Risk for eating disorders modulates interpretation bias in a semantic priming task

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• Implicit biases can influence cognitive processes related to eating disorders.
• Understanding these biases is crucial for identifying at-risk individuals.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate implicit interpretation biases for food and body shape words.
• To examine the association between these biases and eating disorder traits in undergraduate females.

Main Methods:

• A semantic priming paradigm was employed with 118 female undergraduates.
• Reaction times were measured during lexical decision tasks involving eating disorder-related, unrelated, and semantically unrelated prime words.
• Self-reported eating disorder traits were assessed using validated questionnaires (BSQ-34, EAT-26, EDE-Q 6.0).

Main Results:

• Biased reaction time priming effects for eating disorder-related words were significantly associated with body dissatisfaction and eating disorder symptomology.
• Strongest associations were found between implicit interpretation biases and scales measuring eating disordered cognitions (BSQ-34, EDE-Q Shape/Weight Concern subscales).

Conclusions:

• Implicit interpretation biases for food and body shape words are linked to eating disorder cognitions and symptomology.
• The findings highlight the role of implicit processes in the maintenance of eating disorders.