The Paradoxical Effect of Repeated Body Checking on Subjective Uncertainty.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Body checking is considered a behavioral expression of the core psychopathology of eating disorders (EDs), namely, overvaluation of body weight and shape. Compulsive checking is motivated by a desire to increase a sense of certainty regarding feared outcomes. Paradoxically, studies showed that repeated checking acts to reduce certainty, forming a vicious cycle. No previous study examined whether the same principle applies for body checking. This study filled this gap by examining the causal effect of repeated body checking on memory certainty regarding checked body parts.

Method

In a laboratory-based study, 77 female participants without an ED checked the size and shape of six body parts. Their objective memory regarding which body part was last checked, and subjec

SUBMITTER: Ben Zaken Linn M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11784847 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature