Eating Behaviour-attitudes Flashcards
3 factors affect our eating behaviour-
Social learning (parents/peer influence and media)
Cultural influences
Mood
Could be because parents buy the food and choose what to serve their children.
BROWN AND ODGEN found a correlation between parents eating behaviour and children body dissatisfaction.
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MEYER AND GUEST
support social learning when they surveyed 10-12yr olds and found a positive correlation between peer influence and disordered eating. Shows peer influence has a big factor and eating habits are learned.
Social learning -MEDIA
has an impact- on what people choose to eat and their attitudes towards certain food.
But other aspects such as money can depend on what we eat (healthy food is expensive while fatty food is cheaper) so that can depend on our eating choices.
:( findings are hard to generalise as all the studies are correlational- doesn’t show cause and effect, lowering the Validity.
Social learning- EVOLUTIONARY
preference for fatty food has evolved from our ancestors so therefore is not actually a choice and is LEARNED!.
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GIBSON
studies 4 and 5yr olds. Presented with a table or fruit and veg and found that children went for the high calorie food instead of the sweet food( bananas). Indications an evolved preference to high calorie food.
CULTURAL INFLUENCES-
Example Jews can’t eat pork.
Research has shown that white women are more likely to have eating concerns than Asians or black women. Suggesting that eating behaviour is influenced by culture.
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BALL AND KENARDY.
Studied 14,000 women of all ethnicities in Australia and found the longer they had been there, the more likely they were to have eating behaviours, indicating that food choice is influenced by culture.
:( does not consider men. Lowering IV
:) good sample size, can generalise. High in EV.
BUT ethnicity may not always be inclined by food choice. Other studies show it could be races, as perhaps all races feel the need to ‘conform’ to a perfect bosy type. (White people- skinny. Black people- curvy).
MOOD-
Low moods can cause people to choose and crave sweeter foods.
SE- GARG
claimed that when people are in a low mood they are more likely to choose fatty and sweeter snacks. He observed 38 participants making food choices when watching a film. Sad film- consumed more popcorn. Funny film- ate more grapes.
Suggesting that people eat sweeter and fatty food when they are in a low mood.
:( small sample size- lacks generalisability within the whole population- low EV.
Used independent group design- means not sure if people would have made those eating choices anyway- or just complying with demand characteristics- lowering IV.
Doesn’t consider people’s personal preference- may prefer grapes to popcorn anyway so wouldn’t have been their mood influences the food choice. Lowering the extent to which the research supports the notion that mood can change eating behaviours.
