Transcript Eating Behaviour - Beauchamp Psychology

Eating Behaviour
Unit PSYA3
Miss Bird
Homework due 
Essay question (January 2011)
Discuss the role of one or more factors that
influence attitudes to food. (4 marks A01 and 8
marks A02).
Lined paper with name on, no more than 2 A4
sides – it is only 12 marks so be selective.
AQA A Specification
Factors influencing attitudes to food and eating behaviour. For example:
Eating behaviour cultural influences; psychological influences (mood); and social influences
(health concerns/media).
Explanations for the success and failure of dieting.
Neural mechanisms involved in controlling eating behaviour.
Biological
explanations of Evolutionary explanations of food preference.
eating behaviour
In relation to either anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa:
Eating disorders
Psychological explanations.
Biological explanations, including neural and evolutionary explanations.
What we have covered
Where we are now
Learning Objectives 
1.To describe the theory of ironic processes of mental
control and the role of denial. (A01)
2.To outline and evaluate supporting research into
eating behaviour and the role of denial. (A01/A02)
3.To outline and evaluate theory and research into
the success of dieting. (A01/A02)
4.To apply knowledge of the success or failure of
dieting. (A01/A02)
Today’s lesson
Failure of dieting
 The role of denial
 ‘White bear’ study
 The theory of ‘ironic’ processes of mental control
 Supporting research
Success of dieting
 The key to a successful diet
 The ‘jelly beans’ experiment
 Evaluation
 Anti-dieting programmes
Independent task
Quiz – key terms
Answer the 5 questions in your booklets (NO
NOTES!!!)
1.Define body dissatisfaction.
2.Define diet.
3.Define satiety.
4.Define cognitive dietary boundary.
5.Define pre-loading.
Why do
diets fail?

The role of denial
Research in cognitive psychology has shown
that trying to ‘suppress’ or stop/deny a
thought can often have the opposite effect,
making it even more prominent.
WHITE BEAR STUDY
Support for thought
suppression
Wegner at al (1987) – White bear study
 Asked some PTs to NOT THINK about a white bear but to ring a bell if
they did.
 Asked other PTs to THINK about a white bear and ring a bell when
they did.
 RESULTS SHOWED THAT THOSE WHO WERE TOLD TO NOT
THINK ABOUT THE WHITE BEAR RANG THEIR BELLS MORE
OFTEN.
What does this suggest?
Trying to deny thoughts can actually make you think about them more.
The theory of ironic processes of mental
control (Wegner, 1994)
What is irony?
 The use of words that mean the opposite of what you really
think, especially in order to be funny.
 A situation that is strange or funny because things happen in
a way that seems to be the opposite of what you expected.
 A difference between what you intend to do (intention) and
what actually happens (result).
What is mental control?
Thought control – degree of control over own
behaviour influenced by your thought processes.
The theory of ironic processes of mental
control (Wegner, 1994)
 When denying something it often has the opposite effect (makes you
want it more).
 Central to any dieting strategy is the decision not to eat certain foods,
or to eat less of them (e.g. cakes).
 Denial in dieting – dieters try to suppress thoughts about ‘forbidden’
foods e.g. cakes.
 Attempts to suppress thoughts about these forbidden foods can end up
increasing the dieters’ preoccupation with the very foods they are trying
to deny themselves (e.g. cakes).
 As soon as a food is denied it simultaneously becomes more attractive
and consequently trying to suppress thoughts about this food can
actually make you think about it even more!
Independent task
Supporting research
 Read the research by Soetens et al (2006) and highlight the key
words.
 Draw a visual representation of the study.
 Answer the 3 questions in your booklet.
You have 10 minutes.
Be prepared to feedback to the class.
Supporting research
Erskine (2008)
• Reported a rebound effect for the consumption of chocolate.
• Both men and women consumed more chocolate in a taste
test if they had previously been asked to suppress thoughts
about eating chocolate.
• This supports the idea that denying thoughts about food
can in fact make you think about it more which in turn
can then impact on eating behaviour (i.e. over-eating).
Why are diets
successful?

The key to a successful diet
Redden (2008)
 The secret to successful dieting is in the
detail.
 Should focus on the details of a meal (e.g.
tomato, lettuce, cucumber).
 Not the whole meal (e.g. ‘not another
salad’).
 By focusing on the specific details of each
meal, people get bored less easily and so are
better able to maintain their diet.
Jelly beans experiment
Redden (2008)
SUCCESS IN DIETING
The key is to pay
attention to the detail
135 participants
Each given 22 jelly
beans one at a time
GROUP ONE
GROUP TWO
General information
given on computer
Specific information
given on computer
‘Bean number 7’
‘Cherry flavoured bean
number 8’
Jelly beans experiment
Redden (2008)
Findings:
1. PTs got bored with eating jelly beans faster if they
saw the general information.
2. PTs enjoyed the task more if they saw specific
flavour details of the jelly beans.
Conclusions:
This supports the idea that paying attention to detail
can help to maintain an individual’s diet and influence
eating behaviour as people are less likely to get bored
and give up.
Independent task
 Complete the gap-fill evaluation exercise.
 Down the margin bullet-point the key
evaluation points.
 Do any other IDA apply?
Be prepared to feedback to the class.
Success of dieting
Anti-dieting programmes
 Concerns about ineffectiveness and damaging effects of diet programmes.
 Led to development of programmes aimed at replacing dieting with healthy
eating.
 Emphasize regulation of food intake by body’s hunger and satiety signals.
 Prevention of inappropriate attitudes to food e.g. food avoidance.
 Higgins and Gray (1999) – meta-analysis: participation in anti-dieting
programmes associated with improvements in eating behaviour, psychological
wellbeing and with weight stability rather than weight change.
Consolidation task
January 2010
‘Dieting often fails because people are trying to go against
their biological drive to eat.’
Discuss explanations for the success and/or failure of dieting
(24 marks).
Prepare a detailed essay plan for the past-exam question
above – at least one side of A4 to hand in to me.
Revision aids
For all of topic so far.