Projects per year
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Maintaining a healthy body weight and reaching long-term dietary goals requires ongoing self-monitoring and behavioral adjustments. How individuals respond to successes and failures is described in models of self-regulation: while cybernetic models propose that failures lead to increased self-regulatory efforts and successes permit a reduction of such efforts, motivational models (e.g., social-cognitive theory) make opposite predictions. Here, we tested these conflicting models in an ecological momentary assessment (EMA) context and explored whether effort adjustments are related to inter-individual differences in perceived self-regulatory success in dieting (i.e., weight management).
METHODS: Using linear mixed effects models, we tested in 174 diet-interested individuals whether current day dietary success or failure (e.g., on Monday) was followed by self-regulatory effort adjustment for the next day (e.g., on Tuesday) across 14 days. Success vs. failure was operationalized with two EMA items: first, whether food intake was higher vs. lower than usual and second, whether food intake was perceived as more vs. less goal-congruent than usual. Trait-level perceived self-regulatory success in dieting was measured on a questionnaire.
RESULTS: Intended self-regulatory effort increased more strongly after days with dietary success (i.e., eating less than usual / rating intake as goal-congruent) than after days with dietary failure (i.e., eating more than usual / rating intake as goal-incongruent), especially in those individuals with lower scores on perceived self-regulatory success in dieting.
CONCLUSIONS: Findings support mechanisms proposed by social-cognitive theory, especially in unsuccessful dieters. Thus, future dietary interventions could focus on preventing the decrease in self-regulatory effort after instances of dietary failures and thereby mitigate the potential risk that a single dietary failure initiates a downward spiral into unhealthy eating.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 24 |
Number of pages | 13 |
Journal | International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity |
Volume | 21 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 26 Feb 2024 |
Bibliographical note
© 2024. The Author(s).Keywords
- Self-regulation
- Ecological momentary assessment
- Cybernetic model
- Social cognitive theory
- Intentions
- Regulatory effort
- Self-monitoring
- Dietary lapse
- Food intake
Fields of Science and Technology Classification 2012
- 501 Psychology
Projects
- 2 Finished
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Mapping neural mechanisms of appetitive behavior
Blechert, J. (Principal Investigator)
15/09/19 → 14/12/24
Project: Research
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Doktoratskolleg Imaging the Mind: Connectivity and Higher Cognitive Function
Schabus, M. (Principal Investigator), Wilhelm, F. (Co-Investigator), Blechert, J. (Co-Investigator), Hödlmoser, K. (Co-Investigator), Hutzler, F. (Co-Investigator), Jonas, E. (Co-Investigator), Perner, J. (Co-Investigator), Weisz, N. (Co-Investigator), Pletzer, B. A. (Co-Investigator) & Kronbichler, M. (Co-Investigator)
1/03/19 → 31/08/24
Project: Research