Implicit Cognitions and Eating Disorders: Their Application in Research and Treatment

Cognitive theory has had a prominent role in understanding and treating eating disorders in recent years. The increasing emphasis on implicit cognitions in many areas of psychology raises the question of whether research on implicit cognitions could contribute to our understanding and treatment of eating disorders. In the present article, we discuss our recent work using the Implicit Association Test (IAT; Greenwald, McGhee, & Schwartz, 1998) to explore implicit cognitions in restrained and unrestrained eaters. We also propose several domains in which exploring the utility of the IAT may prove beneficial. These include cognitive restructuring, inaccuracies in self-report, predicting relapse, body dissatisfaction, and treatment selection. Although there are numerous potential applications of the IAT for research and clinical practice with eating disorders, the value of these applications must be tested empirically.