Cognitive of AN

Cards (13)

  • What are cognitive distortions + what do AN sufferers have
    Cognitive distortions are errors in thinking that cause the individual to develop a negative body image. AN suffers have a disturbed perception of their own body
  • What did Murphy et al find
    Murphy et al found that other clinical features of AN stem from these distortions which leads to being critical of your own body/seeing yourself as overweight so you engage in food restriction and obsess about body shape/size. Distortions cause ppl to see themselves as overweight despite there being no evidence of this, leading to the desire to lose weight
  • What is attentional bias
    Ppl with AN are biased and hyper attentive towards food related stimuli - particularly fattening foods and information related to it e.g. calories. This is to help avoid gaining weight
  • What aren't irrational beliefs based on + examples of IBs
    Irrational beliefs aren't based on facts and are unrealistic e.g. catastrophising (if I eat this apple I will immediately get fat) or all or nothing thinking (either I am fat and ugly or attractive).
  • What do individuals develop due to irrational beliefs
    Individuals develop self defeating habits due to faulty beliefs about themselves and the world.
  • What do irrational beliefs increase
    Irrational beliefs increase negative automatic thoughts that contribute to the development of anxiety and lead to AN. As a result, we start to think negatively about food and food related things make us anxious and lead to the desire to lose weight.
  • What is a key irrational belief and how is it applied to eating
    Perfectionism is a key IB where anorexics strive to meet the most demanding standards at all times. They apply this standard to eating and weight loss and body image. Failure to meet goals is judged harshly and is accompanied by even harsher record keeping and restraint.
  • Ppl with anorexia are vulnerable to cognitive inflexibility. Once they perceive themselves as overweight and start a weight loss process they will continue to perceive themselves as needing to lose more weight. Even after they have lost weight and no longer have a need for it anymore
  • Evals for cognitive AN
    • S - support from the stroop test (Ben Tovim et al)
    • S - support that faulty cognitions cause anorexia (Fairburn et al)
    • W - supporting evidence is correlational
    • W - refuting evidence from body morphing tasks (Cornelissen et al)
  • S - cognitive theory of AN - supporting evidence from the stroop test. According to the theory, those with AN are hyper attentive towards food related stimuli as they view such stimuli as a threat. Ben Tovim et al used the Stroop test and found that compared to normal controls, patients with AN found it harder to colour name words that were relevant to their weight concerns suggesting a selective preoccupation with those stimuli and words related to them. Shows that ppl with AN do have attentional biases to food related stimuli. In line with the theory. /V
  • S - supporting evidence that faulty cognitions cause AN. CBT for eating disorders have shown positive results. Fairburn et al compared CBT-E with interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) a leading alternative treatment = no cognitive element. 130 patients with an eating disorder - randomly assigned to CBT-E or IPT. After 20 week treatment, 2/3 of the CBT-E patients met the criteria for remission. 1/3 of the IPT patients. Shows CBT-E = effective therapy for AN + Since CBT-E has cognitive components, shows theory is correct in attributing the cause of AN to faulty cognitions. /V
  • W - cognitive explanation of AN - evidence is correlational. Can't be sure whether cognitive distortions lead to AN or if AN leads to cognitive distortions. If the former is true, the theory is validated. If the latter is true, it means that the cause of anorexia lies elsewhere. AN might therefore be due to genetic factors such as inheriting a faulty EPHX2 gene. As supporting evidence is undermined, the theory based on it decreases in validity
  • W - cognitive theory of AN - refuting evidence from body morphing tasks. Cornelissen et al compared AN patients with non AN patients on a morphing task where Ps had to adjust a computerised image of themselves until it matched their perceived body size. Found no significant differences between the groups of women in the accuracy of their estimates (DV). Shows those with AN don't suffer from cognitive biases and distortions as they were able to accurately gauge their own body in a non distorted way. As this goes against the theory. Decreases V