Development and validation of the Exteroceptive Body Awareness (EBA-q) questionnaire

Alisha Vabba; Giuseppina Porciello; Maria Serena Panasiti; Salvatore Maria Aglioti

doi:10.7717/peerj.15382

Development and validation of the Exteroceptive Body Awareness (EBA-q) questionnaire

PeerJ. 2023 Aug 24:11:e15382. doi: 10.7717/peerj.15382. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Alisha Vabba^{1

2}, Giuseppina Porciello^{2

3}, Maria Serena Panasiti^{2

3}, Salvatore Maria Aglioti^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome and CLN2S@Sapienza, Rome, Italy.
² IRCCS, Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy.
³ Department of Psychology, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Rome, Italy.

Abstract

The conscious processing of body signals influences higher-order psychological and cognitive functions, including self-awareness. Dysfunctions in the processing of these signals has been connected to neurological and psychiatric disorders characterized by altered states of self-consciousness. Studies indicate that perceiving the body through interoceptive signals (e.g., from internal organs such as heartbeat and breathing) is distinct from perceiving the body through exteroceptive signals (e.g., by relying on visual, tactile and olfactory cues). While questionnaires are available for assessing interoception, there are no validated self-report instruments for measuring bodily exterception. To fill this gap, we performed three studies to develop and validate a novel scale designed to assess bodily self-consciousness based on the processing of exteroceptive bodily signals. Exploratory factor analysis (Study 1, N = 302) led to an 18-item questionnaire comprised of four factors. We called this instrument Exteroceptive Body Awareness questionnaire (EBA-q). Confirmatory factor analysis (Study 2, N = 184) run on a second sample showed an acceptable fit for a bifactor model, suggesting researchers may use the questionnaire as a unidimensional scale reflecting exteroceptive bodily self-consciousness, or use each of its four sub-scales, reflecting "visuo-tactile body awareness", "spatial coordination", "awareness of body changes" and "awareness of clothing fit". Overall EBA-q showed good internal consistency. Convergent and divergent validity were assessed via cross-validation with existing body awareness questionnaires (Study 3, N = 366) and behavioral measures (Study 3, N = 64) of exteroceptive and interoceptive bodily self-consciousness. Research applications are discussed within a multi-faceted model of exteroception and interoception as distinct, but at the same time interconnected, dimensions of bodily self-consciousness.

Keywords: Bodily self-consciousness; Embodied cognition; Exteroception; Interoception; Survey validation.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Awareness*
Cognition*
Consciousness
Cues
Humans
Self Report

Grants and funding

The study was supported by European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant (eHONESTY, Prot. 789058). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.