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Updated: Jul 20, 2026
12:09
Studying Food Reward and Motivation in Humans
Published on: March 19, 2014
Dietary restraint, attributional styles for eating, and preloading effects
1Department of Psychology, Keele University, Staffordshire ST5 5BG, UK. k.j.rotenberg@psy.keele.ac.uk
Eating Behaviors
|March 6, 2004
Summary
Restrained eating is linked to an external locus of control, especially for indulgent foods. This external attribution style explains why restrained eaters overeat after preloading, supporting learned helplessness theories in eating behavior.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Behavioral Science
- Eating Behavior Research
Background:
- Dieting and restraint are common, but their psychological underpinnings require further investigation.
- Understanding attributional styles in eating behavior is crucial for explaining phenomena like preloading effects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the relationship between dietary restraint and attributional style.
- To investigate the role of attributional style in the preloading effect among restrained eaters.
Main Methods:
- 319 undergraduates completed the Restraint Scale and Eating Attributional Style Questionnaire (EASQ).
- 101 female students participated in a controlled preloading experiment.
Main Results:
- Restrained eating correlated with an external locus of control for indulgent foods (ELCifc).
- Preloading effects were observed for both restraint and ELCifc, with ELCifc showing a more complete pattern.
- ELCifc partially mediated the relationship between restraint and food consumption in the preload condition.
Conclusions:
- Restrained eaters exhibit an external attributional style, akin to learned helplessness.
- Cognitive factors, specifically attributional style, significantly influence preloading effects in restrained eating.
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