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Impaired color naming of food and body shape words: Weight phobia or distinct affective state?
Author(s) -
Green Michael W.,
Elliman Nicola A.,
Rogers Peter J.,
Welch Denise A.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
international journal of eating disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.785
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1098-108X
pISSN - 0276-3478
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1098-108x(199701)21:1<77::aid-eat9>3.0.co;2-0
Subject(s) - psychology , anxiety , developmental psychology , body weight , subclinical infection , cognitive psychology , audiology , psychiatry , medicine
Objective The current study investigated whether a concern with body shape and weight represents a distinct affective state, or whether it is better conceptualized as a highly specific form of anxiety. Method: The color‐naming performance of women with a high Drive for Thinness score was examined under three experimental conditions: when a photograph of chocolate was present, when actual chocolate was present, and a control condition. High Drive for Thinness subjects demonstrated relatively impaired color naming of body shape words in the picture condition, but not in the food or control conditions. Results: Although there was a significant impairment in the color naming of food words, this was unaffected by condition or degree of Drive for Thinness. Discussion: The results are interpreted as supporting an analogy between weight/body shape concerns and subclinical phobic anxiety. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.