Cognitive Bias Modification Training in Eating Disorders.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Cognitive Bias Modification Training in Eating Disorders: a pilot study
IRAS ID
126992
Contact name
Charlotte Rhind
Contact email
Research summary
People with Eating Disorders (EDs) have socio-emotional difficulties. In particular, they show a bias towards negative information about the self and others’ attitudes. Previous studies from our unit found an attentional bias towards critical and angry faces, and lower implicit self-esteem and self-compassion in EDs than healthy subjects. The proposed project is aimed at testing the acceptability and impact on clinical symptoms, interpersonal functioning (between self and others), and self-evaluation of computerized training programme to modify negative cognitive bias to social and self-relevant stimuli in patients with EDs. Participants will meet the researcher 4 times, on 4 different days, over the course of 7-10 days. During the first day (baseline; 60 min.), subjects will complete a set of questionnaires assessing clinical symptoms, implicit and explicit self-esteem, interpersonal functioning, vigilance to social stimuli and interpretation of social situations. Then, participants will be assigned to either a training, experimental condition or a control condition of one of two cognitive bias modification modules. The experimental condition entails receiving computerized training (training session 1 - day 2; training session 2 - day 3; training session 3 - day 4) to develop a bias towards others (module 1) and self-related positive information (module 2). Participants in the control condition receive a different version of the training, where both positive and negative information are presented. At the end of the last training session (day 4), all participants will complete follow-up measures of clinical symptoms, implicit and explicit self-esteem, interpersonal functioning, vigilance to social stimuli and interpretation of social situations (45 min). Participants in the control group will be offered the intervention at this stage.
REC name
London - Camberwell St Giles Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
13/LO/1492
Date of REC Opinion
22 Nov 2013
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion