Happy eating: The Single Target Implicit Association Test predicts overeating after positive emotions

Since there has been some controversy about using questionnaires to examine emotional eating behaviors, this 2013 study used the Single Target Implicit Association Test (ST-IAT) to measure emotional eating to compare with the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (DEBQ). The participants (undergraduates) were induced with either the positive, neutral, or negative mood. Milkshakes were consumed during and after the mood induction. The initial theory was that those individuals with strong emotion-food associations (indicated by the ST-IAT) would consume more food after experiencing the mood induction, when compared with those who have weaker emotion-food relationships and those in the neutral condition. The results demonstrated that participants who scored high on both the negative and positive ST-IATs ate more during a positive mood induction than during a negative mood induction. But this did not relate to greater milkshake intake after the elicitation of different moods. Additionally, the IAT-positive emotional eaters consumed more food than IAT-non-emotional eaters. The Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire did not affect milkshake consumption. Thus, the Single Target Implicit Association Test (ST-IAT) shows promise as a measure of emotional eating. [NPID: mood, negative, positive, neutral, milkshake, diet, emotions, emotional, eating, overeating]

Year: 2013

Reference: Cardi, V., Leppanen, J., & Treasure, J. (2015). The effects of negative and positive mood induction on eating behaviour: A meta-analysis of laboratory studies in the healthy population and eating and weight disorders. Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews, 57, 299–309. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2015.08.011