Explanations For Food Preferences: Evolutionary

Question 1

The evolutionary explanation

Answer 1

• focus of the adaptive nature of behaviour
  -> modern behaviours are believed to have evolved because they solved challenges faced by our distant ancestors and so became more widespread in the gene pool

Question 2

Natural selection

Answer 2

• wide range of variation is because of differences in genes
• individuals with characteristics most suited to the environment are most likely to survive
• genes that allow individuals to be successful are passed into the next offspring
• poorly adapted = less likely to reproduce

Question 3

Preference for sweetness + research

Answer 3

• Steiner (1977)
• placed sugar on newborns tounge and observed positive facial expressions
• newborns can distinguish the difference between sugars; especially fructose -> which makes sense in terms of evolution
• sugar is fast-acting and provides energy quickly, so wouldv’e been favoured by ancestors
• releases dopamine -> reinforcer

Question 4

Preference for sweetness (sour research)

Answer 4

• Harris (1987)
• newborns have a dislike for sour and bitter foods
• genetic explanation -> bitter is associated with poison, so turning away from this is a survival reflex

Question 5

Preference for salt + research

Answer 5

• Harris (1990)
• salt is important for cell functioning -> preference for salt appears at 4 months
• infants between 16-25 weeks who had been breastfed (low in salt) preffered salted > unsalted cereal
• findings suggest they didnt learn this preference it was innate

Question 6

Preferences for fat - textbook!!

Answer 6

-fat contains twice the amount of calories compared to the same mass as carbohydrates and proteins

Question 7

Neophobia

Answer 7

• an innate pre-disposition to avoid anything new or unfamiliar
• developers between 2-6 years old
• Birch suggests it appears at a time when children explore new environments and foods independent from their parents guidance

Question 8

How is neophobia an adaptive behaviour; evolutionary terms

Answer 8

• untried foods are potentially dangerous to health, so neophobia is adaptive as we are unlikely to try foods that could cause us illness or prove fatal
  -> may have been a selective advantage for ancestors by protecting them from harmful foods
• will eventually diminish once we learn specific foods aren’t harmful then other evolutionary mechanisms come into play to encourage more important nutrients

Question 9

How is food neophobia maladaptive

Answer 9

• most food that we consume is bought from retailers of one sort or another, so is safer
• now days neophobia just restricts variety of childrens diet by limiting what they eat

Question 10

Taste aversion

Answer 10

• Steiner (1977)
• found evidence of negative facial expressions, like downturn on the corners of the mouth, in response to bitter tastes