Psychology Revision

Eating Behaviour
Eating Behaviour
Attitude towards food
Attitudes towards food
One way to understand how different factors affect eating is by examining
our attitudes towards eating and certain types of food.
Attitudes are judgements and develop on the ABC model:
Affect – is the emotional response to the stimulus eg, not liking the taste.
Behaviour – is the verbal or behavioural reaction.
Cognitive response – is the evaluation of the object.

Example
An individual eats some bacon.
A. They dislike the bacon.
B. They spit it out.
C. They decide that they don’t like that brand of bacon and therefore will not
try it again.
Theory of Reasoned Action
This theory was made by Ajzen and Fishbein(1980).
It is a social-cognition model that states that
intentions are the best way to predict actions.

Two factors influence intentions, and these are:

1. Attitude towards behaviour
2. Perceived social pressure
Theory of Reasoned Action
Beliefs about the
outcome of the
behaviour. Eg, “if I stop
eating junk food I will
be healthier” Attitude to
specific
Evaluations of behaviour
outcome. Eg “I want to
be healthier” Behavioural intention Behaviour
(intend to quit) (Quitting)
Normative Beliefs about the
behaviour. Eg “my friends
think I should stop eating
junk food” Subjective
Norms
Motivation to comply
Eg “I want to be liked by my
friends, so I’ll do what they
want”
Evaluations of TRA
Advantages
 It has been successful in predicting
people’s eating behaviours.
It takes people’s individual beliefs and
characteristics into account.
It has been used to influence the
eating behaviour of families,
particularly recently in the UK.
Disadvantages
It doesn’t take into account perceived
control over actions
Intentions don’t always predict actions
Doesn’t take into account previous
experience which might influence the
way we eat.
Doesn’t consider irrational decisions.
Measurement and testing of attitudes
is done via self report which isn’t always
reliable.
Theory of Planned Behaviour
This theory was made by Ajzen (1985).
It is a social-cognition model that states that perceived
behavioural control affects whether a person will perform
an action. For example, a person could want to eat more
veg because they know it is healthy, but could believe
that it costs too much so they can’t afford to buy more.

The stronger the attitude, and the greater the feelings of

control, the more likely a person is to perform the action.
Theory of Planned Behaviour
Attitude
towards
behaviour

Subjective
Intention Behaviour
norms

Control
beliefs
Evaluations of TPB
Advantages
 It has been successful in predicting
people’s eating behaviours. Shepherd
and Stockley(1985) found it to be the
best predictor of table salt use.
It takes people’s individual beliefs and way we eat.
characteristics into account.
It has been used to influence the
eating behaviour of families,
particularly recently in the UK.
Disadvantages
Intentions don’t always predict
actions
Doesn’t take into account previous
experience which might influence the
Doesn’t consider irrational decisions.
Measurement and testing of attitudes
is done via self report which isn’t always
reliable.
The

Health Belief Model
The HBM was developed by Becker in 1974.
It assumes that the likelihood of individuals engaging in
health damaging behaviour (such as overeating or
drinking) depends on :
 How susceptible to the addiction they think they are.
 How susceptible to the diseases associated with the behaviour they
think they are.
 How severe the consequences of the associated disease are

Advantages
Takes personal characteristics into
account.
There is supporting evidence,
particularly in relation to things such
as safe sex and HIV.
It has real life implications.
Disadvantages
There is conflicting evidence.
It overestimates people’s own
rationality.
The reinforcing effects of addictive
behaviour are not taken into account.
Eating Behaviour
Factors that influence eating behaviour
 Culture
It is difficult to define the term “food”, except to say that it is what we eat in order to
obtain nutrients. After all, we have all heard the stories about women craving things
like coal but most of us would not consider that to be “food”.
In different cultures, different things would be considered as food. For example, in
India where a lot of people are Hindus, cows would not be considered food but in the
UK cows are used commonly as food.
It is likely that classical and operant conditioning are powerful in this context. For
example, if someone associates food like ice cream with happy hot days, they may eat
ice cream more. However, someone who eats too much ice cream and is sick
afterwards may not eat ice cream at all. This is known as one trial learning.

Garcia used rats who have a strong preferance for sweet things to show how people
learn through association. He gave the rats a choice between sweetened water and
normal water. All the rats chose sweetened water but each time they drank it, he then
gave them a dose of radiation to make them sick. When given the choice again, only
10% of rats chose the non sweetened water, even after a long period of time.
Stannic et al found that children who ate in an environment where fruit and veg were
always encouraged were more likely to eat more healthily later in life.
 Socio-economical factors
These are factors that have a direct influence on our eating
behaviour. Examples include education, income, cost and religion.

North and Emmet (2000) found that parents that were more
educated about proteins, carbs and vitamins were more likely to eat
healthily.
Xie et al (2003) showed that children and adolescents from high
income families were more likely to have a balanced diet
Donkin et al (2000) stated that accessibility is also an important
factor as healthier food tends to be more expensive when available
in towns and cities compared to those in outskirts.
Certain ethnic groups and religions do not eat certain foods, for
example, Muslims do not eat pork.
 Family Influences
Children’s food related knowledge, preference and consumption
are related to their parents’ beliefs and attitudes, although some
evidence suggests that there is also a genetic basis for food
preference.

Researchers at the University of Minnesota found that children

aged 11-18 who ate with their family were more likely to eat fruit
and veg.
Research shows that the shaping of food choice is due to family
and friends who give the child encouragement when they eat
certain types of food.
Duncker (1938) found that children are more likely to try
unfamiliar food after watching a parent or close family member
eat it.
 Health Concerns
Some people alter their diet because they have problems
with their diets, whilst others alter it to avoid problems and
some people are just unaware of health issues to do with
food.

In the UK, 98% of women aged between 18 and 40 have tried
to diet.

The media also adds to people’s health concerns by

highlighting risks for example, recent advertisements about
eating the daily recommended intake of fruit and veg.
 Mood
We all know that our mood affects the way we eat. For
example, sometimes when we are sad we will comfort eat, or
if we’re feeling extremely low we might not eat at all.

Garg et al found that happy people tend to treat pleasurable

products such as buttered popcorn and chocolate as mood
threatening and therefore avoid them whilst sadder people
use them as a mood lifter.
Tice et al found that people tend to respond to stress by
eating more fatty foods.
Michaud et al found that the stress of an upcomming exam
increased the food intake of children by up to 30%.
Eating Behaviour
The success and failure of dieting
Restraint Theory
Ogden (2003) suggested that if you restrain yourself from doing something,
you are more likely to over do it.
Herman and Mack (1975) got participants to take part in taster sessions.
They split the participants into 2 groups. One group received a high calorie
taster, and the other received a low calorie starter. The group with the high
calorie starter tended to eat more during the test.
Ruderman and Wilson also found that dieters tend to actually end up
eating more than non dieters.
Wardle and Beale (1988) found that dieters tend to over eat for 3 reasons:
1. Counter regulation – eating more after high calorie intake
2. Disinhabition – eating more because they’re being less strict on
themselves.
3. “What the hell” effect – seeing eating a piece of chocolate as a failure, so
deciding to “start the diet tomorrow”.
Restraint Theory – Boundary Model
Herman and Polvy came up with the Boundary model.
Hunger keeps food intake above a certain minimum
whilst satiation keeps food intake below and maximum.
Dieters make their own boundaries inbetween these,
but sometimes go beyond and continue until they are
full rather than just eating more healthier foods until
they are full.
This is thought to be because of physiological factors
such as hunger, as well as education and dieting
technique.
Evaluations of the Restraint Theory
Advantages Disadvantages
Combines psychological and Pessimistic. If obese people try to diet
physiological factors. with restraint, they will fail and then
over eat. Thus, over eating may be
Has high face validity consequence of dieting.

Experimental nature is high in Can not explain prolonged restricting

reliability. behaviour of anorexics.

The experimental nature is low in

ecological validity.
Cognitive Shifts
Over eating has been described as a shift in the
dieter’s thoughts. It often involves a breakdown of self-
control or a “motivational collapse”.

Interviews with dieters support this as they stated that

they could no longer “be bothered” to diet as it took
too much effort to eat outside their usual routine.

Sometimes dieters even over eat as an act of rebellion.

Mood
Research has shown that dieters in a poor mood tend to
over eat to cause a temporary heightened mood to mask
their negative mood. This is the “masking hypothesis”,
commonly known as “comfort eating”.

Polivy and Herman (1999) used two groups of

participants, non dieters and dieters. They then told
them they had either passed or failed a test. Afterwards,
they presented them with unlimited amounts of food.
Those who were in the dieters fail group ate more than all
the other participants.
Denial
Wegner et al told participants not to think about a
white bear. They had to ring a bell when they thought
about the bear. He told other participants to think
about the bear. Those who were told not to think
about the bear rang the bell more than those who were
told to think about the bear.
Ogden found a similar thing happens with dieters.
When denying themselves something it has the
opposite effect.
Biological

Explanations
Mark (2006) suggests that diets fail because they do
not take into account the biological problems to do
with leptin that regulates appetite.
Lapasky et al (2007) suggest that obesity is linked to
low levels of leptin.
Advantages Disadvantages
Takes blame away from the failing Doesn’t explain why obesity is a
dieters. growing problem in the modern
world.
Helps adapt new dieting
techniques. Not a problem in animals.

Not a problem in undeveloped

countries.
SUCCESS!!
Dieters tend to succeed when attention is paid to what
is in the meal rather than just eating less.
They also succeed when there is a routine and healthy
eating programme rather than a “diet”.
In a meta-analysis, Higgins and Gray (1999) found
that diets were successful when the dieter experienced
3 things:
1. Improved self-esteem
2. Improved behaviour
3. Weight Stability
Eating Behaviour
Biological explanations for eating
Neural Mechanisms
Neural Mechanisms
Cannon (1927) thought that hunger came from the stomach. To
prove his theory, he conducted a study in which he swallowed a
balloon attached to a cord via which he could pump up the balloon.
When the balloon was in his stomach, he blew it up to see if he
would get hungry. He found that whilst the balloon was blown up,
he did not feel the urge to eat.
Lashley (1938), on the other hand, argued that neural mechanisms
play a role in making decisions about when or when not to eat. He
studied this by getting a group of rats and removing sections of the
brain before putting them in a maze to find food. He found that
the lateral hypothalamus was the “hunger centre” and the
ventromedial hypothalamus was the “satiation centre”.
Duel Centre Theory
Feelings of
hunger.
The duel centre theory states that Eating
the body has developed two LH feeding starts.
centre is
systems to control eating activated.
behaviour. The lateral
hypothalamus turns eating on,
Increase in
and the ventromedial blood glucose
levels. Ghrelin
hypothalamus turns eating on. levels decrease.

The LH is activated by high levels

of ghrelin and low levels of Feeding stops.
Nutrient
nutrients. levels begin to
decrease.
The VHM is triggered by high
VHM
levels of glucose and low levels of Satiety
centre
ghrelin. activated.
Duel Centre Theory
There is a lot of evidence to support the duel centre theory.
Anad and Brobeck(1951) found that lesions in the LH of
rats decreased their eating. However, after a couple of
weeks, eating returned to normal.
Lashley found that rats whose VHM was damaged
developed over eating.

HOWEVER Gold(1973) found that lesions restricted to the

hypothalamus alone had no effect on eating behaviour and
only produced over eating when lesioning other areas.
Set Point Theory
This theory states that everyone has a set weight
which they regulate around.

This theory has face validity as some people can not

seem to lose or gain weight, or return to roughly the
same weight after losing/gaining weight.

This theory also takes blame away from people who

just don’t seem to be able to lose or gain weight.
Role of Ghrelin
Ghrelin is a hormone which is released when the stomach
is empty.
Cummings et al (2004) measured the ghrelin levels of
participants every 5 minutes whilst participants assessed
their own hunger level every 30 minutes. In 5 out of 6
participants, there was a significant correlation between
levels of ghrelin and their perceived hunger level.
Ghrelin injections have also been shown the lower the
food intake levels of animals.
Gastric bands that are used in treating obesity have been
found the reduce ghrelin secretion.
Role of Leptin
Leptin is a fat hormone that signals caloric storage is high.
The ventromedial hypothalamus responds to high levels of
Leptin and causes feelings of satiation/fullness.
Zhang et al (1994) gave some mice 2 copies of a gene for
obesity. These mice tended to over eat. When injected
with leptin, they stopped eating as much.
London and Baicy (2007) gave leptin replacement to 3
adults with the obesity gene. This normalised their body
weight ad reduced brain activity in eating related areas.
Studies showed that 30% of obese people had leptin
deficiency, thus ate more before they felt full.
Neurotransmitters that increase hunger
Neuropeptide Y has been found to increase eating
when found in the hypothalamus.
Rats injected with Neuropeptide Y continued to eat
way beyond their previously consumed amount.

Norepinephrine (NE) causes eating if injected into

the paraventrical nucleus. It has also been found to
reduce eating if injected into the perfornical area.
Neurotransmitters that decrease hunger
Chloecystokinin (CCK) has been found to decrease
appetite and suppress weight gain.

Rats injected with Bombesin, a peptide, stopped

eating for prolonged periods of time.

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that decreases food

intake.
Evaluations of Neural Mechanisms
Advantages
Offers an insight into brain chemicals.
Helped develop medical interventions.
Provides a explanation to some differences in
eating behaviours.
Studies involving lesions supports the role of
the hypothalamus.
Much scientific evidence.
Disadvantages
Lot of animal studies which are unethical and
can not be generalised to human beings.
Reductionist as it doesn’t take into account
feelings of control and issues people have with
certain types of food.
Biological determinism – takes out factors such
as culture, mood or influence.
Conflicting evidence of eating disorders.
Highly controlled experiments lack ecological
validity.
Physiological drives can be over ridden.
Sometimes we eat when we are not hungry and
people restrain from eating whilst on diets.
Eating Behaviour
Biological explanations for eating
Evolutionary Adaptations.
Taste Preference – Fat
Stevens and Price (2000) argue that people find it hard
to escape evolutionary pressure on food preference. Hence
nowadays people struggle with issues such as obesity.
Birch and Deysher (1985) provided evidence in pre-
school children. When given a preload taste of a high
calorie or low calorie meal, those with the high calorie
snack tended to have a low calorie meal.
From this they concluded that people have a natural
preference for high calorie foods. This has now become
maladaptive because we have a high availability of such
foods.
Taste Preference – Meat/Umami
Smil (2003) states that the presence of animal fat in
meat is what makes it palatable.
Goudstlom (1992) suggests that the use of controlled
fire increased meat consumption due to the benefits of
roasting and smoking (taste, easier to eat etc)
Stanford(1992) – origins of human intelligence are due
to meat eating. The development of intellect required
for social sharing of meat lead to the expansion of the
brain. EG tool making, language, communication.
Finch and Stanford (2004) say that humans gained a
select advantage by eating diverse foods.
Taste Preference – Sweet
Sweet things are associated with the idea of ripeness.
The high concentration of sugar is advantageous to us,
as well as informing us that it’s not poisonous.
De Araujo et al (2003) genetically engineered mice to
lack the sweet tasting gene. He then supplied them
with sweetened water and non sweetened water. They
preferred the sweetened water despite not being able
to taste it. This suggests that preference of sweet
things is not based on the taste, but on the calorie
count.
Taste Preference – Salt
Fesseller (2003) pointed out that salt is advantageous
when water is scarce as it prevents sudden
dehydration.

Beauchamp (1987) found that 2 year old children

reject food that contains too much salt, or not enough
salt.
Taste Aversion – Sour and Bitter
Sour things suggest that things are poisonous. We are
more sensitive to bitter and sour things. We have 27
receptors for bitter tastes but only 2 for sweet tastes.
Mannella(2008) children reject medicine on basic
biology. Children are more sensitive to bitter tastes.
Simmen and Hladic (1998) suggest that this shows a
evolutionary importance for identifying poisonous
food.
Garcia (1966) studied taste aversion in rats (in earlier
slides). Taste aversion aids survival.
Food Neophobia
This is the fear of tasting new things.

This is thought to be an adaptation formed to avoid

eating harmful things.

Kheapila et al (2007) conducted a twin study and

found that there is a genetic basis to food neophobia.
Cooking
Cooking has been adapted to kill bacteria as well as
make food more tender and easier to digest.

This means that we use less calories eating cooked

meat than we would eating raw meat.

As a result of this, our molars have decreased in size.

Spices
Spices have anti-bacterial properties and tend to be
used more in hotter countries.

This seems to be because more spices preserved the

meat, so in a hot climate in which food would go off
very quickly, meat would be preserved.
Morning Sickness
Profet suggests that morning sickness is an adaptation
to protect a vulnerable foetus from natural toxins.

Taxman and Sherman (2000) looked at the results of

56 morning sickness studies covering 76,000 in 10
different countries. They found that the food most likely
to cause morning sickness in meat eating cultures are:
meat, fish, poultry and eggs. These are the foods most
likely to be contaminated with parasites or bacteria.
Evaluations of Evolutionary Adaptations
Advantages Disadvantages
Offers an valid explanation to food Lots of research with children so can
preferences and behaviour. not be generalised to everyone.

Shows similarities with other species. Ignores the role of society.

Evolution of teeth and organs support Nature or Nurture?

the theory.

Can explain unusual food preferences

such as morning sickness and cravings.
Eating Behaviour
Anorexia Nervosa
Anorexia Nervosa
There are four DSM-IV criteria for Anorexia Nervosa:
1. The individual has a body weight less that 85% of that expected.
2. There is an intense fear of becoming fat.
3. The individual’s thinking about their body weight is distorted,
either by exaggerating its size or by minimising the dangers of
being underweight.
4. In females, the absence of three of more consecutive menstrual
cycles (amenorrhoea).

In the UK, 90% of women aged between 15 and 50 are unhappy with
their bodies, and 98% of women aged between 15 and 50 have
attempted to diet. But why don’t all these women develop anorexia?
Eating Behaviour
Anorexia Nervosa – Biological Explanations
Neurotransmitters
Increase in serotonin which suppresses appetite.
Increase in dopamine.
Positive Negative
Bailer et al found higher levels of We can not tell whether high levels of
Serotonin in AN patients compared to serotonin and dopamine are caused by
control patients. AN or are what cause it.
Kaye et al (2001) found that drugs were Drugs have been unsuccessful in
successful in preventing relapse in treating current sufferers of AN,
recovering AN patients. suggesting that more is at play.
Wang et al (2001) found lower levels of
dopamine in obese people.
Adolescents with AN tended to have
high levels of H acid, a waste product of
dopamine.
Dysfunctions in the Hypothalamus
Damage to the lateral or ventromedial hypothalumus

Positive Negative
Studies on rats in which parts of the Most research has been conducted on
hypothalamus has been damaged. Results rats and therefore can not be generalised
show change in eating behaviour. (In to humans.
earlier slides)
Humans with tumours in regions of the
hypothalamus often suffer from excessive
binging or loss of appetite.
Neural Development
Significant association between premature birth and development of AN.
Season of birth suggests that damage caused by viruses in maternity can
result in AN.

Positive
Mindberg and Hjem found that a high
percentage of anorexics were born at least
3 weeks premature.
Eagles (2001) found that people born in
spring are much more likely to develop
AN.
Willoughby et al found significantly
lower levels of AN in countries where it is
hot all year round.
Negative
Not everyone who was born prematurely
develop AN.
Not everyone born in spring develop
AN.
AN does not affect animals who
normally give birth in spring.
Countries that have warmer seasons all
year round tend to have a different culture
to ours, so perhaps it is culture rather
than seasons.
Genetics
There has been research suggesting that genetics often
plays a role in the development of AN.
Positive Negative
Holland et al (1984) found a high If AN was due solely to genetics, the
concordance rate between MZ and DZ concordance rate between MZ twins
twins. would be 100%.
Kortegaard et al found that identical Twins share the same environment, not
twins are likely to share the same just the same genes, especially MZ twins
disorders. who often have identity conflict.
Many twin studies contain small
Suggests contribution but not cause. samples.
Immigrants who come from countries in
which AN does not exist sometimes
develop AN even though their family
didn’t have it.
Evolution
AN causes women’s periods to stop, therefore delaying
pregnancy.
An adaption so that we could flea from predators.
Positive Negative
Supported by ancient migration Evolutionary approach states that we
patterns. must reproduce. Most AN patients die
Takes blame away from the sufferer. without reproducing.
Doesn’t account for anorexia in males.
General Criticisms
Advantages
Helped develop treatments such as
drugs and therapies.
Takes blame away from the sufferer.
Has a lot of objective supporting
evidence.
Disadvantages
Reductionist – ignores other factors
such as psychological aspects.
Determinist – states that behaviour is
shaped by internal factors that can not
be altered.
Cause or effect?
Eating Behaviour
Anorexia Nervosa – Psychological Explanations
 Behavioural Approach
 Classical conditioning – learning to associate food with anxiety.
 Operant conditioning – reinforcement of dieting and weight-loss as good behaviours.
 Social learning – Vicarious reinforcement of dieting and being thin as good
behaviours.
Positive Negative
Alberge (1999) found a high incidence This model doesn’t take into account
of anorexia in occupations where pressure any of the faulty thought processes such
is put on appearance. as thinking you’re bigger than what you
Barlow and Durland (1955) found that are.
over half of contestants in a Miss America People stop getting rewarded for losing
contest were only 85% of their expected weight when family and friends start to be
body weight. concerned about appearance.
Fearn(1995) studied a group of women Eysenk and Flanagan (2000) pointed
in Fuji who did not have western TV. After out that everyone is exposed to the
they got access to TV, 75% of the Fujian pressures by the media but only 3-4% of
women said they were “too big”. people develop AN.
 Cognitive Approach
 Faulty thinking or faulty processes cause AN. Eg, misconceptions of the body or
irrational beliefs about food.
 Cognitive errors, such as over generalising failure or control, or magical thinking eg “if
I reach size 0, everyone will like me.”
Positive Negative
Patients with eating disorders tend to Is faulty thinking a symptom of AN or
misconceive their actual body size. the cause?
Fallon and Rozin (1985) found that Lots of women who are dissatisfied with
women tended to rate themselves bigger their bodies don’t turn anorexic.
than their actual size and much bigger
than their ideal.
McKenzie et al (1993) noted that
anorexic patients overestimated their
body size by much more than a control
group of women. Their ideal weight was
much lower than the control group and
after a small snack they judged
themselves to have put on weight.
 Psychodynamic Approach
 Symptoms symbolise repressed conflicts and motives in the unconscious mind due to
a traumatic sexual experience in childhood. EG wanting to have a pre-pubescent body
because they don’t want to grow up and have adult relationships.
 Bruch (1973) said AN is caused by ineffectual parents.
Positive Negative
Wonderlich et al surveyed 1099 Not all anorexics have had a traumatic
American women and found those with a sexual experience, nor have all victims of
history of sexual abuse were more likely to sexual abuse developed AN.
develop an eating disorder. Could be that they have issues such as
Romans et al (2001) pointed out that low self esteem linked to their abuse. This
early maturation and parental over control has nothing to do with wanting to remain
were risk factors for the development of childlike.
AN. Lack of objective evidence.
Salzman (1997) said that children with Doesn’t account for the increase of
anxious resistant attachment were most anorexia unless more people are being
likely to develop anorexia. abused.
Physical states such as being hungry are
innate, not learnt.
Often use retrospective data
General Criticisms
Advantages Disadvantages
Helped develop treatments such as Reductionist – ignores other factors
counselling. such as biological aspects and trends.

Offers hope as thought processes and Cause or effect?

behaviour can be changed and re-
learnt.

Has a lot of objective supporting

evidence.