Effects of negative mood induction and impulsivity on self-perceived emotional eating

Objective: The current study investigates the influence of negative mood induction and impulsivity on self-perceptions with respect to emotional eating. Negative affect as well as high impulsivity was expected to increase levels of self-perceived emotional eating. Method: College students who were high versus low in impulsivity were assigned randomly to either a negative (failure on a quiz) or a neutral mood induction. Their levels of self-perceived emotional eating were measured after and before mood induction. Results: Negative affect appeared to enhance the level of self-perceived emotional eating significantly (p < .01). There was no statistically significant effect of impulsivity. The interaction effect of affect and impulsivity approached significance (p = .08), indicating that highly impulsive subjects compared with subjects low in impulsivity were more strongly influenced by negative affect in self-perceived emotional eating. Discussion: Negative affect substantially influences self-perceptions in terms of emotional eating, which is relevant for both prevention and treatment.