Obesity (social influence) Flashcards
The ‘social facilitation’ of eating refers to the effect whereby…
People eat more in groups than alone
People eat more in groups than when they’re alone. This is referred to as -
Social facilitation
What phenomena did de Castro & de Castro (1989) do research into?
Social facilitation
Method to assess food consumption behaviour
Food diary data
What did de Castro x2 (1989) find regarding social facilitation?
Pps ate 44% more when eating with others compared to alone
4 Limitations of de Castro x2 (1989) research on social facilitation?
1) Self-report
2) Correlational data
3) Alcohol increases food intake
4) Tend to eat with family/friends
de Castro & de Castro (1989) - what was the method?
Food diary data - 7 days
Social setting recorded (self or with others)
Research by Clendenen, Herman and Polivy (1994) (social facilitation) aimed to establish…
Is SF found under controlled lab settings?
Do effects extend when eating with strangers?
Research by Clendenen, Herman and Polivy (1994)
Method
Pps allocated to
Solo
Eat pairs
Eat 4s
Friends/strangers
Research by Clendenen, Herman and Polivy (1994)
Findings - Pairs/Fours
Greater intake compared to solo eaters
Research by Clendenen, Herman and Polivy (1994)
Conclusion
Social influences are greatest when eating with other ppl rather than strangers
Why does Research by Clendenen, Herman and Polivy (1994) CONTRADICT De Castro?
de Castro correlation assumption - the more people, the more eating
4 Explanations for social facilitation of eating
1) Time extension theory
2) Arousal
3) Distraction
4) Modelling
What is the Time Extension Theory of social facilitation?
Meals take longer in groups –> food cue exposure –> greater intake
What is the Distraction theory of social facilitation?
Not monitoring intake
Reduced awareness of fullness
What do EXPERIMENTAL rather than CORRELATIONAL relationships tell us about social influence?
They demonstrate a cause and effect relationship!
1) Time extension theory
2) Arousal
3) Distraction
4) Modelling
Are all theories of…
Social facilitation of eating
“Not monitoring intake,
Reduced awareness of fullness” - This is a description of what theory?
Distraction theory
“Meals take longer in groups –> food cue exposure –> greater intake”
This is a description of what theory?
Time Extension Theory
Describe ‘Social Modelling’ as an explanation for social facilitation?
Amount social others eat impacts amount eaten
How do experiments regarding social modelling manipulate how much others eat?
Confederates who eat large or small amounts
In regards to ‘social modelling’, does it matter who the confederate is?
No for males
Yes for females - ate less if confederate was attractive
Why might social modelling be influenced by attractiveness of confederate for females only?
Self presentation, eat less to appear more ‘feminine’
What are PERCEIVED social norms?
What we believe most do/approve of
“What we believe most others do/approve of”
Perceived social norms
Name two types of perceived social norm (I & D)
Descriptive
Injunctive
Descriptive
Injunctive
Two examples of…
Perceived social norms
What is a descriptive perceived social norm?
Perceptions about what other people tend to do
“Perceptions about what other people tend to do” - this is an example of
A descriptive perceived social norm
What is an injunctive social norm?
Perceptions of what others approve of
de Castro & de Castro named their finding…
Social correlation
Why did de Castro x2 name their finding social correlation?
As number of people increased, food intake increased
Why is de Castro x2’s study being correlational a limitation?
Cannot establish cause & effect - other explanations?
4 explanations for social facilitation
1) time extension theory
2) arousal
3) distraction
4) social modelling
“We aren’t monitoring intake so have a reduced awareness of fullness” - which explanation for social facilitation is this?
Distraction
Arousal can either _____ or ______ appetite
Activate
Suppress
Time Extension Theory is the idea that when we eat with others…
Time eating is extended (interaction), meal is spread out
What is social modelling
The amount social others eat impacts the amount eating
“We eat similar amounts to our friends in a group”
What is this?
Social modelling
What do studies use to examine the effects of social modelling?
Confederates
Conger et al., (1980) found that when confederates eat small amounts…
Participants do to
Robinson (2014) measured fruit and veg intake after a descriptive/injuctive social norm message. What was found?
Descriptive norms = > veg intake for low veg consumers
Example of a descriptive norm based message
Most people here choose to eat fruit and vegetables with their lunch
Example of an indicative norm message
A majority of HS students think other HS students should eat more fruit
Generally, ______ social norms have little effect
Injunctive
Generally, indicative social norms have ______ effect
Little
A dynamic social norm provides…
Information on how other people’s behaviour is changing over time
Study of DYNAMIC SOCIAL NORMS (Sparkman & Walton, 2017)
What was the experimental/control group:
Experimental: dynamic norm
Control: static norm
Difference between dynamic norm and static norm
Dynamic norm describes how behaviour is CHANGING
Study of DYNAMIC SOCIAL NORMS (Sparkman & Walton, 2017)
Which group was the interest higher for for changing behaviour?
Dynamic reported more interest in changing
Benefits of social norm findings…
- Inform about appropriate portion size
- Apply to public health interventions
The EFFECT OF SOCIAL INFLUENCES CAN VARY DEPENDING ON…
1) Need for social acceptance
2) In vs outgroup
3) Body weight
How might need for social acceptance influence the effects of social influence on eating?
Low self esteem/high empathy - greater modelling
Low/high self esteem and low/high empathy are associated with greater social modelling
Low
High
Low/high self esteem and low/high empathy are associated with LESS social modelling
High
Low
How might body weight impact whether an individual is affected by social influence?
More modelling if social other is same weight
How might in-group/out-group norms affect whether an individual is impacted by social norms?
Undesirable outgroup eats healthily = unhealthy eating and vice versa
The effect of social norm messages can depend on the type used. I.e.
Descriptive more effective than injunctive
