Memory bias in anorexia nervosa: Evidence from directed forgetting

TEKCAN A. İ., Tas A. C., TOPÇUOĞLU V., Yucel B.

JOURNAL OF BEHAVIOR THERAPY AND EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHIATRY, cilt.39, sa.3, ss.369-380, 2008 (SSCI) identifier identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 39 Sayı: 3
  • Basım Tarihi: 2008
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1016/j.jbtep.2007.09.005
  • Dergi Adı: JOURNAL OF BEHAVIOR THERAPY AND EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHIATRY
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.369-380
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: memory bias, anorexia nervosa, eating disorders, directed forgetting, information processing, OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER, EATING-DISORDERS, QUANTITATIVE MEASURE, EXPLICIT MEMORY, STROOP TEST, INFORMATION, WORDS, SHAPE, PSYCHOPATHOLOGY, FORBIDDEN
  • Marmara Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

The aim of this study was to examine memory bias for disorder-relevant information in anorexia nervosa by using the directed forgetting paradigm. Normal controls and patients with anorexia nervosa were given a list consisting of neutral and disorder-relevant words, which they were either asked to remember (R) or forget (F). Memory performance was measured by a free recall and a Yes/No recognition task for all items. There was a directed forgetting effect for both groups; however, the magnitude of the effect (difference between R and F words) was smaller for the patient group due to higher recall of F items. Further analyses showed that this was true only for disorder-relevant but not for neutral items. Our findings support the existence of a strong memory bias for disorder-relevant information in patients with anorexia nervosa, who had difficulty in avoiding the processing of information that they were asked to forget. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.