A Comparison of Handicapped and NonHandicapped College Students on Physical Capability, Self-Esteem, and Locus of Control

Abstract

In the past, various investigations have been concerned with the effects of physical performance on psychological functioning. The problem was to generate concepts and meanings that would enable us to understand the relationship between physical and psychological variables. The present study will attempt to clarify this issue by, first, discussing briefly body image and schema and demonstrating the importance of physical movement for perceptual orientation. Second, the social environment and how it influences the development of perceptual awareness, and provides the individual with "meanings" which he uses in his feedback system, will be presented. And finally, the product which is created by these "meanings", a feeling of self-esteem or inferiority, will be discussed. The somato-psychological approach focuses on the individual's body and the perceptions drawn by its awareness. This perception of self is termed the body image. It is a subjective conceptualization of how we "see" ourselves, or more specifically, what we think our physical appearance is like. The emergence of the body image is closely associated with the development of the body schema, a spatial orientation that defines the boundaries of our physical selves. Movement is essential in the process of differentiating the body, or self, from the environment. On the molecular level, the human organism is highly specialized in gauging its own motion and utilizing it to determine its spatial orientation. Movement provides the individual with an internal structure to organize the localization of the body with respect to the environment. It also lays the foundation for the enactment of more complex behavioral movements and makes clearer the mode of perception.