OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to investigate the causal role of selective attention to shape/weight-related information in terms of intensifying body dissatisfaction. METHOD: The participants were 70 female first-year psychology students aged 17-28 years. An attentional probe task was used to induce attention toward either negative shape/weight-related words, neutral words, or negatively valenced emotion words. Thereafter vulnerability toward the development of body dissatisfaction was assessed in the three groups after being exposed to a body image challenge. RESULTS: The induction of an attentional bias toward shape/weight-related information resulted in higher body dissatisfaction compared with both control groups. CONCLUSION: The results support the notion that an attentional bias toward shape/weight-related information plays a causal role in body dissatisfaction, suggesting that such biases may prove to be a useful target in interventions designed to improve body image. Copyright (c) 2006 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to investigate the causal role of selective attention to shape/weight-related information in terms of intensifying body dissatisfaction. METHOD: The participants were 70 female first-year psychology students aged 17-28 years. An attentional probe task was used to induce attention toward either negative shape/weight-related words, neutral words, or negatively valenced emotion words. Thereafter vulnerability toward the development of body dissatisfaction was assessed in the three groups after being exposed to a body image challenge. RESULTS: The induction of an attentional bias toward shape/weight-related information resulted in higher body dissatisfaction compared with both control groups. CONCLUSION: The results support the notion that an attentional bias toward shape/weight-related information plays a causal role in body dissatisfaction, suggesting that such biases may prove to be a useful target in interventions designed to improve body image. Copyright (c) 2006 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Authors: Christina Ralph-Nearman; Margaret Achee; Rachel Lapidus; Jennifer L Stewart; Ruth Filik Journal: Brain Behav Date: 2019-11-07 Impact factor: 2.708