Anxiety, hunger, and eating behavior.

In this study we examined the effects of anxiety and food deprivation on the amount of food consumed ad lib by dieters and nondieters. Eighty female college students served as subjects in an ostensible market research study in which an anxiety manipulation was embedded. Reassignment of the subjects to anxiety condition on the basis of self-reported anxiety produced a significant (p < .02) three-way interaction among level of anxiety, food deprivation, and dieting status. The results suggest that (a) for nondieters, anxiety suppresses hunger but has no effect when subjects are not initially hungry, and (b) for dieters, anxiety increases eating only when the subject is initially hungry. These results are interpreted in terms of Herman and Polivy's (1984) boundary model of eating.