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Updated: Aug 7, 2026
07:07
Errors as a Means of Reducing Impulsive Food Choice
Published on: June 5, 2016
Cognitive load, stress, and disinhibited eating
Paul Lattimore1, Linda Maxwell
1Department of Psychology, University College Chester, Parkgate Road, Chester, CH1 4BJ, UK. p.lattimore@chester.ac.uk
Eating Behaviors
|October 19, 2004
Summary
Restrained eaters consume more food when cognitive distraction is ego-threatening. This suggests limited cognitive capacity, not just anxiety, drives disinhibited eating behavior.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Cognitive Science
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Dieting and eating behaviors are influenced by psychological factors.
- Cognitive load and ego threat are potential moderators of eating behavior, particularly in restrained eaters.
- Existing theories on disinhibited eating, such as escape theory, may not fully explain the complex interplay of cognitive factors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of cognitive distraction, specifically ego-threatening information under high cognitive load, on the eating behavior of restrained and unrestrained eaters.
- To determine if restrained eaters consume more food than unrestrained eaters under conditions of high cognitive load involving ego threat.
- To explore the role of anxiety and cognitive capacity in mediating eating behavior during cognitive tasks.
Main Methods:
- 119 female participants were randomly assigned to four conditions manipulating cognitive load and ego threat using modified color-naming Stroop (CNS) tasks.
- Anxiety levels were measured before and after the cognitive tasks.
- Participants consumed snack foods ad libitum after completing the Stroop tasks.
Main Results:
- Restrained eaters consumed significantly more food when the high cognitive load involved ego-threatening information compared to processing neutral information.
- Restrained eaters consumed significantly more food than unrestrained eaters under the high cognitive load ego-threat condition.
- Post-task anxiety increased across all conditions, and task difficulty increased under high cognitive load, as evidenced by Stroop response times.
Conclusions:
- The findings suggest that restrained eaters' disinhibited eating is influenced by ego-threatening cognitive distraction under high cognitive load.
- The results support a limited cognitive capacity model, indicating that cognitive resources are finite and their depletion can lead to altered eating behaviors.
- Escape theory of disinhibited eating is subsumed by a more generalizable limited cognitive capacity model.
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