Date of Award

2-2-1991

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Psychology

Abstract

The reasons why some people eat more than others, have more body fat, or develop some type of eating disorder have been related to the concepts of hunger/satiety, appetite, and their underlying mechanisms. Research has focused on both physiological and cognitive factors related to the regulation of eating behavior. The role of the ventromedial and lateral hypothalamic nuclei with putative connections to the autonomic nervous system has been extensively studied. Further, the construct of dietary restraint argues that cognitive factors play a role in the regulation of eating behavior. Few studies have examined the possible role of the hypothalamically mediated processes of the autonomic nervous system in the regulation of eating behavior in restrainers. Specifically, although the concept of arousal has been established as an important individual difference mediating psychological processes such as cognition, its role in the regulation of eating behavior in dietary restrainers has not been extensively studied.A total of sixty college females served as subjects and were classified as dietary restrainers or non-restrainers based on a median split of their the Revised Restraint Scale scores. They were asked to participate in an "ice cream taste test" which involved receiving a preload milkshake and tasting and rating three flavors of ice cream. After the taste test, subjects participated in a progressive relaxation exercise. Subjects were connected to a blood volume pulse monitor via a finger plethysmograph to measure physiological arousal. Subjects were also asked to complete the Speilberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Autonomic Nervous System Response Inventory. Recordings were made and inventories completed at baseline, during the taste test and after a relaxation period.Analysis of Variance for repeated measures revealed between subject differences on measures of blood volume pulse but not for measures of state anxiety and self-reported arousal. However, within subjects effects for measures of state anxiety and self-reported arousal were found although there was no within subject effect for measures of blood volume pulse.It was concluded that restrainers and non-restrainers do differ on levels of autonomically mediated arousal as measured by blood volume pulse. However, they do not appear to differ on measures of self-reported anxiety and arousal. Implications for an addiction model of dietary restraint are discussed.

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