Ms. Yarboro studied 100 people, half of whom were nearsighted and half of whom had 20/20 vision. All participants completed personality profiles and the results were analyzed and compared between the two groups, and also within the nearsighted group. (See abstract below.)
Summary of Results:
When comparing scores between the two groups of participants (the nearsighted group and the normal vision group), it was found that nearsighted individuals:
** Tend to view the inherent nature of people as less positive than those with normal, 20/20 vision.
When examining the results of the nearsighted group alone some interesting correlations were found, which suggest that the more nearsighted people are (or the stronger their prescriptions are):
** The less they tend to have and live by the values of self-actualized people
** The less able they are to express themselves behaviorally
** The lower their self-esteem tends to be
** The less positive their perception of humankind tends to be
** The less synergistic they tend to be
ABSTRACT
The purpose of the present study was to determine if there is a relationship between self-awareness and nearsightedness (myopia). For this investigation, myopia was defined as a refractive error of -0.50 diopters or greater in each eye. Participants included 100 adults, 50 with myopia and 50 with normal vision. All subjects completed two written self-assessments, the Personal Orientation Inventory (POI) and Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES). The POI was used to assess level of self-awareness and the DES to measure frequency of dissociation (an absence of self-awareness). A correlational research design was employed. Data were analyzed using the t-test for independent samples, ANCOVA, and Mann-Whitney U tests. Findings were statistically significant between groups (p = .004) on the Nature of Man, Constructive of the POI suggesting that nearsighted people tend to view the inherent nature of humankind as more negative than those with normal vision. Reciprocal correlations were found within the nearsighted group between the degree of refractive error and the following POI subscales:
Self-Actualizing Value (r = .43, p = .002), Spontaneity (r = .29, p = .04), Self-Regard (r = .52, p = .000), Nature of Man, Constructive (r = .30, p = .03), and Synergy (r = .28, p = .05). These correlations suggest that a decreased level of self-awareness is related to higher myopia. There was no statistical significance found between groups on the DES. Implications and recommendations for future research are included.
