The Paradoxical Effect of Repeated Body Checking on Subjective Uncertainty

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Eating Disorders Research
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Background:

• Body checking is a key behavior in eating disorders (EDs), linked to overvaluing body shape and weight.
• Compulsive checking aims to increase certainty but paradoxically reduces it, creating a cycle.
• Previous research on checking and certainty lacked focus on body checking specifically.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the causal effect of repeated body checking on memory certainty regarding specific body parts.
• To determine if the paradoxical effect of checking reducing certainty applies to body checking.

Main Methods:

• A laboratory study involved 77 female participants without EDs.
• Participants checked body parts, with memory and certainty assessed before and after experimental manipulation.
• One group engaged in repeated body checking, while a control group checked a neutral object.

Main Results:

• Objective memory of the last body part checked was not affected by the type of checking.
• Participants who repeatedly checked their bodies showed a significant decrease in memory certainty.
• The control group did not experience a similar drop in memory certainty.

Conclusions:

• This study provides the first empirical evidence that repeated body checking paradoxically reduces certainty about checked body parts.
• Repeated body checking may impair the quality of information gained, potentially fueling further checking behaviors.
• Findings suggest a mechanism that could perpetuate the cycle of body checking in eating disorders.