Health Psychology : a Textbook

groups of dieters and non-dieters either a high-calorie preload or a low-calorie preload.

The results are illustrated in Figure 6.5 and indicated that whereas the non-dieters

showed compensatory regulatory behaviour, and ate less at the taste test after the

high-calorie preload, the dieters consumed more in the taste test if they had had the

high-calorie preload than the low-calorie preload.

This form of disinhibition or ‘the what the hell effect’ illustrates overeating in

response to a high-calorie preload. Disinhibition in general has been defined as ‘eating

more as a result of the loosening restraints in response to emotional distress, intoxication

or preloading’ (Herman and Polivy 1989: 342), and its definition paved the way for a

wealth of research examining the role of restraint in predicting overeating behaviour.

The causes of overeating

Research has explored possible mechanisms for the overeating shown by restrained

eaters. These are described below and include the causal model of overeating, the

boundary model of overeating, cognitive shifts, mood modification, denial, escape theory,

overeating as relapse and the central role for control.

i) The causal analysis of overeating The causal analysis of eating behaviour was

first described by Herman and Polivy (Herman and Mack 1975; Herman and Polivy

1980, 1988; Polivy and Herman 1983, 1985). They suggested that dieting and bingeing

were causally linked and that ‘restraint not only precedes overeating but contributes

to it causally’ (Polivy and Herman 1983). This suggests that attempting not to eat,

paradoxically increases the probability of overeating; the specific behaviour dieters are

Fig. 6-5 Overeating in dieters in the laboratory (after Herman and Mack 1975)

154 HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY