Laney Flashcards
Food History Inventory
24 items rating on a scale of 1(def did not happen) -8(def did happen) in terms of how sure they were that the event happened
Restaurant Questonnaire
rate 32 dishes presented on a menu-like form with 5 courses from a scale of 1-8 on how likely they would order this dish at dinner regardless of price
Food preference questionnaire
rated 62 items in terms of how much they like to eat each item
Food Cost questionnaire
Choose the price they were ready to pay out of multiple options or select ‘would never buy’.
Memory or Belief questionnaire
participants had to indicate for 3 items of the FHI, whether they had a memory or experience, and specify whether they had a detailed memory, vague belief, or were sure that the event did not happen.
Aim of experiment 1
whether giving participants false feedback about them loving to eat asparagus as a child would produce a false memory/belief.
Research method 1
Lab
Research design 1
Independent groups design, participants were allocated to either love or control condition
IV 1
whether participants had a false belief abt eating asparagus after the false feedback
DV 1
responses to 5-self-report questionnaires
Sample 1
128(99 females, 29 males), opportunity sample, mean age 20.8
Procedure 1- week 1
Came to lab in grps of 8, deceived that they were taking part in investigating ‘food preferences and personality’, done to prevent demand characteristics, 5 questionnaires were completed, last 3 were distracter to cover up real aim of study
Procedure- week 2 (exp 1)
Returned to lab, randomly allocated to either ‘love’ or ‘control’ condition, given a report of childhood experiences based on questionnaires, ppl in ‘love’ condition had critical statement ‘u loved to eat cooked asparagus’ on report, ppl in control condition had 3 filler items, participants were asked qs abt profile to ensure that they processed the feedback, completed FHI and RQ to see any changes in responses, also completed FPQ, FCQ and MBQ
Results 1
FHI of both groups were compared and for the love group (n=46) the average responses rose by 2.6 points. The control group’s responses (n=51) rose by 0.2 points.
31 participants were excluded from the results as they believed they loved asparagus and give a 5+ score on the FHI.
Results- Believers (exp 1)
- Gave a low rating on the FHI in week one on loving asparagus.
- Gave a high rating on the FHI in Week 2.
- Gave a positive ‘memory’ or ‘belief’ on the MBQ.
48% of participants in the love condition were labelled as believers (22 participants). Believers increased an average of 4.5 points from week 1 to week 2 in the FHI. 10 had a memory. 12 had a belief.
Conclusions
Positive false memories can be implanted.
False beliefs have consequences on behaviour and food preference.
False belief effects:
* increased rating on loving asparagus
* increased willingness to spend on asparagus
* intention to eat in the future
* great preference for it
Aim- exp 2
Investigate possible underlying mechanisms of false memory consequence. To replicate the first experiment to check the reliability of findings.
Research method, design 2
lab, independent groups design
IV 2
whether the participant had a false belief or not.
DV 2
response to the 4 questionnaires and the slideshow.
Sample 2
103 undergraduate, 64 females and 39 males with mean age 19.9, love grp had 58 and control grp had 45
Procedure week 1(exp 2)
No deception, ppl completed FHI, RQ, FPQ, PM, SDS, most of the first exp procedure was repeated
Procedure - week 2 (exp 2)
randomly allocated to ‘love; or ‘control’ grp, report for ppl in ‘love’ grp consisted of feedback: ‘u loved asparagus the first time u ate it’, after the ppl read their profiles, they were required to give details abt their memory of eating asparagus and if they did not, they were asked wht might have happened. Control grp did not do this, all participants were then asked abt their most important food-related childhood event that the food profile did not report
Slideshow during week 2
shown a slideshow that displayed 20 photos, each for 30 sec, asked to rate them on a scale of 1-8 based on:
* how appetising they found it.
* how disgusting they found it.
* the artistic quality.
* the expertise of the photographer.
Participants then completed the FHI, RQ, FPQ and MBQ. They were fully debriefed afterwards.
Result 2
FHI response on loving asparagus from the love group (n=40) rose by an average of 2.5 points. control group (n=33) response increased by 1.0 points. 30 participants were excluded from the analysis.
Those who were told that they loved asparagus had a greater chance of generating a false memory or belief. 40 participants were believers.
On the RQ, neither believers nor non-believers had an increased desire to eat asparagus.
On the FPQ, believers reported a greater desire to eat asparagus.
On the photograph ratings, believers rated asparagus as more appetising and less disgusting than the ratings of non-believers.
Conclusion 2
Participants can be given false positive food beliefs and these beliefs have consequences on behaviour, food preference, and food memories. Believers are more likely to rate asparagus as more appetising and less disgusting.
The false memory was the cognitive mechanism that caused participants to process the images more positively and this is due to familiarity, or enhanced fluency.
Application to everyday life
Laney et al demonstrated that it’s possible to impact some people’s attitude towards asparagus by giving a small amount of false information. This can be used to help people change their diets and become healthier.
The study has helped many parents to introduce new eating habits in children who are picky eaters by telling them they once loved to eat the food that they dislike.
