Styk Wojciech, Zmorzyński Szymon, Klinkosz Waldemar
Institute of Psychology, The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Al. Raclawickie 14, 20-950, Lublin, Poland.
Department of Cancer Genetics with Cytogenetic Laboratory, Medical University of Lublin, Al. Raclawickie 1, Lublin, 20-059, Poland.
Arch Public Health. 2021 Jan 19;79(1):10. doi: 10.1186/s13690-021-00524-4.
Most of the world's population lives in countries in which overweight and obesity kill more people than does underweight. The weight loss process can be supported by mental simulations, which are used to help individuals to effectively strive towards various goals. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of different types of mental simulations on perseverance, resistance to distractors and the ability to inhibit irrelevant thoughts or memories in people with different body mass indexes (BMI).
The study included 252 participants. They performed process simulations and outcome simulations, using instructions presented to them during the experiment. Perseverance and resistance to distractors were determined using a computer maze-solving task. Two indicators of perseverance were analysed: number of maze tasks solved and total time spent on solving the test. Mean time spent on a single task was used as a measure of resistance to distractors and the ability to inhibit irrelevant thoughts and memories.
The results of the analyses showed that the type of mental simulation used had an effect on the indicators of perseverance. Process simulation subjects completed more tasks and spent more time solving the test than outcome simulation subjects. A relationship was found between the subjects' BMI and the investigated indicators. Individuals who were underweight, overweight or obese scored lower on all three indicators compared to subjects with normal BMI. In people with a BMI above normal, mental simulations increased resistance to distractors and the ability to inhibit thoughts sidetracking them from the task at hand. It is possible that increasing the resistance to distractors is responsible for the effectiveness of mental simulations in the weight loss process.
Our results can be applied in developing interventions for people who suffer from overweight and obesity. Psychological interventions based on mental simulations can be used to assist individuals in physical activity, leading to an improvement in health, but it has to be underlined that the mechanism of their action may vary from person to person.
世界上大多数人口生活在超重和肥胖造成的死亡人数超过体重不足的国家。减肥过程可以通过心理模拟来支持，心理模拟用于帮助个体有效地朝着各种目标努力。本研究的目的是确定不同类型的心理模拟对不同体重指数（BMI）人群的毅力、抗干扰能力以及抑制无关思想或记忆能力的影响。
该研究包括252名参与者。他们根据实验中给出的指示进行过程模拟和结果模拟。使用计算机迷宫求解任务来确定毅力和抗干扰能力。分析了两个毅力指标：解决的迷宫任务数量和解决测试所花费的总时间。将完成单个任务的平均时间用作抗干扰能力以及抑制无关思想和记忆能力的衡量指标。
分析结果表明，所使用的心理模拟类型对毅力指标有影响。过程模拟组的受试者比结果模拟组的受试者完成了更多任务，并且花费了更多时间来解决测试。在受试者的BMI与所研究的指标之间发现了一种关系。与BMI正常的受试者相比，体重过轻、超重或肥胖的个体在所有三个指标上的得分都较低。在BMI高于正常水平的人群中，心理模拟提高了抗干扰能力以及抑制使他们偏离手头任务的思想的能力。增加抗干扰能力可能是心理模拟在减肥过程中有效的原因。
我们的研究结果可应用于为超重和肥胖人群制定干预措施。基于心理模拟的心理干预可用于协助个体进行体育活动，从而改善健康状况，但必须强调的是，其作用机制可能因人而异。
