Physiology, Neurodiversity, & Psychology Research

It is commonly known that self-reported data is not as reliable as researchers would like. People may answer the way they think they should answer rather than with their actual opinion. Instructions often request that people answer quickly and not think about it too deeply, to try to dampen the effects of self-censoring.

Social pressure can come to bear in many ways, from assumptions taught or absorbed from everyday exposures - to the setting in which a person is questioned.

Self-identification can be biased by many variable

• by who is asking,
• how questions are worded,
• order of questions,
• and many other variables that may not be obvious. 

The group of people who volunteer to answer the questions may have a different demographic than those who refuse to answer the questions, making estimates higher or lower than a random sample would have found.  Uncontrollable variables make it very difficult to be confident of estimates.

Confidence can be increased with larger and more random populations, as well as randomizing question order.

One may surmize that when stereotypes or expectations are prohibitive, then self-identification of non-conforming thoughts, feeling, ideas, behaviors, etc. are likely inhibited by fear, and public presentation of variations are likely to be avoided.

On the other hand, it is easy to suspect that when stereotypes are questioned or expectations are permissive, then self-identification of non-conforming thoughts, feeling, ideas, behaviors, etc. are likely more common due to lack of fear.

GOOGLE AI Summary:

• Body Dysmorphia (Body Dysmorphic Disorder):

  • Individuals with body dysmorphia are preoccupied with perceived flaws in their physical appearance, (even if those flaws are not apparent to others), leading to significant distress and impairment in daily functioning. 
    • Males may have body dysphoria if they feel their body looks too feminine. They can get a breast reduction, also known as gynecomastia surgery, when they have excessive breast tissue that causes physical or emotional distress.
    • Although it is more commonly known that females can get breast augmentation, females can also undergo breast reduction surgery known as reduction mammoplasty, to remove excess breast tissue when it causes physical discomfort like back or neck pain, or emotional distress related to body image or self-esteem.

• Overlap:

  • While the two conditions are distinct, they can overlap, and a person with gender dysphoria might also struggle with body dysmorphia related to specific body parts that they feel don't align with their gender identity. 

• Gender Dysphoria:

  • Refers to the distress a person experiences when their internal sense of gender differs from the sex they were assigned at birth, leading to significant distress and impairment in daily functioning.