OBJECTIVE: Experimental suppression of a neutral target thought often results in a subsequent "rebound" in the frequency of the thought. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that suppression of weight-related thoughts contributes to body weight preoccupations characteristic of dieters. METHOD:Subjects included 19 female dieters and 21 female nondieters. Following a randomized design, subjects were asked either to suppress (experimental condition) or express (control condition) the thought of weighing themselves. RESULTS: Nondieters demonstrated a significant rebound in frequency of the target thought following suppression (p < .05). Dieters expressed weight-related thoughts more frequently than nondieters, but did not show a rebound following target thought suppression. DISCUSSION: Thought suppression may foster development of weight-related preoccupations whereas the role suppression plays in the maintenance of dieters' weight-related preoccupations remains unclear.
RCT Entities:
OBJECTIVE: Experimental suppression of a neutral target thought often results in a subsequent "rebound" in the frequency of the thought. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that suppression of weight-related thoughts contributes to body weight preoccupations characteristic of dieters. METHOD: Subjects included 19 female dieters and 21 female nondieters. Following a randomized design, subjects were asked either to suppress (experimental condition) or express (control condition) the thought of weighing themselves. RESULTS: Nondieters demonstrated a significant rebound in frequency of the target thought following suppression (p < .05). Dieters expressed weight-related thoughts more frequently than nondieters, but did not show a rebound following target thought suppression. DISCUSSION: Thought suppression may foster development of weight-related preoccupations whereas the role suppression plays in the maintenance of dieters' weight-related preoccupations remains unclear.