A Systematic Review Of Implicit Attitudes And Their Neural Correlates In Eating Behaviour

Reducing anti-fat bias toward the self and others: a randomized controlled trial

Despite strong evidence linking anti-fat bias directed toward others with markers of self-directed anti-fat bias, there is a dearth of theory-based research examining the cognitive pathways underlying this relationship, and existing bias-reduction intervention efforts have thus far been conducted with exclusive focus on one domain or the other. Cognitive dissonance (CD)-based interventions have been identified as viable for reducing anti-fat bias directed toward the self and others. However, no study has yet examined whether the effects of these domain-specific interventions (e.g., anti-fat bias towards the self) extend to anti-fat bias in the non-targeted domain (e.g., anti-fat bias towards others). The present study aimed to address these gaps in the literature by comparing effects of brief CD-based interventions targeting anti-fat bias directed toward either the self or others on measures of anti-fat bias. Participants (N = 197, female-identifying undergraduates) were randomized to a writing activity prompting cognitive dissonance about either self-directed or other-directed anti-fat bias, or a bias-consistent control condition. Results indicated that participants in the CD intervention conditions showed significantly greater reductions in both explicit self- and other-directed anti-fat biases than those in the control condition, but results did not significantly differ across CD conditions. This supports the potential utility of interventions simultaneously targeting anti-fat bias in both domains and provides insight into the cognitive pathways underlying these related forms of bias.

Guidelines for assessment of affect-related constructs

Research on affect-related constructs as determinants of health behavior is increasing. The Affect and Health Behavior Framework (AHBF) provides a schematic structure to label, organize, and integrate affect-related constructs. To further facilitate research and theory development in health behavior science, the purpose of the present paper is to provide a critical review and guidelines for assessment of the affect-related constructs in the AHBF. The paper is organized based on the categories of constructs in the AHBF: Affective response to health behavior, incidental affect, affect processing, and affectively charged motivation. Future research should work toward parsing constructs where possible as well as identifying overlap. Researchers are advised to consider conceptual underpinnings and methodological nuances when assessing affect-related constructs in order to build a cumulative science of affective determinants of health behavior.

Obesity in Childhood and Adolescence: The Role of Motivation for Physical Activity, Self-Esteem, Implicit and Explicit Attitudes toward Obesity and Physical Activity

The purpose of the present study was to compare attitudes toward body weight and physical activity in both regular-weight and overweight/obese children and adolescents, and assessing relations between attitudes and self-esteem, motivation for physical activity, life satisfaction and level of physical activity. A total of 126 children (Mage = 12.2, SD = 3.4), divided into two subsamples (i.e., overweight/obese, N = 44, and regular-weight), voluntarily participated in the study. A series of univariate analyses of variance was conducted to examine the differences in the study variables across the subsamples. Correlational analyses were conducted to examine the relationships among the variables. The results indicated that obese/overweight participants expressed a more positive implicit attitude toward the thin category than regular-weight participants. Furthermore, among overweight/obese participants, implicit attitude toward physical activity was significantly negatively correlated with explicit attitude toward physical activity and general self-esteem. Significant differences between obese/overweight and regular-weight participants indicated that the status in terms of weight played a key role in attitudes toward the explored constructs.

Consumer Attitudes toward Pulses: Measuring the Implicit

Research into consumer attitudes toward food products is important to help people adopt healthier, more sustainable diets. A positive attitude regarding an object is a prerequisite for its adoption. This study compares French consumers' implicit attitudes toward pulses and cereals. Many studies have measured attitudes by explicit methodologies (e.g., questionnaires). Such methods are often biased by social desirability, and consumers may not be consciously aware of their attitudes toward food. A Sorting Paired Feature Task measures the strength of automatic associations, pairing images of pulses or cereals and adjectives with positive or negative valence. Participants sorted 120 paired stimuli as fast as possible. Pairs composed of pulses and negative adjectives were sorted faster than pairs composed of cereals and negative adjectives. Cereals with positive adjectives were sorted more rapidly than pulses with positive adjectives. Mistaken associations were more frequent for pairs composed of cereals and negative adjectives than for pairs composed of pulses and negative adjectives. These results highlight more negative implicit attitudes toward pulses than cereals. This study provides the first potential evidence of negative implicit attitudes toward pulses, which could explain the low consumption of these products.

All I Need Is Two: The Clinical Potential of Adding Evaluative Pairing Procedures to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Changing Self-, Body- and Food-Related Evaluations

Pairing procedures are among the most frequently used paradigms for modifying evaluations of target stimuli related to oneself, an object, or a specific situation due to their repeated pairing with evaluative sources, such as positive or negative images or words. Because altered patterns of evaluations can be linked to the emergence and maintenance of disordered cognitions and behaviors, it has been suggested that pairing procedures may provide a simple yet effective means of complementing more complex intervention approaches, such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Here, we summarize recent studies that explored the clinical potential of pairing procedures for improving self-esteem, body satisfaction, and food and consumption preferences. While no study has yet combined pairing procedures with CBT, there are several successful examples of pairing procedures in clinically relevant domains and clinical populations. We discuss potential sources of heterogeneity among findings, provide methodological recommendations, and conclude that pairing procedures may bear clinical potential as an add-on to classical psychotherapy.

Testing the discrepancy between actual and ideal body image with the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP)

BACKGROUND

The discrepancy between actual and ideal body image is considered an index of body dissatisfaction and a risk factor for eating disorders. While discrepancy has been traditionally tested with figural drawing rating scales, in recent times the use of implicit measures has been explored.

METHODS

This study employs the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) to examine actual-ideal body-size discrepancy in a sample of 130 Spanish college students, as well as its utility to predict symptoms of eating disorders and other body-image relevant measures. Participants completed the Contour Drawing Rating Scale (CDRS). The three smallest and the three largest contour drawings of the CDRS were used as target stimuli in two different IRAP tasks: one in combination with the sample phrases "I am" and "I am not" (that assessed implicit actual body image), another in combination with the phrases "I want to be" and "I don't want to be" (that assessed implicit ideal body image). After completing both IRAP tasks, participants completed explicit measures of body-image psychological inflexibility, body dissatisfaction, and symptoms of eating disorders.

RESULTS

Results showed a small implicit bias towards thinness. Participants were faster in affirming than denying that they are thin and that they desire to be thin. They were also faster in affirming than denying that they are fat and that they want to be fat, but to a smaller extent than with thinness. Specifically, the implicit desire to be (or not be) fat emerged as an independent predictor of eating disorder symptoms, psychological inflexibility, and body dissatisfaction that significantly increased the predictive power of CDRS scores.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings underscore the need for further research on specific body image implicit beliefs towards fatness, both in subclinical and clinical populations, in order to examine whether willingness to accept the idea that one can have a larger body size can be a suitable target for prevention and intervention in eating disorders.