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

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

Punishment sensitivity and the persistence of anorexia nervosa:High punishment sensitivity is related to a less favorable course of anorexia nervosa

OBJECTIVE: Cross-sectional research provides robust evidence that individuals with anorexia nervosa (AN) report higher punishment sensitivity (PS) than individuals without an eating disorder (ED). High PS might interfere with treatment motivation and the ability to learn from experience. The current study took a longitudinal approach to test predictions that follow from the proposed relevance of PS as a factor in the persistence of AN symptoms. More specifically we tested (1) if higher PS at the start of treatment was related to less improvement in ED symptoms after one year, and (2) if a decrease in ED symptoms was associated with a concurrent decrease in PS. METHOD: Participants were 69 adolescents with a diagnosis of AN at the start of treatment of whom 62 participated again one year later. ED symptom severity and PS were assessed at both time points. RESULTS: Findings showed that (1) higher PS at the start of treatment was related to less improvement in ED symptoms, and (2) an improvement in ED symptoms was related to a decrease in PS. DISCUSSION: These findings are consistent with the proposed relevance of PS in the persistence of AN and suggest that it might be beneficial to address high PS in treatment. PUBLIC SIGNIFICANCE: Consistent with the view that punishment sensitivity (PS) is related to the persistence of anorexia nervosa, high PS at the start of treatment was related to less improvement in eating disorder symptoms in patients with anorexia nervosa. Furthermore, an improvement in eating disorder symptoms was associated with a concurrent decrease in PS, suggesting that PS can be subject to change and may be a relevant target for treatment

Visual attention to food cues and the course of anorexia nervosa

Previously, adolescents with anorexia nervosa (AN) showed reduced attentional engagement with food cues compared to adolescents without eating disorder (Jonker, Glashouwer, Hoekzema, Ostafin, & De Jong, 2019). This study tested whether (i) improvement in eating disorder symptoms and BMI are related to an increase in attentional engagement with food, and whether (ii) relatively low attentional engagement is related to persistent AN symptomatology, in the same sample of adolescents with AN (N = 69) from the study of Jonker et al. (2019). Eating disorder symptoms, BMI, and attention for food cues were measured during baseline and at one year follow-up. Adolescents with AN showed a substantial improvement in symptoms and BMI. However, their low attentional engagement with food cues remained unchanged. Change in attentional engagement with food was not related to change in symptoms, nor was low baseline attentional engagement with food predictive of symptom persistence. These findings indicate that improvement in AN symptoms does not seem to require an increase in attentional engagement with food

Influence of hunger on attentional engagement with and disengagement from pictorial food cues in women with a healthy weight

Because of inconsistencies in the field of attentional bias to food cues in eating behavior, this study aimed to re-examine the assumption that hungry healthy weight individuals have an attentional bias to food cues, but satiated healthy weight individuals do not. Since attentional engagement and attentional disengagement have been proposed to play a distinct role in behavior, we used a performance measure that is specifically designed to differentiate between these two attentional processes. Participants were healthy weight women who normally eat breakfast. In the satiated condition (n = 54), participants were instructed to have breakfast just before coming to the lab. In the fasted condition (n = 50), participants fasted on average 14 h before coming into the lab. Satiated women showed no stronger attentional engagement or attentional disengagement bias to food cues than to neutral cues. Fasted women did show stronger attentional engagement to food cues than to neutral cues that were shown briefly (100 ms). They showed no bias in attentional engagement to food cues that were shown longer (500 ms) or in attentional disengagement from food cues. These findings are in line with the assumption that healthy weight individuals show an attentional bias to food cues when food stimuli are motivationally salient. Furthermore, the findings point to the importance of differentiating between attentional engagement and attentional disengagement

Behavioral problems in anxious youth:Cross-sectional and prospective associations with reinforcement sensitivity and parental rejection

A subsample of children and young people (CYP) with anxiety disorders presents with comorbid behavioral problems. These CYP have greater impairment in daily life, profit less from current treatments, and have an increased risk for continued mental problems. We investigated two potential explanations for these comorbid behavioral problems. First, high punishment sensitivity (PS) may lead to a strong inclination to experience threat, which may not only elicit anxiety but also defensive behavioral problems. Second, behavioral problems may arise from high reward sensitivity (RS), when rewards are not obtained. Behavioral problems may subsequently elicit parental rejection, thereby fueling anxiety. We used a cross-sectional (age = 16.1, N = 61) and prospective (age = 22.2, N = 91) approach to test the relationship between PS/RS and comorbid behavioral problems. Participants were a subsample of highly anxious CYP from a large prospective cohort study. PS/RS were indexed by a spatial orientation task. We also investigated the prospective association between behavioral problems and anxiety at 6-year follow-up, and the proposed mediation by parental rejection. PS and RS showed no cross-sectional or prospective relationships with comorbid behavioral problems in highly anxious CYP. Yet, behavioral problems in adolescence showed a small prospective relationship with anxiety in young adulthood, but this was not mediated nor moderated by parental rejection. No evidence was found for PS/RS being involved in comorbid behavioral problems in anxious CYP. Findings point to comorbid behavioral problems as potential factor contributing to the further increase of anxiety