Paper 3 - Eating Behaviour Flashcards
What is the advantage of SWEET foods?
Gives you high energy and is non poisonous(hunters)
What study did STEINER do to test sweet foods?
Gave newborn babies sugar and observed positive facial expressions
What did LOGUE find in the human body?
The human tongue has more receptors for identifying sweet foods than any others
What is SALT needed for?
Needed for neural and muscular activity and water balance
What study did GILLIAN HARRIS ET AL do?
- Infants from 4-6months who had been breastfed, had a preference for salty cereal.
- Breast milk is LOW in salt, not a learnt behaviour so it must be innate
What is FAT needed for?
Contains 2x as many calories as carbs and protein and is essential for energy –> hunting
What did FOLEY & LEE find?
- Compared primate feeding with brain size and found that eating meat led to a more complex brain
What did FINCH & STAFFORD believe?
Humans adapted to eat diverse foods
What is neophobia?
An innate predisposition to avoid anything new
- reduces the risk of unfamiliar objects until we know they are safe
What is taste aversion?
An innate ability to dislike and avoid certain foods that are potentially toxic or harmful
What did SELIGMAN say about taste aversion?
Humans are more likely to have taste aversion or fears to things which posed a greatest threat to our ancestors survival
What study did GARCIA do?
Gave rats sugar water with poison making them ill, so then they didn’t drink water
Give an example of positive reinforcement in eating behaviours
- pudding
- reward
- praise
Give an example of negative reinforcement in eating behaviours
- eat vegetables and you wont have to do your chores
Give an example of punishment in eating behaviours
- You must sit at the table and finish your dinner
Who’s food preference has the most powerful effects on young children?
PARENTS
BROWN & OGDEN - food preferences are most obvious during childhood
What study did BIRCH do for PEER INFLUENCES
- arranged for participant children to be sat at school meal times next to 3/4 children who had different veg preferences to their own
- after 4 days, veg preferences changes and this change was still evident after weeks
What happens with MEDIA INFLUENCES
- young people who watch a moderate amount of TV may encounter many adverts high in fat, salt and sugar foods
- these adverts are usually marked by fun themes and characters
What did PAUL ROZIN say about CULTURAL INFLUENCES
- these are the single most reliable predictor of food preference(particularly family eating patterns)
What did VABO & HANSEN say about CULTURAL INFLUENCES
- we learn around the family table (when, what and how much to eat)
- we learn the cultural rules of preference early
- determines what children are exposed to in the first place
NEURAL
What did BAILER & KAYE find about SEROTONIN
- low levels of serotonin breakdown byproducts in people with AN
- after short term weight recovery, levels return to normal
- after long term weight recovery, increase beyond normal levels
NEURAL
What did ATTIA find about SEROTONIN
- studied patients who were not at their pre illness weight
- they did not respond well to drugs that stimulate serotonin activity
- pattern of results indicates under activity of seretonin system in AN
NEURAL
A03
What does NUNN ET AL argue against
argues that under activity of serotonin by itself doesn’t distinguish those who do and don’t have anorexia
- it can be better explained by considering the interaction between serotonin and another neurotransmitter (adrenaline)
NEURAL
What does HVA stand for and how is it distributed in people with AN
- Homovanillic acid
increased in patients with AN
NEURAL
What did WALTER ET AL find about DOPAMINE
- HVA levels lowered in recovered AN patients compared to control participants
NEURAL
What did BAILER ET AL find about DOPAMINE
- administered a dopamine increasing drug - AMPHETAMINE
- healthy patients –> euphoria
- AN patients –> anxiety
- *as eating increases dopamine, maybe AN patients restrict food to reduce anxiety **
NEURAL
What is the limbic system dysfunction?
- regulates emotions, memories and arousal
dysfunction in these areas leads to defects in emotional processing - could lead to pathological thoughts and behaviours typical in patients with AN
EVALUATION FOR NEURAL EXPLANATIONS
Advantages
1) challenges the belief that the AN individuals behaviour is somehow “their fault”
2) also offers the possibility of treating AN by regulating the brain areas involved in the behaviours that are characteristic of the disorder
- LIPMAN - used deep brain simulation to change brain activity in patients with chronic, sever and treatment resistant AN.
- treatment led to improvements in mood, emotional regulation and a better quality of life for most