Psychology of Obesity Flashcards

A counselor teaches a patient to eat slowly, notice texture and taste, and check in with fullness signals mid-meal. This intervention is best classified as what?

Answer: Mindful eating training

Mindful eating cultivates nonjudgmental, present-moment attention to sensory and satiety cues during meals.

In relapse prevention, the 'abstinence violation effect' predicts that a lapse is most likely to escalate into full relapse when the patient attributes the lapse to what?

Answer: Stable internal causes such as personal weakness or lack of willpower

Attributing a lapse to fixed personal defects generates guilt and hopelessness that fuel continued overeating, whereas situational attributions support recovery.

Which self-monitoring practice shows the strongest and most consistent association with successful long-term weight management in behavioral research?

Answer: Regular recording of food intake and body weight

Consistent self-monitoring of intake and weight is among the most robust predictors of weight loss and maintenance.

A patient sets a goal to 'walk 20 minutes after dinner on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for the next two weeks.' Which goal-setting principle does this best illustrate?

Answer: SMART goals that are specific, measurable, and time-bound

The goal specifies exact behavior, frequency, duration, and timeframe, matching the SMART framework counselors use to build achievable action plans.

According to Bandura's social cognitive theory, which counselor strategy most directly builds a patient's self-efficacy for exercise?

Answer: Arranging early mastery experiences with small, achievable activity successes

Mastery experiences are the most powerful source of self-efficacy, so early achievable wins build confidence for harder challenges.

A patient repeatedly loses 30 pounds on restrictive diets and regains it within a year, each time feeling more hopeless. Which counseling approach best addresses this weight-cycling pattern?

Answer: Shifting focus to sustainable behavior change and self-compassion rather than another restrictive diet

Breaking the restrict-regain cycle requires sustainable habits and reduced shame, since escalating restriction and self-criticism perpetuate cycling.

During a group session, a patient says, 'Hearing that others struggle the same way makes me feel less broken.' Which of Yalom's therapeutic factors is she describing?

Answer: Universality

Universality is the relief that comes from recognizing one's struggles are shared by others in the group.