Eating Behaviour

Question 1

The evolutionary explanation
Preferences
(Psychologist?) X2

Answer 1

• food preference we have must have an adaptive advantage, meaning they help survival and reproduction
• preference for sweetness
  Sweet taste signals high-energy food. JACOBS placed sugar on tongues of newborns and found positive facial expressions. We have this preference as it provides energy quickly.
• preference for salt
  HARRIS found babies who were breastfed preferred salted cereal. Breast milk is low in salt, which shows salt preference is innate.
• preference for fat
  High calorie foods such as fat were not available to ancestors. Quickly learning to prefer foods with high calories would have advantages as it provides energy for survival.

Question 2

Neophobia (psychologist?)

Answer 2

• innate unwillingness to eat new or unfamiliar foods.
• comon in children 2-6
• BIRCH suggests neophobia is strongest when infants are eating foreign foods without parents’ guidance.
• neophobia is adaptive as it increases the chance of survival by reducing the chance of toxicity or poisoning.
• Once it has served its purpose and is no longer needed, it gives way to a different evolutionary mechanism that encourages consumption of a more varied diet, giving us more nutrients.

Question 3

Taste aversion
(Psychologists?)

Answer 3

• SELIGMANS theory of biological preparedness suggests we acquire certain taste aversions more quickly than others. They are usually objects or situations that posed threats to ancestors.
• taste aversions make us less likely to eat foods that are toxic or gone bad.
• an example
  GARCIA demonstrated how taste could be classically conditioned on rats. In lab experiments, he conditioned rats to become averse to saccharine when associating with poison. He couldn’t repeat when associating with electric shocks. This shows classical conditioning only works if the rats were already evolutionary prepared to be averse to poison.

Question 4

Evaluation

• research support fat foods(psychologist?)
• neophobia no longer adaptive
• individual differences in taste aversion (psychologist?)

Answer 4

1. TORRES reviewed studies into the link of stress and eating behaviour. She found that humans prefer high fat foods at times of stress. At this time, flight or fight was activated, and this is an evolved mechanism that helps cope in stress but creates greater demands for energy. This supports the view that preference is important for survival.
2. Neophobia is no longer adaptive in the modern food environment. Food today is safer than before due to hygiene, which means it has little threat to survival. Neophoia used to protect us from sickness and death but now prevents us from eating safe foods at a young age. Neophobia restricts a child’s diet, limiting nutrients.
3. Not everyone shares the same adaptive food preferences. DREWNOWSKI found people differing ability to detect PROP (bitter tasting helical associated with danger) which we would not expect if it was an adaptive ability.

Question 5

The process of learning
Classical and operant conditioning

Answer 5

• one form of classical conditioning is flavour favour learning. We develop preference for new food because it’s associated with a flavour we already like. Because if our innate preference for sweetness we prefer foods by sweetening them.
• for operant conditioning, children are reinforced for their food preferences by parents. They give the child rewards for eating certain foods and punishments for not eating.

Question 6

Social influences
(Psychologist?)

Answer 6

• SLT
  Children acquire food preferences from role models. This is especially if they seem to be rewarded or the child identifies with them. This has an adaptive function as children are eating food that is obviously safe.
• family influences
  Parents have powerful effects on children eating they can gatekeep their child’s eating.
• peer influences
  BIRCH conducted a study of a preschool lunch room. Each child was next to 3 children who had different vegetable preferences. After 4 days, the children had changed vegetable preference from the child they observed.
• media influences
  As a childgets older TV advertising has an influence. TV adverts promote foods that are unhealthy with fun related themes.

Question 7

Cultural influences
(Psychologist?)

Answer 7

• ROZIN argues cultural influences are most significant predictor of food preference.
• we learn cultural rules about eating at the family table about when, what, and how much to eat.
• cultural norms
  Each culture has food preferences for ideals and norms. E.g. what counts as a proper meal. British have a Sunday roast.
• meat eating
  Culturally determined food preferences centre around meat. E.g. I’m France they eat most parts of an animal. However, American prefer meat in he form of steaks. Some cultures are completely meat free.
• culture and learning
  We associate many foods we eat with feelings of happy experiences growing up. It may be linked to special cultural occasions.

Question 8

EVALUATION

• lack of evidence for classical conditioning
• Support for SLT
• evidence of cultural factors

Answer 8

1. There is little evidence for the role of classical conditioning in food preferences. BAEYENS asked student participants to taste new flavours. They were paired with sweet taste, but in the control group, they were paired with tasteless flavours. There was no difference in the preferences of new falours in either group, which shows falour-flavour learning in incomplete explanation.
2. JANSEN AND TENNEY gave children an energy dense or dilute yoghurt drink they had never tasted before. The most preferred taste was the energy dense taken at the same time as the teacher who praised and enjoyed it. Children identified with the teacher and modelled them.
3. There has been an increasing availability of food outside the home e.g. fast food. This has brought a greater preference for fast food that can be consumed quickly. This shows how cultural changes have influence.

Question 9

The role of the hypothalamus

Answer 9

• the hypothalamus has a role in integrating the nervous and endocrine systems. It also maintains homeostasis.
• the biological mechanism regulates levels of glucose in the blood.

Question 10

The dual Centre model of eating behaviour

Answer 10

• There are 2 areas of the hypothalamus that provide homeostatic control over blood glucose levels.
  1. LATERAL HYPOTHALMUS ( LH)
  the feeding centre or the on switch of the hypothalamus. It contains cells that detect levels of glucose. The LH is activated when glucose falls below a certain level. It makes the individual hungry and triggers motivation to eat.
  2. VENTROMEDIAL HYPOTHALAMUS (VMH)
  the satiety centre or the off switch of eating behaviour. Eating gives the body glucose, which is detected by cells in the VMH. VMH activity is triggered when glucose levels reach a certain point. The individual reached satiety and is full, so stops eating.

Question 11

Ghrelin and Leptin

Answer 11

• Ghrelin is a hormone secreted by the stomach. It’s a hormonal marker of how long it’s been since last eating because the amount produced is related to how empty the stomach is. Ghrelin levels are detected by receptors in a part of the hypothalamus called the arcuate nucleus. When levels rise above a certain point, the arcuate nucleus sends singles to the LH to secrete NYP ( neurotransmitter associated with hunger). Ghrelin is an appetite stimulator.
• Leptin is a hormone produced by fat cells. Leptin levels increase along with fat levels, and it is detected by the VMH. Leptin is an appetite suppressant and contributes to the satiety mechanism. When levels increase beyond a certain point, the individual feels full and stops eating.

Question 12

Evaluation

• research support of the dual Centre model lesions (Psychologists?)
• hypothalamus, leptin and ghrelin models are oversimplified (psychologist?)
• social and cultural factors underplayed (psychologist?)

Answer 12

1. There is support for the dual Centre model from lesion studies with rats. In them, surgical wounds (lesions) are created in strategic brain areas. HETHERINGTON & RANSON showed that lesioning the VMH of rats caused them to overeat. ANAND & BROBECK lesioned the LH of rats and found them to starve.
2. VALASSI highlighted the role of a hormone called CCK produced in the upper intestine. It activates a nerve to send signals that indicate satiety and contribute to the stop eating mechanism. There are also other biochemical such as serotonin and dopamine involved. The nature of neural and hormonal controls of eating is highly complex.
3. WOODS suggests the view that the LH feeding centre always detects falls in blood glucose levels and stimulates hunger is outdated. It only occurs in emergency situations of severe energy deprivation. In normal everyday eating, cultural and social factors play a role. E.g, the timing of eating is influenced by traditional mealtimes. The approach ignores non-biological factors.

Question 13

Genetic explanation for anorexia
a) anorexia runs in families
(Psychologist?)

Answer 13

• twin studies of MZ (identical) and DZ (non-identical) twins.
• the concordance rate indicates the proportion of twin pairs where both have AN, relative to the pairs where only one gets it.
• MZ twins share 100% of their genes but DZ ON 50%. The higher concordance rate for MZs is strong evidence of a genetic component to AN.
• HOLLAND studied pairs of female twins and found a concordance rate of 57% for MZs and 5% for DZs.

Question 14

b) candidate genes
(Psychologist?)

Answer 14

• ZEELAND carried out a candidate genes association study (GAS).
• he studies over 1000 AN patients and only found 1/152 genes showed a corelaton with AN.
• the gene was coded with an enzyme involved in cholesterol. Many people with AN have abnormally high levels of cholestrol.

Question 15

c) genome-wide association studies (GWAS)
(Psychologist?)

Answer 15

• GWAS does not make assumptions about genes that may be involved in anorexia.
• it looks at all genes
• BORASKA studies people with AN and found 72 separate genetic variations, but none related to AN.
• researchers suggested this was because the study was not sensitive enough to detect them.

Question 16

EVALUATION

• limitation of twin studies
• diathesis stress

Answer 16

1. Twin studies lack validity. In every pair, twins share the same environment. We assume DZ shares it the same as MZ. This could be wrong because one aspect of the environment is how they are treated by others. MZs are treated similarly by parents because they look identical. This means genetic influences may not be as great as twin studies suggest.
2. Genes lay the foundation for an AN as shown by candidate gene studies. This creates a diathesis (predisposition) to make them more likely to develop AN. however, whether disthesis gives a rise to AN depends on the presence of a stressor. Stressor could be environmental like deiting or low self-esteem.

Question 17

Neural explanation for anorexia
a) serotonin
(Psychologist?)

Answer 17

• research shows serotonin being involved in many behaviours that are features of AN. E.g. appetite reduction.
• BAILER & KAYE preent evidence of low levels of serotonin in peop,e wi5h AN. the levels returning to normal after short-term weight recovery and increase beyond in the long term.

Question 18

b) dopamine
(Psychologist?)

Answer 18

• KAYE found lower dopamine levels in recovered AN pateints compared to controls.
• BAILER injected participants with a drug to increase dopamine. Controls experienced pleasure either increase dopamine. AN participants experienced anxiety. Eating increases dopamine and so AN patients reduce eating to reduce anxiety.

Question 19

EVALUATION

• research support (psychologist?)
• oversimplistic (psychologist?)

Answer 19

1. KAYE compared women with diagnosed with AN with women who had no history of eating disorders. the HVA levels of women with AN were 30% lower than the control group. this suggests disturbance of dopamine contributes to symptoms of AN.
2. neural explanations can be too simplistic. NUNN argues serotonin alone does not distinguish between those with AN and those who don’t. it is better explained by the interaction between serotonin and other neurotransmitters. neurotransmitter systems do not operate in isolation but in complex interactions.

Question 20

psychological explanations for anorexia nervosa
family systems theory
(psychologist?)

Answer 20

• MINUCHIN identifies 4 main features of what he called a typical anorexic family.
• the theory focuses on the relationship between the daughter and mother when being used to explain AN.

Question 21

1. Enmeshment

Answer 21

• members of anorexic families are overwhelmingly involved with each other.
• it’s because boundaries in the family become fuzzy which means there is poorly defined roles and lack of leadership.
• they spend a lot of time together and have no privacy.
• they become enmeshed because self identities of each member become tied up .
• the adolescent daughter faces the challenge of asserting her independence and does this by refusing to eat.

Question 22

2. overprotectiveness (psychologist?)

Answer 22

• family members nurture each other obsessively to reinforce loyalty which leaves no room for independence.
• PALAZZOLI describes how the mother of her AN daughter in an enmeshed family’s decisions were made for the benefit of her daughter and not herself.

Question 23

3. Rigidity

Answer 23

• interactions within the anorexic family are inflexible.
• members deny the need for change and work hard to maintain things how they are. problems arise when circumstances change due to internal pressure or external threat. the family is too rigid to adapt.
  e.g the adoclecent daughter seeking her own independacne cannot be accommodated.
• the mother will attempt to squash this attempt at independence and the outcome is AN.

Question 24

4. conflict avoidance

Answer 24

• the anorexic family tries to avoid conflict or suppress it.
• for example, there can be no discussion of any issues where a difference in opinion might arise.
• the issues are not resolved and crisis develops.
• the daughter starves herself as the family refuses to accept there is anything to discuss.

Question 25

autonomy and control (psychologist?)

Answer 25

• BURCH suggests anorexia is caused by the adolescent daughters struggle to achieve autonomy and control.

Question 26

EVALUATION

• research support (psychologists?)
• therapy application
• mediating factors (psychologist?)

Answer 26

1. STRAUSS and RYAN compared women diagnosed with AN to controls. individuals with AN demonstrated greater disturbances of autonomy than controls. they had a more controlling and rigid style of regulating their own behaviours, and had poorer communication with their families.
2. therapies based on FST have had success in treating AN. Behavioural family systems therapy (BFST) attempts to disentangle family relationships and encourages someone with AN to interact with people outside their family circle. studies have shown at the end of this therapy AN patients had recovered which means the theory has practical value.
3. links between family interaction and AN depend on other factors which mediate family influence and AN. DAVIS found family interactions affected EDs if the adolescence had high levels of anxiety.

Question 27

Social learning theory
Modelling

Answer 27

• AN can be acquired indirectly through observation of a model (an individual who provides a template for behaviour that the observer can imitate).
• the model is influential because they modify social norms by establishing what is acceptable behaviour in that situation.
• e.g. a child observing an older sibling restricting her food intake will learn this behaviour to be normal.
• models are more influential if the child indetifies with them.

Question 28

Vicarious reinforcement

Answer 28

• the likelihood of imitation depends on observing the positive or negative consequences of that behaviour.
  -If a model is rewarded e.g. being praised for losing weight it makes imitation more likely because the observer receives reinforcement indirectly.
• family members are major sources of vicarious reinforcement because it is not a one off occurrence.

Question 29

Role of the media

Answer 29

• the media provides a rich source of symbolic models which is a powerful transmitter of cultural ideals of body shape and size.
• music videos, magazines, websites and TV communicate ideals for women and men.
• the ideal has become thinner and thinner.
• young girls may be motivated to get a thin body and start dieting and exercising.
• this behaviour may be vicariously reinforced by the rewarding fame, success and wealth of female role models in the media.

Question 30

Barbie research
(Psychologist?)

Answer 30

• DITTMAR studied the influecne of barbie.
• British girls aged 5-8 were divided into 3 groups. All were exposed to images of either barbie doll, emme dolls (realistic body shape), or control group with flowers. The girls were asked to rate statements about body esteem. The extent of body dissatisfaction was assessed by colouring in 2 bodies of one being g the self and the other what they wanted to be.
• the girls who saw barbies were significantly more dissatisfied and has lowered self esteem.
• conclusion is that young rils identify with barbie because of the glamour and they internalise these extreme thing body ideals.

Question 31

EVALUATION

• research support (psychologist?)
• SLT explains cultural changes
• no effective therapies

Answer 31

1. BECKER investigated effects of tv broadcast on eating attitudes and behaviours. Fmelae adolescents completed a questionnaire when the TV broadcast started in Fiji. Another sample completed the questionnaire 3 years later. The fist sample had 13% having a higher score and the second 29%. The girls may have been infected by the media on what ideals of female body shape were.
2. AN is less common in some cultures than others, but it is changing. Japan has had a increase in rates of AN. traditional values of favouring plumpness as a sign of health has been displaced by cultural thinness ideals. There is a greater occurrence of AN symptoms in japanese women who read magazines.
3. SLT has not led to affective therapies for AN. Presenting models of healthy eating is not enough on its own to be successful. SLT derived therapies are uncommon and rarely used. This means it doesn’t have much practical value compared to neural explanations, which have brought about drug therapies.

Question 32

Cognitive theory
Cognitive distortions

Answer 32

• the core psychopathology of AN is cognitive distortions about body shape and weight.
• distortions are central to the diagnosis of AN according to the dsm-5.
• people with AN filter their life experiences through 3 main cognitive factors.

Question 33

Factor 1 - disturbed perceptions
(Psychologist?) x2

Answer 33

• cognitive distortions are faulty, biased, irrational ways of thinking that mean we perceive ourselves, others, and the world inaccurately.
• MURPHY believes cognitive distortions are the root of AN symptoms particularly the tendancy to overestimate personal weight and body size.
• people with AN become more critical oft heir bodies and their emotional states as feeling fat even as they get thinner.
• WILLIAMSON used silhouette outlines called a body image assessment. He asked participants to match the sillhoute of their own body and select their ideal body size. AN participants were significantly more likely to overestimate the size of their own bodies and select a thinner ideal than the control group.

Question 34

Factor 2 - irrational beliefs
(Psychologist?)

Answer 34

• people with AN have irrational beliefs about their disorder.
• in BECKS terms they may catastrophize e.g. i ate half a biscuits, i have no will power at all.
• a key irrational belief in AN is perfectionism. An individual has to meet their most demanding standards at all time. This applies to all aspects of their life.
• HEWITT argues perfectionism is not satisfied when goals are achieved. When people with AN meet their targets they raise their standards.

Question 35

Factor 3 - cognitive inflexibility
(Psychologists?)

Answer 35

• TREASURE and SCHMIDT proposed a cognitive interpersonal maintenance model of AN, which suggests people with AN experience problems with set-shifting. They find it hard to switch f4om one task to another that requires a different set of cognitive skills. Instead, they persistently apply the same skills in a changed situation.
• this means that when an individual has decided to lose weight, they will rigidly persist with it.

Question 36

EVALUATION

• research support for disturbed perceptions (Psychologist?)
• research support for perfectionism (psychologist?)
• issue fo causation

Answer 36

1. SACHDEV scanned the brains of AN participants and healthy controls. The participants saw images of their own and other peoples bodies. The same brain areas were activated in both groups when they saw other people. When seeing themeslf AN participants had little activation in areas of the brain associated with attention. It was not true for controls. This is a cognitive distortion.
2. HALMI studied 728 women over 16 who had AN. she found that perfectionism in childhood was associated with current AN symptoms.
3. It is likely that cognitive factors are consequences of AN rather than causes. E.g, MURPHY’s preoccupations with body weight may be an affect of AN.

Question 37

Genetic explanation for obesity
Obesity runs in families
(psychologist?)

Answer 37

• there are clear family related patterns to obesity measured in terms of BMI.
• concordance rates for first degree relatives is between 20% and 50% which indicates a moderate degree of heritability.
• NAN conducted a meta analysis of 12 twin studies. Concordance rates ranged from 61% to 80% which suggests a very substantial genetic component to obesity.

Question 38

Genetic explanation for obesity
Polygenic determinism (psychologist?)

Answer 38

• LOCKE studied genomes in people and identified 97 genes associated with variations in BMI. this shows that the action of genes on obesity is polygenic. Genetic inheritance involves multiple genes, and their effects react with each other. Different genes influence different aspects of obesity.

Question 39

EVALUATION

• plausible biological mechanism (Psychologists?)
• unexpected findings (psychologist?)

Answer 39

1. Researchers are able to explain how genes affect obesity. Twin studies establish obesity is heritable but don’t explain the mechanism which this happens. O’RAHILLY & FAROOQI state genetic influences may affect our responses to the environment. E.g. some people are more sensitive to visual food related cues. Genes may also influence the activity of neurotransmitter systems linked to obesity.
2. PARACCHINI did a meta analysis of studies investigating genes thought to be involved in regulating leptin. There was no evidence for a link between the genes and obesity.

Question 40

Neural explanation for obesity
Serotonin

Answer 40

• obesity is associated with abnormally low levels of serotonin.
• normal levels of serotonin regulate feeding behaviour in the hypothalamus. Serotonin signals to the hypothalamus that we have eaten to satiety.
• dysfunctions in the serotonin ocupcur due to stress or depression.
• abnormal low levels of serotonin create inaccurate satiety signals that are sent to the hypothalamus.
• it causes cravings of carbs and sugars, which causes weight gain.

Question 41

Neural explanation for obesity
Dopamine

Answer 41

• dopamine has a crucial role in the brains reward and motivation systems.
• dopamine is associated with pleasure we derive from eating.
• obesity is linked to a dysfunctional dopamine system.
• WANG found obese individuals have fewer dopamine d2 receptors than normal weight controls.
• low dopamine levels mean it can’t perform its usual reward function of feeling good after eating, and overeating is an attempt to get the feeling.

Question 42

EVALUATION

• evidence for serotonin (psychologist?)
• drug treatments

Answer 42

1. OHIA highlighted the importance in obesity of 2C serotonin receptors. He reviewed studies of knockout mice who have been genetically engineered to have no functioning 2c receptors. These mice became obese.
2. Neural explanations lead to drug treatments for obesity. They aim to increase serotonin and dopamine which alters satiety signals and helps prevent disinherited eating.

Question 43

Psychological explanations for obesity
1. Restraint theory (Psychologists?)

Answer 43

• HERMAN & POLIVY developed the restraint theory.
• attempting to lose weight involves restraint eating (deliberately limiting food intake). Most restraint eaters fail to lose weight and overeat becoming obese.
• cognitive control
  Restraint eaters categorize food into good and bad and create rules on what they can have and what is forbidden to lose weight. The restrained diet is a highly organised way of imposing control, which is cognitive because the individual has to concoisukey think about their weight and eating a lot of the time.
• paradoxical outcome
  The restrained eaters become more preoccupied with food rather than less. Placing limits mean they no longer eat when they are hungry and stop when full. They ignore physiological indicators that signal hunger and satiety, which leads to disinhibition of eating behaviour.

Question 44

Disinhibition

Answer 44

• obesity can be the result of restraint eating and disinhibiton.
• restraint eating is followed by disinhibiton where the individual eats as much as they want.
• restrained eaters are vulnerable to food related cues, which may be internal (mood) or external (media). The cues are disinhibitors that lead to a loss of control over restrained eating.
• the cognitive process that governs disinhibiton is distorted thinking such as all or nothing thinking.

Question 45

Boundary model (Psychologists?)

Answer 45

• HERMAN & POLIVY explain restrained eating and disinhibition through the boundary model of obesity.
• food intake exists on a continuum from hungry to satiated. Biological processes are key determinants of how much we eat at each end of the continuum.
• eating begins at the hunger boundary and stops at the satiety boundary. Between this is a zone of biological indifference where cognitive and social factors have the greatest influence on food intake. When we are neither full or hungry.

Question 46

Boundary model + restrained eaters

Answer 46

• restrained eaters have a lower hunger boundary and are less responsive to feelings of hunger. They have a higher satiety boundary soned more food to get full.
  -This makes their zone of biological indifference wider which mean more of their eating behaviour comes under cognitive control.
• they are vulnerable to effects of disinhibition.
• When restrained eaters break the diet boundary they have a ‘what the hell effect’

Question 47

EVALUATION

• research support for restraint theory (Psychologists?)
• research support for food related cues in disinhibition (Psychologists?)
• restraint is more complex

Answer 47

1. HERMAN & MACK conducted an experiment to compare restrained and unrestrained eaters. Each group was starved for hours, and then they were either given nothing, one milkshake, or two milkshakes. They were then offered as much ice cream as they wanted. The more milkshake the restraineds were given, the more ice cream they had. The opposite for the unrestrained.
2. The disinibition model claims restrained eaters are vulnerable to food related cues e.g. the media. BOYCE & KUIJER showed media images of thinness and beauty products to groups of restrained and unrestrained eaters. They were given a 10 minute food taste where they could eat as they liked. The restrained eaters ate the most.
3. Research has found at least 2 different forms of restraint. One is rigid restraint, which is an all or nothing approach to limiting food. The other is flexible restraint, which allows the eater to have limited amounts of forbidden foods without triggering disinhibition. This means the boundary model is a limited explanation of obesity.

Question 48

Explanations for success and failure of dieting
The spiral model
(Psychologists?)

Answer 48

• HEATHERTON & POLIVY proposed that dieting is a chain of linked events.
• dieting begins in adolescence when individuals experience body dissatisfaction.
• initially, first-time dieters have some success because they temporarily lose some weight. But it lasting is rare. So weight is gained and the diet fails.
• most people think their failure is because of some personal deffiecieny. E.g. didn’t try hard enough.
• they stick to the same plan but might try to eat even less. The greater restrictions cause frustration and emotional distress, which makes the vulnerable to disnihibited eating.
• metabolic changes occur, making it more difficult to lose weight. Increase in ghrelin and decrease in leptin.
• the individual is now trapped in a downward spiral where weight loss is less and less likely.

Question 49

Ironic process theory
(Psychologist?)

Answer 49

• WEGNERS theory stemed from a study where he asked people not to think about a white bear and he found it also guaranteed they would think about one.
• the paradoxical outcome is when trying to suppress a thought makes it more likely.
• certain food make stand out more when they have been labelled forbidden. It leads to disnihibiton of eating and dieting failure.
• attempting to distract yourself from thinking about forbidden foods requires mental activity. This makes you think about food more.

Question 50

EVALUATION

• real world application
• support for ironic processes theory (psychologist?)
• individual differences (psychologist?)

Answer 50

1. The spiral model suggests how dieting can become successful. The model identifies several points where the individual can break out of the spiral. Another application is if you diet to nit put on weight rather than lose weight then you don’t have the factor of low self esteem which causes disinhibition.
2. ADRIAANSE had student participants who tried to cut down their intake of unhealthy snacks. They were presented with diet intentions expressed in negative form. They kept a snack diary for a week, and an ironic rebound effect was found. They ate more unhealth snacks and calories than the control. This shows that thinking about dieting leads to failure.
3. OGDEN suggest the theories do not explain why some people succeed in losing weight even when they are preoccupied with food. One explanation is locus of control. Externals don’t think they are in control, so they are less likely to succeed.