Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

Research Design Associates scientists worked with Emory’s University’s Department of Theater and Dance to investigate female body image. We looked at the impact of teaching dance in front of mirrors.

The individual studies have demonstrated that learning dance in front of mirrors can negatively impact the body image and performance of female collegiate dancers.  While this collaboration has generated over 10 peer-reviewed articles, a limitation of the studies is the small number of dance classes and small number of students per class. Meta-analysis allows combining the results of many of the studies generating overall results based on hundreds of subjects.