eating behaviour

Question 1

evolutionary explanations for eating behaviour

Answer 1

the process by which species adapt to their environment. over many years, mutations in genes that are advantageous to animal become more widespread among the species. evolution would mean genes that help humans identify and eat healthy, safe, and nutritious food will become more common

Question 2

preference for sweetness

Answer 2

reliable signal of high energy food
Babies can distinguish between different sugars
Links to evolution as fructose is a fast acting sugar providing energy quickly

Question 3

preference for salt

Answer 3

salts are essential for many cell functions and hydration in animals
salt preference is thought to be innate. A preference appears in humans at around 4 months of age

Question 4

preference for fat

Answer 4

2x as many calories as the equivalent amount of protein or carb, so a taste preference for fat is the most efficient route to energy consumption

Fat appears to palatability (making food taste pleasant) and appeals to our senses

High in calories would have provided energy important for survival

Question 5

avoidance of bitter/sour foods

Answer 5

May be toxic.
Ensures survival to reproduce so aversions are bred into the population

Compounds such as PROP that taste bitter to some people

Question 6

neophobia

Answer 6

the phobia of new foods we haven’t tried before.

Pronounced in childhood, between age 2 and 6

We overcome neophobia via learning

Question 7

taste aversion

Answer 7

an innate pre-disposition to learn to avoid potentially toxic foods as signalled through bitter or sour taste

Question 8

biological preparedness

Answer 8

proposed by Seligman that humans are genetically prepared to rapidly learn avoidance and taste aversions of harmful food

Question 9

classical conditioning

Answer 9

flavour-flavour learning.

We develop a preference for a new food because of its association with a flavour we already like

Question 10

operant conditioning

Answer 10

children are directly reinforced for their food preferences mainly by parents or older siblings.

Provide rewards for eating foods or punishing

Question 11

social influences

Answer 11

acquires the food preferences of role models they observe eating certain foods.

The models are rewarded, someone the child identifies with, vicarious reinforcement

Question 12

Cultural influences

Answer 12

Rozin- cultural influences are the single most reliable prefictor of food preferences, especially family eating patterns.

We learn the cultural roles of preference early and these are powerful enough to overcome innate aversions

Question 13

hypothalamus

Answer 13

the main section of the brain, responsible for maintaining homeostasis within the body and controls body temperature, sleep and hunger

Question 14

the dual centre model of eating

Answer 14

there are two structures of the hypothalamus that have opposite effects, providing the homeostatic control

Question 15

lateral hypothalamus

Answer 15

responsible for making you feel hungry and start eating. when glucose levels fall the LH switches on

Question 16

ventromedial hypothalamus

Answer 16

known as the satiety centre it is responsible for making you feel full and stop eating

glucose levels are detected by VMH and LH activity is inhibited

Question 17

the process of dual centre model

Answer 17

1. when blood sugar is low, the liver sends signals to the lateral hypothalamus
2. This causes neurons to fire that make you feel hungry and start eating
3. Then when you eat, glucose is released into the blood which is detected by the ventromedial hypothalamus
4. This causes neurons to fire that make you feel satiated

Question 18

ghrelin

Answer 18

a hormone that makes you feel hungry. Secreted by the stomach into the bloodstream which is detected by the hypothalamus.

Once you feel full, the stomach stops releasing ghrelin and you no longer feel hunger

Question 19

leptin

Answer 19

a hormone that makes you feel full, secreted by fat cells into the bloodstream which signals to the hypothalamus that glucose is high and you don’t need to eat.

If you don’t eat for a while the body uses these fat deposits for energy so those fat cells no longer exist to produce leptin

Question 20

genetics

Answer 20

the genetic explanation of anorexia looks at hereditary factors i.e. genes inherited from parents that contribute to the development of anorexia

Question 21

neural explanations

Answer 21

looks at differences in the brain structures and neurochemistry of people with anorexia specifically setotonin and dopamine

Question 22

serotonin

Answer 22

involved in many behaviours: appetite reduction and obsessiveness.

Bailer and Kaye found that low levels of serotonin breakdown byproducts in people with AN

Question 23

dopamine

Answer 23

findings are inconsistent.

Research levels show that decreased dopamine levels are associated with AN

homovanillic acid is decreased in AN patients

Question 24

family systems theory

Answer 24

minunchin proposed characteristics of a psychosomatic family which lead to lack of autonomy and control, so the child exercises the only possible choice of what to eat

Question 25

enmeshment

Answer 25

families are over-involved, interdependent, no clear emotional boundaries and they have an inhibited sense of individuality

Question 26

overprotective

Answer 26

family members protect each other, reinforce family loyalty, parents see their role as a sacrifice

Question 27

conflict avoidance

Answer 27

family members suppress conflict, differences of opinions are not discussed

Question 28

rigidity

Answer 28

interactions are inflexible, denial of need to change

Question 29

social learning theory

Answer 29

explains anorexia as learned behaviour from observation and imitation of role models. People imitate the behaviours of role models they identify with and these behaviours may be reinforced vicariously i.e. by seeing the role model be praised and rewarded for that behaviour

Question 30

dittmar study

Answer 30

influence of barbie- a common model of thinness

Question 31

cognitive explanations

Answer 31

explain the disorder as a result of abnormal cognitions about body shape and weight. These abnormal cognitions take the form of distortions and irrational beliefs

Question 32

distortions

Answer 32

all clinical features of AN stem from distortion including preoccupations with thoughts of eating, weight and body shape and behaviors such as food restriction.

Question 33

irrational beliefs

Answer 33

people with AN often express irrational beliefs and attitudes about their disorder that defy logical and rational sense

Question 34

Autonomic negative thoughts

Answer 34

Beck all or nothing thinking: 'If I don't control my weight, I'm worthless' catastrophising: putting the worst possible gloss on the least important events 'I ate half a biscuit today, I've got no willpower'

Question 35

perfectionism

Answer 35

the view that an individual has to meet their most demanding standards of all time and failure to do so is judged severely

Question 36

cognitive inflexibility

Answer 36

people with AN lack cognitive flexibility. People with AN experience problems with set shifting as they find it difficult to switch fluently from one task to another requiring a different set of cognitive skills

Question 37

biological explanations for obesity

Answer 37

look at the role of genetic and neural factors (such as brain structure and neurotransmitter activity)

Question 38

neural explanations for obesity

Answer 38

focus on neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine, particularly in terms of their role in brains reward system

Question 39

serotonin in obesity

Answer 39

associated with low levels of serotonin. Normal levels of serotonin regulate feeding behaviour by inhibiting the activity of various sites in the hypothalamus. It is serotonin that signals we have eaten to satiety

Question 40

dopamine

Answer 40

has a crucial role in the brains reward and motivation systems. Overeating is an attempt to activate reward centees in the brain that provide feelings of pleasure, by increasing dopmaine levels

Question 41

restraint theory

Answer 41

Herman and Polivy A cognitive explanation for obesity which argues that obesity is the paradoxical outcomes of attempts to restrain eating. It is counterproductive and ultimately self defeating

Question 42

cognitive control

Answer 42

restrained eaters set strict limits on their food intake creating rules about which foods are allowed and which are forbidden

Question 43

disinhibition

Answer 43

refers to the loss of control over the food we consume

Question 44

disinhibited cues

Answer 44

restrained eaters are vulnerable to internal and external food related cues such as mood (internal) and smells or mood images (external) This leads to unrestricted eating which may amount to binge

Question 45

the boundary model

Answer 45

Herman and Polivy sought to explain the impact of restrained eating and disinhibition in their boundary model of obesity. According to this model people have biologically set boundaries of food intake

Question 46

minimum level

Answer 46

falls below the minimum level- the person feels the aversive feelings of hunger that motivates them to eat

Question 47

maximum level

Answer 47

exceeding the maximum level- causes the aversive feelings of being too full

Question 48

zone of biological indifference

Answer 48

a person's biology feels satisfied. A person then consumes food within this zone for psychological reasons

Question 49

spiral model

Answer 49

Heatherton and Polivy Indicates that dieting is motivated by comparison to ideal self, which leads to body dissatisfaction and dieting to achieve one's ideal physique. Positive outcomes initially reinforce dieting behaviour but eventually dieting leads to psychological and physiological changes that make it harder for dieters to lose weight

Question 50

neural implications of the spiral model

Answer 50

ghrelin levels increase and leptin levels decrease after significant weight loss. The result is further failure followed by repeated attempts to diet harder and a lowering of self esteem and incresse in depression over time

Question 51

ironic process theory

Answer 51

Wegner trying to suppress a thought is to make it more likely. i.e. when dieters label certain foods as forbidden they think about these foods precisely because they're trying not to