Working hypothesis:

Individuals with a eating disorder can enhance their metacognition using cognitive strategies, particularly by doing crossword puzzles frequently to improve their destructive eating habits and intense food cravings

When individuals use crosswords puzzles as a coping strategy to interrupt their food cravings, it can be effective in improving their destructive eating habits.

InspireAngels Proposal

I will be researching the the positive correlation and the benefits that crossword puzzles can have on eating disorders such as binge eating disorder (BED).

Five Academic Sources

1. Thinking about internal states, a qualitative investigation into metacognitions in women with eating disorders

• Background information: A research evaluates women’s eating disorders through interviews with regards to helping the development of Metacognitive therapy for eating disorders.
• How I intend to use it: Since the study conducts interviews on these women’s thoughts and cognitive coping strategies I will use this information in my essay to elaborate how these participants used cognitive distraction through activities such as crossword puzzles.

NOTES on #1 Article

• “The domain of ‘how’ thinking occurs comprises the concept of metacognition, which refers to the cognitive mechanisms involved in the knowledge, interpretation and regulation of thinking itself ” : The field of thinking is made up of the notion of a person’s awareness of their own thought process or metacognition. This can refer to the cognitive mechanisms that involve mental activities such as interpretation, knowledge, perception and regulation of oneself.
• The Self-Regulatory Executive Function( S-REF) theory of psychological disorder model had suggested that there are two metacognitive components guiding the information processing, interpretations, and the control of thoughts
• These two components are metacognitive knowledge and metacognitive regulation. Metacognitive knowledge states “the positive and negative beliefs which an individual holds about how to regulate internal states.” In other sense, when individuals have an understanding about themselves and various other cognitive processes. While metacognitive regulation refers how we control our thinking and use different coping strategies to facilitate our thinking. This can relate to how students are able to select the appropriate learning mechanisms for a task but can later modify or change their approach according to how well it working for them.
• The theory of S-REF argues that in cases of any psychological disorders, the metacognitive system can “become dysfunctional” or impaired and any metacognitive processes becomes unstable that can result to Cognitive Attentional Syndrome (CAS).
• Positive Metacognitive about internal states: In the metabeliefs, the two cases involve interpreting either emotions or thoughts as “uncontrollable and dangerous,” however the perceived position action was the same.
• “[I focus on] not eating. I don’t know when that started but when I’m angry, when I’m sad, like I’m a bit sad today, like a bit off, and the next step is [to think] don’t go to the fridge, don’t you dare go into the kitchen, do not eat, just do not blow it, like you feel shit, there’s an opportunity that you’ll just lose control, like do not do that.” (Age 26 – EDNOS)
• In this experiment, many of the women shared their cognitive distractions they use to help reduce distress when they were experiencing binge eating urges. They would ensure this by keeping their mind busy or engaged to manage any negative emotions or thoughts.
• “I’d say even though distracting myself is hard to do, I tend to find that a bit more effective in terms of forgetting about the negative thoughts. Even though it might be hard to actually start a crossword puzzle or to you know make the effort to go and see someone, once I actually do then I tend to you know feel better afterwards, yeah, or less stressed about everything, even though it’s harder to actually do.” (Age 22 – AN) : People with eating disorders struggle with a great deal of stress, however when cognitive regulation or distractions such as crossword puzzles are incorporate into their daily uneasy experience, it can become effective to the individual to better ease their mind and slowly get out of the negative internal state.

2. Active learning: creating interactive crossword puzzles

• Background information: This study discuss the positive correlation of crossword puzzles have on students with learning and how it benefits their attitude and mood.
• How I intend to use it: The study goes over the positive benefits of crossword puzzles and with this information I can discuss the how it can assist in person’s health and mental health. Since most of time eating disorders have a correlation with mental illnesses.

NOTES on #2 Article

• Motivation is the key to having students become involve in learning different tasks to later pursue their goal with knowledge they have attain
• Numerous of studies have demonstrate that “incorporating active learning helps to motivate” individuals and “improves understanding and learning” (see [1] for a review). “ : By including active learning frequently a person can not only be more motivate but also improve their understanding and learning on a subject. (can connect this with individual’s eating disorders because they can benefit knowing more about their eating disorders to find new coping methods)
• “Crossword puzzles have been shown to be effective learning tools in disciplines such as medical education ([1]), psychology ([6]), sociology ([7]), communications ([8]), nursing ([9]), or biology ([10]), among others” : Crossword puzzles are used as a learning tool for many subjects and been shown to be effective.
• A good handful of people associate crossword puzzles as a game to play so makes it more fun for the individual when doing crossword puzzles
• “The satisfaction derived from successfully solving one clue encourages students to continue towards completion of the puzzle.” As an individual continues to work on a crossword puzzle, they attain that satisfaction of being able to complete a puzzle after solving for one. This can positively alter the mood of the person encouraging them to continue striving to completing the entire puzzle task.
• Crossword puzzles hold many advantages to expand one’s knowledge on vocabulary, stimulate the brain, encourages logical thinking and as well as aid in improving retention of concepts.

3. Desire to eat and its relationship with emotion regulation, what does rumination has to
do with it?

• Background information: Discusses the relationship between emotion regulation and food and how they correlate together.
• How I intend to use it: I will use this information because I can talk about the relationship, food and emotions such as stress has on an individual

NOTES on Article #3

• Emotional eating is when a person tends to overeat or consume an extensive amount of food at a time due to any negative emotions they are feeling such as “anxiety or irritability”
• “However, current research, has revealed that it is not the emotion per se that elicits a change in eating behavior, rather it is about the way individuals regulate those emotions (Evers, Stok, & de Ridder, 2010; Spoor, Bekker, Strien, & Heck, 2006).”
• Emotional regulation corresponds with changes in eating behavior. It tends to influence people by exerting to the experience and expression of their emotions (Gross 1999)
• In general individuals when feeling any negative emotions tend to consume less food however it quite the opposite for people who restrain their eating. An analysis revealed that only people who would restrict their eating habits intake more food when they experience negative emotions. (Cardi et al., 2015; Evers et al., 2018)
• The restraint theory states that people who restrain their eating tend to become more vulnerable and lose control in eating after experiencing a negative feeling or situation especially under stress. This suggests that individuals might have difficulties with inhibition. This prevents the person to act relaxed after being self-conscious of themselves.
• People experience difficulties in emotional regulation due to use of maladaptive behavior strategies rather than adaptive ones. Individuals may be using methods such as avoidance or withdrawal that are not being effective to them while also having it affect them negatively rather than effectively coping in a positive manner to a current situation.
• Emotional regulation becomes adaptive when the psychological reactions of the negative emotion detected then assess. There are multiple emotional regulation strategies that are adaptive that can be a beneficial for individuals with eating disorders. One of these strategies are rumination.
• Rumination is when an individual repetitively analyze their problems, concerns, or any type feelings of distress. Rumination only becomes favorable when it relates to the person is self reflecting. When intentionally turning towards solving a current problem it can ease one’s negative emotion. One of the example giving was a crossword puzzle since you have to deeply think about the words to be able to solve it.

4. Freedom From Fear: Overcoming Anxiety, Phobias, And Panic

• Background information: This book discusses a few strategies of overcoming anxiety. The book better help the readers understand how the brain works so you have better acknowledge in how to control your mental health. It explain different methods of approaching your mental health so when episode occurs you can try these methods to see which best works for you.
• How I intend to use it: Since the author elaborates in how the brain works and mentions that how one of the methods are cross puzzles, it could be use as evidences to my thesis of the positive correlation crossword puzzles have on eating disorders. Anxiety and depression is connected a lot to eating disorders.

5. Acute Psychosocial stress in binge eating disorder

• Background information: The study was conducted to inspect the effects of stress on the measure of inhibitory control that could contribute to the lost of control during binge eating in individuals. The participants were assigned to a control group with either no stress or stress situation that involve the control group to use crossword puzzles to help them relax.
• How I intend to use it: I can use this information by uses the data from the no stress situation individuals that used to crossword puzzle in order to be relax and to have less binge urges.

6. Computer game design: Opportunities for successful learning

7. Self Determination Theory and the Facilitation of Intrinsic Motivation, Social Development, and Well Being

8. Accelerating Student Learning of Technology Terms: The Crossword Puzzle Exercise

9. A personality classification system for eating disorders: a longitudinal study

Background information: This is study is based on eating disorders and the kinds of personality types that are associate with them. About 200 people participate to being interview collecting data on baseline functioning and longitudinal outcome. There were found to be 5 types of personality types associate with eating disorders.

High-functioning personality:

• is associate with minimal personality pathology
• were associated with positive outcomes

Behaviorally dysregulated:

• tends to show more binge/purging symptoms
• associate with baseline functioning however didn’t show strong ED outcome
• impulsive
• have physical self-damaging behavior
• prone to manipulate suicidal gestures
• antisocial behavior

Emotionally dysregulated:

• tends to show more binge/purging symptoms
• were not associate with negative outcome
• borderline and histrionic tendencies
• have angry outburst due to lack of control of anger
• affective instability
• dependent

Avoidant insecure:

• tends to demonstrate more anorexic features
• associate with poor functioning and outcome
• anxious, depressed and socially avoidant tendencies
• lack self-confidence
• low self esteem
• close friendships with most only 1 or 2
• inability to relax

Obsessional sensitive

• were not associate with negative outcomes
• obsessional compulsive and rigid tendencies

Bulimic samples were observed to have higher impulsivity. Anorexic samples were observed to have more avoidant and compulsive pathology. Mixed samples had a range of personality types

10. Coping strategies for eating disorders
Background information:

• Anorexic patients were presented to have more self criticism, social withdrawal, inadequate focused management. In the bulimic patients

11. Personality Characteristics and Coping Patterns

12. Difference in the use of emotional regulation strategies between anorexia and bulimia

13. Games as an innovative teaching strategy for overactive bladder and BPH

14. Derailing the streetcar named desire. Cognitive distractions reduce individual differences in cravings and unhealthy snacking in response to palatable food

15. Obesity: abandon dieting for behavioural techniques

16. Use of clay modeling to reduce chocolate craving

Topics for Smaller Paper

(Definition/Categorical Paper)

(Causal/Cause and Effect Paper)

Categories

Personalities types and their relationship with eating food/overeating/binging eating

Coping Strategies

• Distraction
• Self regulation

• Negotiation
• Self Denial
• Mood alternation
• Emotional regulation
• Rumination

Behavior Dysregulated positive : rumination, negotiation

Bad outcome: self denial

Emotional Dysregulated positive: emotional regulation, distraction

bad outcome: self denial

Avoidants insecure positive: self regulation and rumination

Bad outcome: distraction

Obsessional sensitive positive: self negotiation and self denial

bad outcome: rumination

Matching those against Food Strategies to demonstrate good and bad outcomes. What’s the best approach for a Self-Regulator who tends to overeat during times of stress? 

(Rebuttal Argument)

Topics to rebuttal

• Crosswords disadvantages and ineffectiveness
• Crosswords puzzles being beneficial to individuals however not to eating disorder patients
• crosswords cause anxiety and more stress than intended