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Review
. 2022 May;84(4):1069-1076.
doi: 10.3758/s13414-022-02466-7. Epub 2022 Mar 30.

Evidence of attentional bias toward body stimuli in men

Daniel Talbot  1 , Daniella Saleme  2
Affiliations
Review

Evidence of attentional bias toward body stimuli in men

Daniel Talbot et al. Atten Percept Psychophys. 2022 May.

Abstract

Over the past 30 years, attentional bias for body shape and weight content has been implicated in the precipitation and maintenance of body dissatisfaction and eating disorders. Although the existence of this bias toward body stimuli is well-established in female populations, it is comparatively understudied in men. This review aimed to examine the nature of this visual attentional bias toward male bodies in male samples across a range of different attentional paradigms, including eye-tracking, dot-probe, and the visual search task. Results were heterogenous, finding some evidence that men with higher body dissatisfaction and eating disorder symptoms demonstrated an attentional bias toward desirable bodies of other men, and undesirable features of their own bodies. These results suggest that schematic cognitive models of body dissatisfaction and eating disorders body may also be applicable to men, however more research is needed.

Keywords: Attentional bias; Body image; Eating disorders; Men; Review.

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Conflict of interest statement

This study is complied with APA ethical standards, and there are no conflicts of interest that may arise due to the development or publication of this research. Additionally, this paper is not being considered elsewhere for publication, nor has it been presented to the public before (nor will it be while it is under consideration by in Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics). There are no data associated with this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Williamson and colleagues’ cognitive-behavioral model of body dissatisfaction and eating disorders. Adapted from Williamson et al. (2004)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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