title: Restrained eaters preserve top-down attentional control in the presence of food.
abstract: This study investigated the attentional control of restrained eaters when exposed to food. Restrained (N=55) and unrestrained eaters (N=56) completed a color word Stroop task. Top-down attentional control was assessed by adaptation effects (the Stroop effect is smaller when the previous trial is an incongruent color word than a congruent color word). Adaptation effects differed between restrained and unrestrained eaters according to the type of background image presented (high-fat food vs. non-food). Specifically, in restrained eaters adaptation effects did not differ as a function of image. In contrast, adaptation effects in unrestrained eaters were not observed with high-fat food. Motivation to either approach or avoid food may explain these differences.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Kent, Canterbury CT2 7NP, United Kingdom. sh425@kent.ac.uk
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hotham
authors.forename: Dinkar
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: Kate
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hamilton-West
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention; D001362:Avoidance Learning; D003463:Cues; D004032:Diet / Q000523:psychology*; D004041:Dietary Fats; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D012927:Social Control, Informal; D057190:Stroop Test; D014796:Visual Perception; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D004041:Dietary Fats