Theoretical relevance of attentional bias, and starting point for treatment: The case of body dissatisfaction

Selective visual processing of disorder-relevant information (i.e., attentional bias) has been proposed to be a core characteristic of many psychiatric disorders. It has been shown to be
involved in addiction, depression, eating disorders, and anxiety. For example, substance dependent individuals have been found to show an attentional bias for substance cues and
people with post-traumatic stress disorder for trauma reminders. Current views suggest that it might be relevant to conceptualise psychopathology in terms of dysfunctional
transdiagnostic processes instead of assuming a latent pathogenic factor. This sparked research expanding the traditional focus on disorder-specific biases to also cover biased attentional processing involved in dysfunctional transdiagnostic processes such as perfectionism, rumination, and body-dissatisfaction. In this chapter we will highlight some of the findings related to body-dissatisfaction that emerged from this transdiagnostic approach, discuss the potential clinical implications, and provide some directions for future research.