Outcome expectancies in the false hope syndrome, effects on behavior and cognition

Three studies examined the influence of expectancies about rewards from thinness (RFT) on dieting attitudes and behaviours. Study 1 assessed peer influence on RFT expectancies by pairing participants ('N' = 64) with a confederate who spoke about either the benefits or costs of her own weight loss (positive- and negative-expectancy conditions, respectively). Condition had an indirect influence on RFT expectancies, but did not influence dieting behaviour, and restrained eaters had higher RFT expectancy scores compared to unrestrained eaters. Only restraint and concern about shape predicted interest in or likelihood of enrolling in a diet. A more powerful intervention or a more ecologically valid measure of dieting behaviour may be necessary to observe a correspondence between attitude and behaviour change. Study 2 used a more robust manipulation by having undergraduate S's ('N' = 62) participate in an experimenter-led discussion about either the benefits or costs of dieting and write an essay consistent with the group message. Compared to controls, participants in the negative-expectancy condition had lower RFT expectancy scores, fewer and less stringent dieting intentions, made more liberal choices in a food-selection task, and rated photos of thin women as less attractive. Participants in the positive-expectancy condition displayed the opposite pattern. Study 2 also replicated the finding that restrained eaters had higher RFT expectancy scores than did unrestrained eaters. Study 3 tested the generalizability of these findings by testing the negative-expectancy intervention on a population of school-aged girls. Grade-8 participants (' N' = 46) took part in either an experimenter led 'dieting-inoculation program' about the detrimental effects of unhealthy dieting, or a delayed-treatment control group. Results showed that intervention group participants had significantly fewer RFT expectancies, and reported dieting less often at follow up compared to delayed-treatment control participants. The results of these studies suggest that (1) Positive thinness outcome expectancies are important in one's decision to diet; (2) Compared to non-dieters, dieters have elevated RFT expectancies; (3) RFT expectancies are amenable to change through persuasion; and (4) Modifying RFT expectancies can cause shifts in dieting attitudes and behaviours., I investigated the behavioral, cognitive, and affective consequences of positive outcome expectancies for thinness. Seventy-four female undergraduates were randomly assigned to read one of three articles portraying positive, negative, or no lifestyle consequences following weight-loss. Participants completed questionnaires measuring expectancies of rewards for thinness, and were offered enrollment in a lenient, moderate, or strict diet. An ostensibly unrelated study assessed other measures of interest. Results indicated that restrained eaters in the positive condition had more expectancies of rewards for thinness, and selected more stringent diets than did the other groups. Restrained eaters in the negative condition, and unrestrained eaters in the positive condition were significantly more hostile than those in other conditions. Finally, frequent vs. infrequent resolvers were more likely to diet. Findings were consistent with a cognitive dissonance interpretation and support the position that the weight-related cognitions, affect, and behavior of even chronic dieters are vulnerable to change through persuasion.