Change in reasoning about the body through psychological distancing activities

This paper focuses on the role of Sigel's (1993) [Sigel, I.E. (1993). The centrality of a distancing model for the development of representational competence. In Cocking, R. & Renninger, A. (Eds.), The development and meaning of psychological distance (pp. 141–158). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.] psychological distancing activities (PDA) in the process of developmental change. In particular, the paper attempts to explore just how PDA's produce the changes they do. We argue that a large share of developmental change occurs when participants engage in analogical and comparative evaluation. The article explores two empirical studies of reasoning about the body and illness spanning several decades that illustrate the role of analogy and comparison in psychological change. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.