The disorder-salient stroop effect as a measure of psychopathology in eating disorders.
OBJECTIVE
The aim was to assess, using sophisticated experimental methods, the amount of interference on a Stroop task in patients with eating disorders, under conditions of blocked and mixed stimulus presentation.


METHODS
Patients with eating disorders and non-patients named the color in which a word was displayed. Words came from an experimental category (food/eating, weight/shape, "emotion," or affectively neutral word) or from a matched set of unrelated control words. Color-naming latencies were compared in a blocked condition, with words from just one set in each block, and in a mixed condition, with a mixture of word types in each block.


RESULTS
In the mixed condition, patients took longer to color-name food/eating and weight/shape words than control words. With blocked presentation this effect was magnified; and patients with bulimia nervosa also showed increased naming-latency for "emotion" words. Non-patients showed neither effect and no group showed interference for the affectively neutral category. Patients' interference effects correlated reliably with self-reported depression and anxiety.


CONCLUSIONS
Sources of interference and methodological and diagnostic implications are discussed.
Jones-Chesters
M H
MH
Sub-Department of Clinical Health Psychology, University College, London, United Kingdom.
Monsell
S
S
Cooper
P J
PJ
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety; D002032:Bulimia / Q000523:psychology*; D003118:Color Perception; D003863:Depression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D011930:Reaction Time