Abstract

This study investigated psychological factors that affect restrained eaters' eating behaviors. Especially, how the public self-focused attention function on the restrained eaters eating behaviors were examined. The experimental design was a 2(restraint level: restraint/non-restraint)×2 (preloading: 0cc/235cc)×3 (public self-focused attention: weight or body shape related self-focused/personality related self-focused/public self unrelated attention) completely randomized factorial design. Participants were 144 college females, 12 females in each condition. The main findings of this study are as follows. The restrained eaters in the weight or body shape related public self-focused attention condition ate less ice cream in the preloading condition than in the non-preloading condition. But the restrained eaters in the personality and public self unrelated attention condition ate ice cream almost equally both in the preloading condition and in the non-preloading condition. All the non-restrained eaters in public self-focused attention conditions ate less ice cream in the preloading condition than in the non-preloading condition. These results suggest that the weight or body shape public self-focused attention play an important role in regulating restrained eaters' eating behaviors and non-restrained eaters eating behaviors be regulate by physiological needs. Both the significance, implications, and limitations of this study, and the suggestions for further study and applications for the diet management programs were discussed.