Eating behaviour - preferences

Question 1

Describe the basis of the evolutionary explanation for food preferences

Answer 1

Evolutionist’s argue our food preferences are INNATE and originate from our life on the African Savanah.

Question 2

what is evolution

Answer 2

Evolution is the change of characteristics in organisms overgeneration’s to survive in their environment

Question 3

what innate food preferences do humans have?

Answer 3

fat, sweet and salty

Question 4

explain human preference for salty foods

Answer 4

salts are essential for repairing muscles and balancing body water levels

Question 5

explain human preference for sweet foods

Answer 5

high calories = bursts of energy, indicates a lack of poison and helps survival

Question 6

explain human preference for fatty foods

Answer 6

Foods high in fat would’ve helped our ancestors because they’re the most efficient source of energy which is important for survival. Also, helps keep people warm.

Question 7

what is food neophobia?

Answer 7

innate disposition for an unwillingness to try new foods it is most pronounced in childhood tween ages 2-6

Question 8

why do humans have neophobia?

Answer 8

to avoid food that could be life threatening or could induce illness

Question 9

when does neophobia go?

Answer 9

when we start to learn that not all new foods will have fatal consequences.
this gives way to a new evolutionary mechanism that gives way to maintaining a balanced healthy diet

Question 10

what are the explanations for food preferences?

Answer 10

behaviorist/learning
evolutionary

Question 11

what was life like (in terms of food) on the african savanah?

Answer 11

we were hunters/gatherers in small groups
we struggled to get food
and our food preferences can be traced back to this time

Question 12

describe taste aversion

Answer 12

• we have the ability to detect and reject bitter and sweet tastes
• this makes sense because it would have protected us from toxic foods which are commonly bitter

Question 13

who is more sensitive to taste aversion/ sour foods

Answer 13

children

Question 14

why do children have stronger taste aversions and why do they grow out of it

Answer 14

• we have an innate disposition for neophobia
• this diminishes as we learn through our environment that not all food is toxic

Question 15

Evaluate evolutionary explanation for food preferences

Answer 15

+ steiner
+logue
- Individual differences
- ethical implications - drug companies will put sugar in everything since we know we have a preference
- deterministic
- reductionist
- alt explanation

Question 16

what was steiners research?

Answer 16

placed sugar on tongues of newborns and observed positive facial expressions

Question 17

what was logues research?

Answer 17

found receptors for sugar on the tongue

Question 18

what two factors does the SLT theory say influence our eating behaviour

Answer 18

social and cultural factors

Question 19

what are key social factors that influence eating behaviour?

Answer 19

• classical and operant conditioning
• social learning
• family
• peer
• media

Question 20

what are key cultural factors that influence eating behaviour?

Answer 20

cultural influences
cultural norms
meat eating

Question 21

explain cultural norms on food preferences

Answer 21

• cultural attitudes towards whats constitutes for a proper album
• british ideal is a sunday dinner

Question 22

Evaluate role of learning in food preferences

Answer 22

+Research support for media - Maclntyre
+Research support for Cultural differences - ball and kennedy
- Alternative explanation - evolution - innate
- Holistic - acknowledges there are numerous factors that effect food preferences

Question 23

what was maclntyre research?

Answer 23

found that media have a major impact on what people eat and their attitudes towards food

Question 24

what was ball and kennedys research?

Answer 24

14,000 women
different ethnicities in Australia
compared attitudes towards food and how long they lived there
longer in Australia = food preference more like women born in Australia

Question 25

summary a01 for evolutionary preferences

Answer 25

1. Evolution - life in the savanah
   2.our preference for salty, sugary and fatty foods
2. neophobia
3. taste aversions

Question 26

what do the learning theory call parents

Answer 26

the gatekeepers in terms of food

Question 27

explain meat eating

Answer 27

• culturally determined is centered around meat
• different countries eat different parts of an animal and different countries eat different animal meat

Question 28

exaplain cultural influences

Answer 28

• influences what parents feed their children
• vicarious rein etc then establishes these cultural taste preferences
• we associate foods as adults as food we enjoyed as children
• memory events associated with cultural feasts

Question 29

what is flavour flavour learning?

Answer 29

• classical conditioning
• we begin to like a food because it is associated with a food we already like
• ## we learn to like new foods by sweatening them (TEA)

Question 30

influence of SLT on eating

Answer 30

• children eat the food of their role models
• especially if theyre rewarded