Attention and disordered eating behavior: I. Disattention to satiety cues as a risk factor in the development of...

It was proposed that bulimic behavior could be explained in part in terms of cognitive deficit, in which poor self-control and a lack of sensitivity to eating satiety cues contribute to binging behavior. College women (N = 80) who showed characteristics associated with bulimics (BP) had been found less capable of self-control than control women (C) in a previous study. The present study revealed a tendency for BP college women to be less cognizant of eating satiety cues and less responsive to these cues as far as termination of eating is concerned. However, this was true only when they also reported a diminished ability to focus attention upon a narrow range of stimulation. When BP women described themselves as more capable of focused attention, they showed greater awareness of and responsiveness to cues signaling satiation while eating. Attention to focal stimulation did not mediate differences in sensitivity to satiety cues within the C group.