Selective attention to food and body shape words in dieters and restrained nondieters

Int J Eat Disord. 1993 Dec;14(4):515-7. doi: 10.1002/1098-108x(199312)14:4<515::aid-eat2260140417>3.0.co;2-e.

Abstract

The current study investigated the presence of an attentional bias towards the processing of body shape and food-related material amongst noneating disordered women. Subjects carried out a computer-based Stroop color-naming task in which they had to name the colors of food-related words, body shape-related words, and two sets of matched neutral words. Significant color-naming disruptions of both food and body shape-related material were found for highly restrained eaters, irrespective of whether they were currently dieting. There were no reliable differences in color-naming times found for low to medium restrained eaters. Procedural differences probably account for the failure of previous studies to reveal such effects in nonclinical groups.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Attention*
  • Body Image*
  • Color Perception
  • Diet, Reducing / psychology*
  • Female
  • Food*
  • Humans
  • Paired-Associate Learning
  • Reaction Time
  • Semantics*