Explanations For Food Preferences: Role Of Learning

Question 1

Flavour-flavour learning

Answer 1

• developing a preference for a new food because of its association with a flavour we already like
• an example of classical conditioning

Question 2

Taste aversion: study

Answer 2

• Gracia et al. -> first to study taste aversion
• lab rats were made ill through radiation shortly after eating saccharin, developed an aversion to it and quickly associated their illness with saccharin

Question 3

Taste aversion

Answer 3

• taste aversion helped our ancestors survive because if they were lucky enough to survive eating poisoned food they would not make the same mistake again

Question 4

Taste aversion: research 2

Answer 4

• Gracia et al
• studied a group of wolves and coyotes
• wrapped mutton in raw sheepskin and laced it with lithium chloride
• both at this and were extremely sick
• researchers observed what happened when live sheep were placed in the same field where the wolves could approach them
• wolves approach sheep sniffed and turning away, retching
• evolutionary: survival, adaptive, passes genes to offspring to avoid potentially harmful foods

Question 5

Family influences on food preferences

Answer 5

• gatekeepers to food preferences; what they buy you eat
• siblings (especially older), role models
• identify and look up your, model certain food preferences
• may then see vicarious reinforcement, observe reward; more likely to imitate

Question 6

Peer influence on food preferences

Answer 6

• birch
• arranged pt children to be placed at school lunch times next to 3/4 other children with different vegetable preferences
• after 4 days child had changed food preference in response to observing children

Question 7

Family influences

Answer 7

• brown and ogden
• consistent correlations between parents and their children in terms of snack food intake, eating motivation and body dissatisfaction

-> Ogden
- correlations between diets and mother and children

Question 8

Media influences

Answer 8

• young people who watch even a moderate amount of T.V encounter many “unhealthy food” Ads
• often market by fun, relatable themes -> promoted by older characters that children identify with

Question 9

Cultural norms

Answer 9

• rules/expectation of behaviour and thoughts based on shared beliefs within a specific cultural or social group
• older generations will have different opinions

Question 10

Culture and learning

Answer 10

• associate foods we enjoy as adults with happy experiences growing up
• linked to memory of special occasions spent with friends and family
• nearly always marked with culturally specific food choices

Question 11

PEEL: CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

Answer 11

P: little evidence in its role
E: frank beyens; asked students to try untried flavours, exp.paired with sweet taste, control was tasteless. No differences between the two groups in preferences for the new flavours after paring
L: CC in flavour-flavour is incomplete explanation