SELECTIVE ATTENTION TO FOOD AND BODY SHAPE WORDS IN DIETERS AND RESTRAINED NONDIETERS

The current study investigated the presence of an attentional bias tow ards the processing of body shape and food-related material amongst no neating disordered women. Subjects carried out a computer-based Stroop color-naming task in which they had to name the colors of food-relate d words, body shape-related words, and two sets of matched neutral wor ds. Significant color-naming disruptions of both food and body shape-r elated material were found for highly restrained eaters, irrespective of whether they were currently dieting. There were no reliable differe nces in color-naming times found for low to medium restrained eaters. Procedural differences probably account for the failure of previous st udies to reveal such effects in nonclinical groups. (C) 1993 by John W iley & Sons, Inc.