 1993 as cited in Giles, 2006). Although the clinical disorder "anorexia nervosa," was not coined until the late nineteenth century, and really did not start becoming regularly diagnosed until the 1980's, symptoms of anorexia nervosa date back to the medieval period. Interestingly enough, "holy anorexia" of the medieval times has many similarities to the anorexia nervosa of the twenty-first century. Holy anorexics and nervous anorexics both share the belief that being thin is an ideal state and detest the consequences of eating (Huline-Dickens, 2000, p. 72). Moreover, there is a connection between the groups in that holy anorexics, who were quite ascetic and pursued "spiritual ideals such as self-discipline, self-denial, self-limitations, hypercontrol over body needs, and self-sacrifice" are similar to the perfectionistic nervous anorexic (Garner, 1984 as cited in Fassino et al, 2006, p.602).

I am interested in the nervous anorexic's moral values. Judging from common knowledge, it seems that an anorexic individual would be more apt to stress the importance self-control and some sort of bodily purity (aka refraining from fatty and sugary foods). Ironically, I believe that these values can be beneficial in general, yet it is possible that these good values can become perverted if used in excess or if they are accompanied by some malacious will*. Specifically, I am interested in addressing the "good" moral values of anorexics, and eventually, finding patterns which may suggest how these values play a role in the prevalence of anorexia nervosa. Such findings could be useful for future intervention therapies.

For my project, I have explored whether authors of pro-Anorexia blogs and poetry use more language referencing sacredness (disgust), authority, or in-group loyalty. Pro-anorexia (or pro-ana) websites or online blogs emphasize and advertise grotesquely thin appearances. They advocate for intense practices to lose weight and often include methods of starvation, vomiting, laxatives, excessive exercise. Unlike pro-Mia (or pro-Bulimia nervosa websites), pro-Ana sites usually focus on fasting techniques (Giles, 2006). Although there have not been many studies on pro-Ana sites or blogs, the few studies have suggested that viewership of sites correlates with higher body dissatisfaction, eating disturbances (Harper, Sperry & Thompson, 2008), increased perfectionism (Custers & Bulck, 2009), and lower self-esteem (Bardone-Cone & Cass, 2006). I have wondered if persons with anorexia nervosa value some of Graham, Haidt & Nosek's (2009) moral categories over others. For instance, I am curious if persons on pro-Ana websites use more words referring to sacredness (e.g. cleanliness, purity, disgust) than medical professionals when discussing anorexia nervosa. There has been recent literature which suggests that eating disorders correlate with feelings of disgust (Troop & Baker, 2009). With the help of fellow researcher Heather Walls, I have taken text from blogs and poetry associated with the movement and have analyzed the results by using Graham, Haidt, and Nosek's (2009) moral foundations dictionary and word count.

*To see more information on the major, go to the methods and results pages.

Whoever has witnessed another's ideal becomes his inexorable judge and as it were his evil conscience.
Friedrich Nietzsche