Cognitions and self-talk during food intake of restrained and unrestrained eaters

In the present study, restrained subjects failed to regulate their ice-cream intake after a preload of milkshakes, while unrestrained subjects succeeded. Restraint was not related to irrational thinking patterns, as reflected by scores on the Rational Behavior Inventory (RBI) and the Irrational Belief Test (IBT). During the disinhibitive challenge, the self-talk of the subjects was recorded on tape. Restrained subjects in a disinhibition challenge, i.e. preload condition, were expected to report significantly more disinhibitive thoughts than restrained subjects in a no-preload condition. Unrestrained subjects were expected to report no disinhibitive self-talk at all. The authors failed to find experimental confirmation for the widely held view that dichotomous thoughts such as "I've blown my diet, I might as well continue to eat" disinhibit restrained eaters.