Effect of teaching with mirrors on body image and locus of control in women college ballet dancers.

This preliminary study assessed the effect of mirrors in dance instruction on body image and locus of control of women college ballet dancers. With the same instructor in two beginning ballet classes 8 women were taught using mirrors and 13 women were taught without mirrors. Subjects completed the Cash 69-item Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire, and the 40-item Adult Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale during the first and last classes of a 14-wk. semester. Body-areas Satisfaction increased for the nonmirror class yet decreased for the class taught with mirrors. For the nonmirror class, there were significant increases in Appearance Orientation and Externality. Analysis suggested that the use of a mirror in the teaching of ballet may be an element which contributes to the low body-image scores of the 21 women ballet dancers. Replication with a much larger sample is required to draw conclusions.