| Abstract |
Food cue reactivity (FCR) represents the broader appetitive response pattern to stimuli that signal the availability of food. Studies show that FCR is stronger in unsuccessful dieters, binge eaters, and obese people. Explicit interventions, such as reappraisal, show mixed results and are challenging, especially for individuals with a tendency to overeat. Therefore, the present dissertation aimed at testing implicit strategies for regulating FCR. Three studies tested different imagery-based interventions in the laboratory and examined their effects on craving, consumption, and neurophysiological processing of food cues with electroencephalography (EEG). The results showed that imagining eating (Study 1) and imagining crushing (Study 2) chocolates did not reliably reduce FCR, whereas imagining giving chocolates to others (Study 3) reduced self-reported craving and also modulated FCR associated EEG-amplitudes. Study 4 examined an alternative implicit strategy and presented participants with two (competing) emotional cues (i.e., food/facial expressions). Presenting meals in the form of facial expressions influenced FCR both in terms of self-reported craving and attentional processes assessed by EEG. Lastly, Study 5 aimed to overcome some of the drawbacks of assessing food intake in the laboratory and assessed craving and food intake in everyday life with experience sampling methodology. The results showed that craving intensity and vivid imagery of the craved food contribute to consumption of craved foods, however healthy women were found to often control their eating behavior. Taken together, the results from the four experimental studies show that implicit interventions for reducing FCR show most promise when they include a social component. However, craving does not always facilitate eating in normal-weight women. Future studies should therefore include samples with a tendency to overeat, such as overweight/obese individuals and clinical samples. - Contents: (1) Zorjan, S., Schwab, D. & Schienle, A. (2020). The effects of imaginary eating on visual food cue reactivity: An event-related potential study. Appetite, 153:104743. DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2020.104743 (2) Zorjan, S., Gremsl, A. & Schienle, A. (2021). Changing the visualization of food to reduce food cue reactivity: An event-related potential study. Biological Psychology, 164:108173. DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2021.108173 (3) Schienle, A., Gremsl, A. & Zorjan, S. (2022). Social reward from giving food to others affects food craving and brain potentials: An imagery-based event-related potential study. Appetite, 168:105722. DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2021.105722 (4) Schwab, D., Zorjan, S. & Schienle, A. (2021). Face the food: Food plating with facial patterns influences appetite and event-related brain potentials. Motivation and Emotion, 45, 95-102. DOI: 10.1007/s11031-020-09859-x (5) Zorjan, S. & Schienle, A. (n. d.). Temporal dynamics of mental imagery, craving and consumption of a craved food: An experience sampling study. Manuscript submitted for publication.
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