The role of attentional bias in obesity and addiction.

The purpose of this article is to critically evaluate the following claims derived from contemporary theoretical models of attentional bias (AB) for food- and drug-related stimuli: (a) AB is a characteristic feature of obesity and addiction, (b) AB predicts future behavior, (c) AB exerts a causal influence on consummatory behavior, and (d) AB reflects appetitive motivational processes.A focused discussion of the relevant literature is...