Body dissatisfaction, characterized by persistent negative self-perception, is shaped by an internalized perception of the thin ideal reinforced by social media. It is linked to anxiety, depression, and disordered eating, yet its cognitive and neural underpinnings remain underexplored. This study investigates frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA), an EEG marker of emotional and motivational processing, in college-aged women with varying levels of body dissatisfaction. FAA reflects the balance of brain activity between the left and right frontal hemispheres, where greater right-sided activity is often associated with negative emotions and withdrawal behavior.

We hypothesize that: (1) participants exhibiting on average negative FAA scores during the Flanker task will exhibit greater attentional interference in reaction time and accuracy when responding to high vs low body shape stimuli; and (2) participants with higher scores on the BSQ will exhibit greater right-sided frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA < 0) with high body weight stimuli, reflecting more negative emotions and withdrawal behavior, suggesting a link between body dissatisfaction and negative emotional processing.  

Participants completed surveys assessing body image and eating attitudes, followed by a selective attention task using a modified Eriksen Flanker Task. Stimuli included body-only images categorized as underweight, healthy, or overweight, with targets superimposed. EEG data, recorded at 160 scalp electrodes, measured alpha power asymmetries during task performance.

Ongoing analyses focus on comparing FAA across body dissatisfaction groups and its relationship with task performance metrics, such as reaction time and accuracy. Preliminary expectations suggest that individuals with high body dissatisfaction will display more withdrawal-related FAA (right-sided alpha power), particularly in response to overweight body stimuli.

This research aims to advance our understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying body dissatisfaction and its emotional and cognitive dimensions, contributing to the broader field of body image research.