Attitudes to Food + Eating Behaviour Flashcards
Social Learning
Parental modelling
Media effects
Cultural differences
Ethinicity
Social class
Parental modelling
Children observe the behaviour of their parents
Parent controls the foods bought + served at home
Brown + Ogden
Consistent correlations between parents + their children in terms of snack food intake, eating motivations + body dissatisfaction
Media effects
Media have a major impact both on what people eat + their attitudes to certain foods
People learn from media about healthy eating but must place this info within the context of their lives
Ethinicity
Body dissatisfaction + related eating disorders are more characteristic of white women than black or Asian
Study on 14,000 women is Australia = for all ethinic groups the longer time is Aus = the more women reported attitudes similar to women born in Aus = acculturation effect
Social class
Higher-class females had a greater desire to be thin + were more likely to diet to achieve this
Scottish Study: Income was +vely associated with healthy eating
Binge eating
Binge days were characterised by low mood compared to non-binge days but no difference in mood before + after binge
Suggests although low mood may make binge eating more likely, it does not alleviate the low mood state
Garg et al
People ate more healthy when watching funny movie compared to depressing one
Sad film = 36% more popcorn
People who feel sad want to jolt themselves out of the dumps = more likely to go for a snack that tastes good
Happy people want to extend their mood = choose healthy foods
Support for Social Learning
Meyer + Gast surveyed 10-12yr B+G’s = found +ve correlation between peer influence + disordered eating
Another study: Best predictors of daughters’ eating behaviour were mothers dietary restraint + their perception of risks of daughter becoming over weight
Gender Bias
Research mainly focuses on women
However Homosexuality is a risk factor in development of disordered eating attitudes, including body dissatisfaction + dieting
Male gay subculture places greater emphasis on lean muscular body
Problems of Generalisability
Studies come from a variety of groups, some diagnosed with eating disorder + some non-clinical
Puts limitations on degree to which we can generalise from one group to another and therefore degree to which these studies offer a universal understanding of causal factors in eating behaviour
Mumford et al
Found incidence of bulimia was greater among Asian school girls than white counterparts
Other research showed a drive for thinness among black girls than white girls
Rozin et al
P’s completed a survey dealing with food related issues
Found substantial cultural differences
Females, more than males,showed a pattern of attitudes that was more like the American + less like french ( food associated with health not pleasure)
Story et al
Higher social class American student’s were related to greater satisfaction with weights + lower rates of weight control behaviours
