TY - JOUR
T1 - Body Dissatisfaction and Body-Related Attentional Bias: Is There a Causal Relationship?
AU - Mendoza-Medialdea, María Teresa
AU - Meschberger-Annweiler, Franck-Alexandre
AU - Ascione, Mariarca
AU - Rueda-Pina, Alejandra
AU - Rabarbari, Elisa
AU - Porras-Garcia, Bruno
AU - Ferrer-Garcia, Marta
AU - Gutiérrez-Maldonado, José
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Previous research has shown an association between body dissatisfaction and attentional biases toward the body, but the nature of this relationship is not clear. It is possible that dissatisfaction causes attentional bias or that dissatisfaction is a result of such bias. To clarify the causal relationship between these two variables, this study manipulated dissatisfaction in a sample of healthy women by exposing them to images of “ideal” bodies and observed whether this manipulation increased attentional biases toward different body parts. Fifty-seven women took part in a pre–post experimental design in which they observed an avatar representing themselves in a virtual mirror before and after being exposed to “thin ideal” photographs. Eye-tracking technology was employed to quantify the frequency and duration of fixations on weight-related and weight-unrelated body parts. The outcomes revealed a successful induction of body dissatisfaction, leading participants to display a heightened number of fixations and prolonged fixation durations on unrelated-weight body parts. These findings remained significant after controlling for the effects of trait body dissatisfaction and body mass index. The results imply that heightened body dissatisfaction fosters the aversion of attention from weight-related body parts, which may function as a protective mechanism for preserving self-esteem and promoting psychological well-being.
AB - Previous research has shown an association between body dissatisfaction and attentional biases toward the body, but the nature of this relationship is not clear. It is possible that dissatisfaction causes attentional bias or that dissatisfaction is a result of such bias. To clarify the causal relationship between these two variables, this study manipulated dissatisfaction in a sample of healthy women by exposing them to images of “ideal” bodies and observed whether this manipulation increased attentional biases toward different body parts. Fifty-seven women took part in a pre–post experimental design in which they observed an avatar representing themselves in a virtual mirror before and after being exposed to “thin ideal” photographs. Eye-tracking technology was employed to quantify the frequency and duration of fixations on weight-related and weight-unrelated body parts. The outcomes revealed a successful induction of body dissatisfaction, leading participants to display a heightened number of fixations and prolonged fixation durations on unrelated-weight body parts. These findings remained significant after controlling for the effects of trait body dissatisfaction and body mass index. The results imply that heightened body dissatisfaction fosters the aversion of attention from weight-related body parts, which may function as a protective mechanism for preserving self-esteem and promoting psychological well-being.
KW - attentional bias
KW - avoidance
KW - body dissatisfaction
KW - eye tracking
KW - virtual reality
KW - attentional bias
KW - avoidance
KW - body dissatisfaction
KW - eye tracking
KW - virtual reality
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10807/268145
U2 - 10.3390/jcm12175659
DO - 10.3390/jcm12175659
M3 - Article
SN - 2077-0383
VL - 12
SP - N/A-N/A
JO - Journal of Clinical Medicine
JF - Journal of Clinical Medicine
ER -