Implicit measures of actual versus ideal body image : relations with self-reported body dissatisfaction and dieting behaviors

Body dissatisfaction refers to a negative appreciation of one’s own body stemming from a discrepancy between how one perceives his/her body (actual body image) and how he/she wants it to be (ideal body image). To circumvent the limitations of self-report measures of body image, measures were developed that allow for a distinction between actual and ideal body image at the implicit level. The first goal of the present study was to investigate whether self-reported body dissatisfaction is related to implicit measures of actual and ideal body image as captured by the Relational Responding Task (RRT). Secondly, we examined whether these RRT measures were related to several indices of dieting behavior. Women high in body dissatisfaction (n = 30) were characterized by relatively strong implicit I-am-fat beliefs, whereas their implicit I-want-to-be-thinner beliefs were similar to individuals low in body dissatisfaction (n = 37). Implicit body image beliefs showed no added value over explicit body image beliefs in predicting body dissatisfaction and dieting behavior. These findings support the idea that the interplay between ideal and actual body image drives (self-reported) body dissatisfaction. However, strong support for the view that it would be critical to differentiate between explicit and implicit body image beliefs is missing

Why Dieters Succeed or Fail:The Relationship Between Reward and Punishment Sensitivity and Restrained Eating and Dieting Success

Background: The current study set out to improve our understanding of the characteristics of individuals who are motivated to restrict their food intake yet who nevertheless fail to do so. We examined whether punishment sensitivity (PS) was related to restrained eating, and reward sensitivity (RS) to perceived dieting success. Additionally, it was examined whether executive control (EC) moderates the association between RS and perceived dieting success. Methods: Female student participants (N = 290, aged 17-29, BMI between 18.5 and 38.0) completed questionnaires on restrained eating, perceived dieting success, RS and PS, and carried out a behavioral task to index EC. Results: PS was indeed positively related to restrained eating. RS was positively related to perceived dieting success, yet, EC did not moderate this association. Conclusion: The current study adds to the evidence that PS is related to individuals' motivation to restrict their food intake. Furthermore, it shows support for the suggestion that RS may facilitate food restriction

Reinforcement sensitivity and restrained eating:the moderating role of executive control

Purpose As the prevalence of overweight and obesity are still increasing, it is important to help individuals who encounter difficulty with losing weight. The current study was set out to further investigate characteristics of individuals who are highly motivated to restrict their food intake to lose weight, but fail to do so (i.e., restrained eaters). The motivation to lose weight might stem from high punishment sensitivity, whereas the failure to succeed in restricting food intake might be the result of high reward sensitivity. Thus, it was examined whether restrained eaters are characterized by both high reward sensitivity and high punishment sensitivity. Additionally, this is the first study to examine executive control as a potential moderator of this relationship. Methods Female undergraduates (N = 60) performed a behavioral measure of executive control, and completed the Restraint Scale to index level of restrained eating as well as two questionnaires on reinforcement sensitivity; the Behavioral Inhibition Scale/Behavioral Activation Scale, and the Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire. Results There was a positive relationship between restrained eating and punishment sensitivity as indexed by both questionnaires. Reward sensitivity as measured by both indices was not directly related to restrained eating. Executive control moderated the relation between reward responsivity (but not reward-drive) and restrained eating; specifically in women with relatively weak executive control there was a positive relationship between reward responsivity and restrained eating behavior. Conclusion In women with low executive control, restrained eating is associated with both heightened sensitivity to punishment and heightened responsivity to reward

Desired attachment and breakup distress relate to automatic approach of the ex-partner

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Romantic relationship breakups can lead to severe emotional disturbances including major depression. Anxious attachment and desired attachment with the ex-partner are hypothesized to elicit repetitive thought about the breakup and the former partner and attempts to reunite with (i.e. approach) the ex-partner, which fuel breakup distress. Since prior research on this topic has mostly used survey methodology, the study aim was to examine the relations between above-mentioned variables employing a behavioral measure of approach of the ex-partner. METHODS: Automatic approach-avoidance tendencies toward the former partner were assessed with an Approach Avoidance Task (AAT). Sixty-two students (76% female) moved a manikin towards or away from stimuli pictures (ex-partner, matched stranger, landscape) as fast as possible based on the stimulus frame color (blue, yellow). Participants also completed questionnaires assessing anxious attachment, desired attachment, repetitive thought about the breakup (rumination) and the ex-partner (yearning), and breakup distress (prolonged grief symptoms). RESULTS: Anxious attachment related positively to rumination and breakup distress. Desired attachment related positively to yearning, automatic approach bias toward the ex-partner, and breakup distress. Both anxious and desired attachment, rumination, yearning, and approach bias related positively to breakup distress. LIMITATIONS: The use of a student sample may limit generalizability. A correlational design precludes causal conclusions. CONCLUSIONS: Together with prior work, results suggests anxious attachment hampers psychological adaptation to a breakup by increasing the use of ruminative coping. Desire to retain an attachment bond with the ex-partner, expressed in yearning and approach of the ex-partner, may also worsen breakup distress

Modeling CLV:A test of competing models in the insurance industry

Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) is one of the key metrics in marketing and is considered an important segmentation base. This paper studies the capabilities of a range of models to predict CLV in the insurance industry. The simplest models can be constructed at the customer relationship level, i.e. aggregated across all services. The more complex models focus on the individual services, paying explicit attention to cross buying, but also retention. The models build on a plethora of approaches used in the existing literature and include a status quo model, a Tobit II model, univariate and multivariate choice models, and duration models. For all models, CLV for each customer is computed for a four-year time horizon. We find that the simple models perform well. The more complex models are expected to better capture the richness of relationship development. Surprisingly, this does not lead to substantially better CLV predictions

A Promising Candidate to Reliably Index Attentional Bias Toward Alcohol Cues-An Adapted Odd-One-Out Visual Search Task

Attentional bias (AB) has been suggested to contribute to the persistence of substance use behavior. However, the empirical evidence for its proposed role in addiction is inconsistent. This might be due to the inability of commonly used measures to differentiate between attentional engagement and attentional disengagement. Attesting to the importance of differentiating between both components of AB, a recent study using the odd-one-out task (OOOT) showed that substance use was differentially related to engagement and disengagement bias. However, the AB measures derived from the OOOT showed insufficient reliability to be used as a solid measure of individual differences. Therefore, the current study aimed to improve the reliability of the AB measures derived from the OOOT by using more distinct contrast stimuli, adding practice trials, increasing the number of trials, and by having participants perform the task in an alcohol-relevant context. We contrasted the original OOOT with the adapted OOOT (i.e., OOOT-adapt) and assessed AB in low- and high-drinking individuals. Participants were 245 undergraduate students who typically tend to drink either low or high amounts of alcohol. In one condition, AB was measured with the original OOOT in a typical laboratory context, whereas in the other condition, AB was measured with the OOOT-adapt in a bar (i.e., alcohol-relevant) context. The OOOT-adapt showed superior internal consistency, especially for the high-drinking group. Further, specifically the OOOT-adapt differentiated between low- and high-drinking participants showing that high drinkers engaged faster with alcohol cues than did low drinkers. Thus, the OOOT-adapt was found to be a promising candidate to reliably index AB in the context of alcohol use. The OOOT-adapt further showed superior criterion validity as it could differentiate between low- and high-drinking individuals, thereby adding to the evidence that AB might be involved in substance use behavior