Working memory processing differences as a function of underlying attributes of disordered eating

The purpose of this study was to examine working memory capacity and patterns of semantic priming among women with varying degrees of dysfunctional beliefs about appearances and eating disorderedness. Prior research has demonstrated memory and attention bias for "fat" words utilizing cognitive tasks; however, these tasks have been relatively simple in their processing demands and may not assess the cognitive impact of dysfunctional beliefs and eating disorderedness on complex processing. The current study investigated the impact of these phenomena on complex working memory and long-term memory retrieval task demands.; One hundred fifty women (ages 17--45) engaged in a computerized task requiring memorization, recall and category comparison. In each of 32 trials, the participant memorized a memory load containing four words from two categories. The participant was instructed to ignore words from one category and recall words from the other category. Some categories contained food and body-image-related (FAB) words, while others did not (non-FAB). Whether FAB or non-FAB words were to be ignored or remembered varied across trials. After recall, the participant was presented with word pairs and asked to determine whether the words were from the same category or different categories. Some words were related to the FAB category in the memory load, some were related to the non-FAB category, and some were from a novel category not in the memory load (unprimed). In addition, participants were administered the Eating Disorder Diagnostic Scale, subscales from the Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire and the Beliefs About Appearances Scale.; A general linear model tested the three-way interaction of primetype (i.e., focused, ignored and unprimed), focus category content (i.e., FAB-body, FAB-food, non-FAB with body, non-FAB with food and never FAB) and continuous variable scores measuring eating disorderedness and beliefs about appearances.; Implications for this research include a demonstration of how impaired working memory capabilities among women with severe body concerns may interfere with performing tasks of daily living that require complex cognitive processing.