An experimental test of the relationship between self-esteem and concern about body shape and weight in restrained eaters
✍ Scribed by Meijboom, Anja ;Jansen, Anita ;Kampman, Mirjam ;Schouten, Erik
- Publisher
- Wiley (John Wiley & Sons)
- Year
- 1999
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 119 KB
- Volume
- 25
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0276-3478
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
Objective: Although self-esteem and overconcern with body shape and weight are considered to be closely connected in bulimia nervosa, little empirical research has been done to investigate the alleged link. Method: In this study, we examined experimentally whether overconcern with body shape and weight was connected with self-esteem in an analogue sample of high restrained eaters by means of a subliminal lexical decision task. Results: It could indeed be demonstrated that low self-esteem and overconcern with body shape and weight are associated in high restrained eaters: after priming low self-esteem, the accessibility of subliminally presented body shape and weight stimuli was increased. The effect was not found with a supraliminal lexical decision task. Discussion: Apparently, the automatic, nonconscious processing of body shape and weight words was influenced in high restrained eaters with a low state self-esteem, whereas the strategic, conscious processing was not. As soon as the body shape and weight stimuli were processed consciously, the initial increased accessibility was countered and the effect disappeared.