Eating behaviour - evolutionary explanations of food preference

Question 1

Desor (innate tendencies)

Answer 1

• using facial expressions and sucking behaviour as indicators of preference, infants preferred sweet over non-sweet fluids
• infants would not have sufficient amount of time to learn this preference through conditioning
• suggests it is innate

Question 2

Tobin and Logue (impulsive eating)

Answer 2

• pigeons have higher metabolic rates than rats and humans
• pigeons ate more impulsively than humans and rats; have greater cost of not eating as burn off fat more quickly
• links to idea that ancestors had to eat impulsively due to scarcity of food in EEA so we still do today

Question 3

Garcia and Koelling (taste aversion learning)

Answer 3

• rats more easily learned to avoid drinking flavoured water when followed by feelings of nausea rather than by electric shock
• supports idea that evolutions has prepared us to link taste and nausea in order to avoid eating foods that may harm us