Fig. 1: Cognitive restructuring paradigm.
a In each of the task blocks, participants were first shown a common negative self-cognition statement on the screen (e.g., “I am incompetent in the things I do”, “My value depends on my body shape”) for 4 s. Each block featured a unique statement. b Next, participants were given 9 s to decide and select either to restructure or repeat the negative statement that was on the screen. Participants indicated their choice via an MRI-compatible button box, which moved the black cursor to the elected choice. A counter was presented under each option, indicating the remaining number of blocks they could select the respective strategy, ensuring equal numbers of statements being restructured or repeated throughout the task. c Once the decision period lapsed, participants were shown the same statement accompanied by an instruction to engage in their chosen strategy for 12 s (restructure = challenge condition; repeat = repeat condition). d A jittered fixation cross was then presented for an average of 6 s (rest condition) before the next block commenced. The replication sample group underwent an abbreviated version of this paradigm, containing 16 blocks that did not include negative self-cognition statements about food and body image.
