title: The effect of self-focused attention and mood on appearance dissatisfaction after mirror-gazing: An experimental study.
abstract: Self-focused attention is hypothesized to be a maintenance factor in body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). The aim of this study was to use an experimental paradigm to test this hypothesis by studying the effect of self-focused attention during mirror-gazing on appearance dissatisfaction.
  
  
  
  An experimental group design was used, in which 173 women were randomly allocated to one of three conditions before mirror-gazing for 2 min: (a) external focus of attention, (b) self-focus of attention, and (c) self-focus of attention with a negative mood induction.
  
  
  
  After mirror-gazing, participants across all groups rated themselves as being more dissatisfied with their appearance. In both the self-focus conditions, there was an increase in sadness from pre to post mirror gazing, and there was a significant difference in focus of attention for participants in the self-focused, mood-induced group from pre to post manipulation, suggesting mood induction had more of an effect than focus of attention.
  
  
  
  (1) there was no condition involving an external focus with a negative mood induction, and (2) due to the level of information provided to patients on the nature of the task, we cannot rule out demand characteristics as an influencing factor on our results.
  
  
  
  Self-focused attention during mirror-gazing may act indirectly to increase appearance dissatisfaction via the effect of negative mood. Further studies are required to establish the relative contribution of self-focused attention and negative mood to increases in appearance dissatisfaction as a function of mirror-gazing.
authors.affiliation: The Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London and the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, 16 De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK. Electronic address: david.veale@kcl.ac.uk.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Veale
authors.affiliation: The Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London and the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, 16 De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Miles
authors.affiliation: King's College Medical School, King's College London Hospital, Denmark Hill, London, SE5 9RS, UK.
authors.forename: Natasha
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Valiallah
authors.affiliation: King's College Medical School, King's College London Hospital, Denmark Hill, London, SE5 9RS, UK.
authors.forename: Saira
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Butt
authors.affiliation: The Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London and the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, 16 De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Anson
authors.affiliation: The Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London and the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, 16 De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK.
authors.forename: Ertimiss
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Eshkevari
authors.affiliation: The Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London and the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, 16 De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK.
authors.forename: Lucinda J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Gledhill
authors.affiliation: The Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London and the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, 16 De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK.
authors.forename: Emma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Baldock
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect / Q000502:physiology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D001828:Body Image; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012649:Self Concept; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Body dysmorphic disorder; Mirror gazing; Mood induction; Self-focused attention