Reduction of food cravings through concurrent visuospatial processing

Kemps, Eva; Tiggemann, Marika; Woods, Davinia; Soekov, Belinda

doi:10.1002/eat.20005

Cited by 61 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 38 publications

(61 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The present findings of effects of DVN on confidence in visual STM add to a growing body of research that shows effects of DVN on visual STM (Darling et al, 2007(Darling et al, , 2009Dean et al, 2005;Dent, 2010;McConnell & Quinn, 2003-2004 as well as visual imagery performance (Dean et al, 2008;McConnell & Quinn, 2000;Quinn & McConnell, 1996a,b, 1999Smyth & Waller, 1998) and vividness (Baddeley & Andrade, 2000). This body of research appears to re-affirm Baddeley's (1986) original idea that visual imagery and visual STM are supported by one and the same visual working memory.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

“…Additionally, as the effect of DVN on confidence was only assessed using a recall task, it remains to be determined whether DVN reduces confidence in visual STM 13 a recognition format would also have yielded a confidence effect. A limitation is that confidence is a subjective rather than an objective measure of performance, unlike the previously used measures of memory for precise visual detail (Darling et al, 2007(Darling et al, , 2009Dean et al, 2005;Dent, 2010;McConnell & Quinn, 2003-2004. However, judgements of imagery vividness are also subjective, and these have been shown to be consistently affected by DVN (Baddeley & Andrade, 2000).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Baddeley and Andrade (2000) observed that DVN reduced the vividness with which participants imagined everyday objects and scenes, and Dean, Dewhurst, Morris and Whittaker (2008) showed that DVN interfered with participants' ability to generate images of animals in a mental size comparison task. Clinical applications have shown that DVN reduces the vividness of traumatic images (Kavanagh, Freese, Andrade & May, 2001), as well as the imagery associated with cravings for cigarettes (May, Andrade, Panabokke & Kavanagh, 2010) and food (Kemps, Tiggemann & Christianson, 2008;Kemps, Tiggemann & Hart, 2005;Kemps, Tiggemann, Woods & Soekov, 2004;McClelland, Kemps, Tiggemann, 2006;Steel, Kemps, Tiggemann, 2006).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The latter was included to control for potential visual masking effects, and, unlike DVN, has been shown not to affect visual working memory (McConnell & Quinn, 2000). Previous reports of DVN effects on visual STM for precise detail have often not included a SVN condition (e.g., Darling, 2001;McConnell & Quinn, 2003-2004, leaving their findings prone to a visual masking explanation. Inclusion of both a no interference control condition and a SVN condition allowed us to test directly if any effect of DVN were due to failure to control for visual masking.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Dynamic visual noise reduces confidence in short-term memory for visual information

Kemps

Andrade

2011

Cogn Process

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Previous research has shown effects of the visual interference technique, dynamic visual noise (DVN), on visual imagery, but not on visual short-term memory, unless retention of precise visual detail is required. This study tested the prediction that DVN does also affect retention of gross visual information, specifically by reducing confidence. Participants performed a matrix pattern memory task with three retention interval interference conditions (DVN, static visual noise, no interference control) that varied from trial to trial. At recall, participants indicated whether or not they were sure of their responses. As in previous research, DVN did not impair recall accuracy or latency on the task, but it did reduce recall confidence relative to static visual noise and no interference. We conclude that DVN does distort visual representations in short-term memory, but standard coarse-grained recall measures are insensitive to these distortions.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Dynamic visual noise reduces confidence in short-term memory for visual information

Kemps

Andrade

2011

Cogn Process

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Third, Harvey, Kemps and Tiggemann (2005) reported a positive correlation between participants' vividness ratings of an imagined food scenario and their craving intensity, indicating that stronger food cravings are associated with more vivid images. Finally, a number of studies have demonstrated that visual processing tasks reduce food cravings in a way that auditory tasks do not (Kemps, Tiggemann, Woods & Soekov, 2004;Kemps, Tiggemann & Hart, 2005;Kemps & Tiggemann, 2007). Together, these lines of evidence lead to the conclusion that the imaginal component of food cravings is predominantly visual rather than auditory or verbal in nature.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The selective impact of chocolate craving on visuospatial working memory

2010

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The present study aimed to extend previous research into cognitive impairments as a consequence of food craving. In particular, the study examined the impact of chocolate craving on the three components of working memory: the phonological loop, the visuospatial sketchpad, and the central executive, assessed by the digit span, corsi blocks, and the double span tasks, respectively. A sample of 96 female undergraduate students were randomly assigned to a craving or control condition. Participants in the craving condition abstained from eating chocolate for 24 hours prior to testing, and performed the cognitive tasks in the presence of chocolate, a manipulation that successfully elicited chocolate cravings. As predicted on the basis of the visual imagery nature of food cravings, participants in the craving condition performed more poorly on the Corsi blocks task than control participants, but the groups did not differ on the digit span or double span measures. These results indicate that chocolate cravings selectively disrupt performance on visuospatial tasks.According to the working memory model, this occurs because food cravings compete for limited visuospatial working memory resources. These findings have practical implications in that visuospatial memory plays an important role in many everyday behaviours.

show abstract

Reduction of vividness and associated craving in personalized food imagery

2005

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study aimed to extend recent experimental work on the efficacy of visuo-spatial working memory-based techniques for reducing food cravings by adopting a more naturalistic methodology. Fifty undergraduate women formed images of their favorite foods while performing a visuo-spatial task across six successive trials. Vividness and craving intensity were rated for each food image. Concurrent visuo-spatial processing reduced the vividness of, and craving reactivity to, personally relevant food images. Forehead tracking, a novel self-administered task, proved to be as effective in reducing vividness and craving ratings as the established visuo-spatial working memory laboratory tasks of eye movements, dynamic visual noise, and spatial tapping, and thus presents a simple, accessible technique potentially applicable in the home environment. All four tasks maintained their reducing effect over multiple trials. Individual differences in imaging ability and habitual food craving did not impact upon their effectiveness, indicating that visuo-spatial tasks can be successfully used to reduce food cravings across a range of people.

show abstract

Reduction of food cravings through concurrent visuospatial processing

Abstract: Visuospatial tasks may provide a useful technique for the treatment of food craving episodes in both nonclinical and clinical populations.

Cited by 61 publications

References 38 publications

Dynamic visual noise reduces confidence in short-term memory for visual information

Dynamic visual noise reduces confidence in short-term memory for visual information

The selective impact of chocolate craving on visuospatial working memory

Reduction of vividness and associated craving in personalized food imagery

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About