Postural set and body image are described as two interactive components of a dancer's expressive skills as a performing artist. The ways in which these components interact are influenced by numerous factors, including the dancer's physique, the environment in which movement is learned and practiced, the aesthetic requirements of particular dance techniques, and the kinds of body images the dancer has created or is in the process of creating. Postural set refers to a habitual, bipedal position of the body that is recognized by the central nervous system as an established motor response. Body image is defined as the summary notion, at any given moment, of one's body proportions and properties. Postural set and body image are functionally interrelated on psychological and physical levels, and both contribute to the experience of the body as a sensing, moving, and emotional entity.

The purpose of this study was to attempt to determine if skilled dancers instructed to concentrate on sustaining balance while performing a simple balance task would experience ironic effects of thought control and a subsequent performance decrement under conditions of distraction utilizing a within subjects design. Sixteen skilled dancers were divided into two groups. Each group was pre-tested for time on balance for three trials on the 1"I13 balance task, and then alternately exposed to treatment 1 (a set of concentration instructions) and treatment 2 (the same set of concentration instructions with the introduction of a taped anti-rhythmic drum beat playing loudly in the background). Both groups were post-tested after the administration of each treatment, A 2x3 ANOVA with repeated measures on the last factor revealed no significant differences between post test scores for each of the two treatments. The nonsignificant results contradict prior cognitive research conducted using the Ironic theory of Thought Control developed by D.M. Wegner. Results suggest the need for further research in the motor domain testing this theory with attempts to identify factors which mediate motor performance. / School of Physical Education