Sample records for food choice decisions
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Constructing food choice decisions.
Sobal, Jeffery; Bisogni, Carole A
2009-12-01
Food choice decisions are frequent, multifaceted, situational, dynamic, and complex and lead to food behaviors where people acquire, prepare, serve, give away, store, eat, and clean up. Many disciplines and fields examine decision making. Several classes of theories are applicable to food decision making, including social behavior, social facts, and social definition perspectives. Each offers some insights but also makes limiting assumptions that prevent fully explaining food choice decisions. We used constructionist social definition perspectives to inductively develop a food choice process model that organizes a broad scope of factors and dynamics involved in food behaviors. This food choice process model includes (1) life course events and experiences that establish a food choice trajectory through transitions, turning points, timing, and contexts; (2) influences on food choices that include cultural ideals, personal factors, resources, social factors, and present contexts; and (3) a personal system that develops food choice values, negotiates and balances values, classifies foods and situations, and forms/revises food choice strategies, scripts, and routines. The parts of the model dynamically interact to make food choice decisions leading to food behaviors. No single theory can fully explain decision making in food behavior. Multiple perspectives are needed, including constructionist thinking.
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Haws, Kelly L; Liu, Peggy J
2016-08-01
Given the prevalence and rising rates of obesity in many countries, including the United States, much food decision-making research ultimately aims at understanding how consumers can make healthier choices. The two predominant choice paradigms used in food decision-making research ask consumers to choose (a) between a "vice" (or unhealthy food) and a "virtue" (or healthy food) or (b) among varying portion sizes of "vice." We propose a new food choice paradigm that encourages consumers to jointly consider both food type(s) choice and food portion size at each decision point. The purpose of this paradigm is two-fold. First, it aims to allow examination of more comprehensive eating behavior (e.g., to examine the overall composition of a plate of food rather than choice of a single food). Second, it aims to shift consumers towards including large proportions of virtues and smaller proportions of vice in their overall consumption portfolios. For this paradigm, we draw upon a recently introduced food product innovation called "vice-virtue bundles" (Liu et al., 2015) that illustrates the basis of this new food choice paradigm, in which food type(s) and portion decisions are made simultaneously. Accordingly, we first discuss relevant findings on vice-virtue bundles as well as the differences between simultaneous and sequential choice of multiple products. Second, we examine the benefits for managing and controlling one's consumption that are provided by vice-virtue bundles and this joint food choice paradigm more generally. Third and finally, we point out opportunities for future research by discussing (a) multiple factors that influence food choices, (b) decision processes affected by food choice paradigms, and (c) issues of generalizability related to the presence of vice-virtue bundles. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Bruce, Amanda S; Pruitt, Stephen W; Ha, Oh-Ryeong; Cherry, J Bradley C; Smith, Timothy R; Bruce, Jared M; Lim, Seung-Lark
2016-10-01
To investigate how food commercials influence children's food choices. Twenty-three children ages 8-14 years provided taste and health ratings for 60 food items. Subsequently, these children were scanned with the use of functional magnetic resonance imaging while making food choices (ie, "eat" or "not eat") after watching food and nonfood television commercials. Our results show that watching food commercials changes the way children consider the importance of taste when making food choices. Children did not use health values for their food choices, indicating children's decisions were largely driven by hedonic, immediate rewards (ie, "tastiness"); however, children placed significantly more importance on taste after watching food commercials compared with nonfood commercials. This change was accompanied by faster decision times during food commercial trials. The ventromedial prefrontal cortex, a reward valuation brain region, showed increased activity during food choices after watching food commercials compared with after watching nonfood commercials. Overall, our results suggest watching food commercials before making food choices may bias children's decisions based solely on taste, and that food marketing may systematically alter the psychological and neurobiologic mechanisms of children's food decisions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Bruce, Amanda S.; Pruitt, Stephen W.; Ha, Oh-Ryeong; Cherry, J. Bradley C.; Smith, Timothy R.; Bruce, Jared M.; Lim, Seung-Lark
2016-01-01
Objective To investigate how food commercials influence children's food choices. Study design Twenty-three children ages 8-14 years provided taste and health ratings for 60 food items. Subsequently, these children were scanned with the use of functional magnetic resonance imaging while making food choices (ie, “eat” or “not eat”) after watching food and nonfood television commercials. Results Our results show that watching food commercials changes the way children consider the importance of taste when making food choices. Children did not use health values for their food choices, indicating children's decisions were largely driven by hedonic, immediate rewards (ie, “tastiness”); however, children placed significantly more importance on taste after watching food commercials compared with nonfood commercials. This change was accompanied by faster decision times during food commercial trials. The ventromedial prefrontal cortex, a reward valuation brain region, showed increased activity during food choices after watching food commercials compared with after watching nonfood commercials. Conclusion Overall, our results suggest watching food commercials before making food choices may bias children's decisions based solely on taste, and that food marketing may systematically alter the psychological and neurobiologic mechanisms of children's food decisions. PMID:27526621
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Ha, Oh-Ryeong; Bruce, Amanda S; Pruitt, Stephen W; Cherry, J Bradley C; Smith, T Ryan; Burkart, Dominic; Bruce, Jared M; Lim, Seung-Lark
2016-10-01
Learning how to make healthy eating decisions, (i.e., resisting unhealthy foods and consuming healthy foods), enhances physical development and reduces health risks in children. Although healthy eating decisions are known to be challenging for children, the mechanisms of children's food choice processes are not fully understood. The present study recorded mouse movement trajectories while eighteen children aged 8-13 years were choosing between eating and rejecting foods. Children were inclined to choose to eat rather than to reject foods, and preferred unhealthy foods over healthy foods, implying that rejecting unhealthy foods could be a demanding choice. When children rejected unhealthy foods, mouse trajectories were characterized by large curvature toward an eating choice in the beginning, late decision shifting time toward a rejecting choice, and slowed response times. These results suggested that children exercised greater cognitive efforts with longer decision times to resist unhealthy foods, providing evidence that children require dietary self-control to make healthy eating-decisions by resisting the temptation of unhealthy foods. Developmentally, older children attempted to exercise greater cognitive efforts for consuming healthy foods than younger children, suggesting that development of dietary self-control contributes to healthy eating-decisions. The study also documents that healthy weight children with higher BMIs were more likely to choose to reject healthy foods. Overall, findings have important implications for how children make healthy eating choices and the role of dietary self-control in eating decisions. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
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Dover, Robert V H; Lambert, Estelle V
2016-03-16
Using the nexus between food consumption, food security and obesity, this paper addresses the complexity of health behavior decision-making moments that reflect relational social dynamics in context-specific dialogues, often in choice-constrained conditions. A pragmatic review of literature regarding social determinants of health in relation to food consumption, food security and obesity was used to advance this theoretical model. We suggest that health choice, such as food consumption, is based on more than the capacity and volition of individuals to make "healthy" choices, but is dialogic and adaptive. In terms of food consumption, there will always be choice-constrained conditions, along a continuum representing factors over which the individual has little or no control, to those for which they have greater agency. These range from food store geographies and inventories and food availability, logistical considerations such as transportation, food distribution, the structure of equity in food systems, state and non-government food and nutrition programs, to factors where the individual exercises a greater degree of autonomy, such as sociocultural foodways, family and neighborhood shopping strategies, and personal and family food preferences. At any given food decision-making moment, many factors of the continuum are present consciously or unconsciously when the individual makes a decision. These health behavior decision-making moments are mutable, whether from an individual perspective, or within a broader social or policy context. We review the construct of "choice set", the confluence of factors that are temporally weighted by the differentiated and relationally-contextualized importance of certain factors over others in that moment. The choice transition represents an essential shift of the choice set based on the conscious and unconscious weighting of accumulated evidence, such that people can project certain outcomes. Policies and interventions should avoid dichotomies of "good and bad" food choices or health behaviors, but focus on those issues that contribute to the weightedness of factors influencing food choice behavior at a given decision-making moment and within a given choice set.
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Food labels promote healthy choices by a decision bias in the amygdala.
Grabenhorst, Fabian; Schulte, Frank P; Maderwald, Stefan; Brand, Matthias
2013-07-01
Food labeling is the major health policy strategy to counter rising obesity rates. Based on traditional economic theory, such strategies assume that detailed nutritional information will necessarily help individuals make better, healthier choices. However, in contrast to the well-known utility of labels in food marketing, evidence for the efficacy of nutritional labeling is mixed. Psychological and behavioral economic theories suggest that successful marketing strategies activate automatic decision biases and emotions, which involve implicit emotional brain systems. Accordingly, simple, intuitive food labels that engage these neural systems could represent a promising approach for promoting healthier choices. Here we used functional MRI to investigate this possibility. Healthy, mildly hungry subjects performed a food evaluation task and a food choice task. The main experimental manipulation was to pair identical foods with simple labels that emphasized either taste benefits or health-related food properties. We found that such labels biased food evaluations in the amygdala, a core emotional brain system. When labels biased the amygdala's evaluations towards health-related food properties, the strength of this bias predicted behavioral shifts towards healthier choices. At the time of decision-making, amygdala activity encoded key decision variables, potentially reflecting active amygdala participation in food choice. Our findings underscore the potential utility of food labeling in health policy and indicate a principal role for emotional brain systems when labels guide food choices. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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The child brain computes and utilizes internalized maternal choices
Lim, Seung-Lark; Cherry, J. Bradley C.; Davis, Ann M.; Balakrishnan, S. N.; Ha, Oh-Ryeong; Bruce, Jared M.; Bruce, Amanda S.
2016-01-01
As children grow, they gradually learn how to make decisions independently. However, decisions like choosing healthy but less-tasty foods can be challenging for children whose self-regulation and executive cognitive functions are still maturing. We propose a computational decision-making process in which children estimate their mother's choices for them as well as their individual food preferences. By employing functional magnetic resonance imaging during real food choices, we find that the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) encodes children's own preferences and the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) encodes the projected mom's choices for them at the time of children's choice. Also, the left dlPFC region shows an inhibitory functional connectivity with the vmPFC at the time of children's own choice. Our study suggests that in part, children utilize their perceived caregiver's choices when making choices for themselves, which may serve as an external regulator of decision-making, leading to optimal healthy decisions. PMID:27218420
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A Common Mechanism Underlying Food Choice and Social Decisions.
Krajbich, Ian; Hare, Todd; Bartling, Björn; Morishima, Yosuke; Fehr, Ernst
2015-10-01
People make numerous decisions every day including perceptual decisions such as walking through a crowd, decisions over primary rewards such as what to eat, and social decisions that require balancing own and others' benefits. The unifying principles behind choices in various domains are, however, still not well understood. Mathematical models that describe choice behavior in specific contexts have provided important insights into the computations that may underlie decision making in the brain. However, a critical and largely unanswered question is whether these models generalize from one choice context to another. Here we show that a model adapted from the perceptual decision-making domain and estimated on choices over food rewards accurately predicts choices and reaction times in four independent sets of subjects making social decisions. The robustness of the model across domains provides behavioral evidence for a common decision-making process in perceptual, primary reward, and social decision making.
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A Common Mechanism Underlying Food Choice and Social Decisions
Krajbich, Ian; Hare, Todd; Bartling, Björn; Morishima, Yosuke; Fehr, Ernst
2015-01-01
People make numerous decisions every day including perceptual decisions such as walking through a crowd, decisions over primary rewards such as what to eat, and social decisions that require balancing own and others’ benefits. The unifying principles behind choices in various domains are, however, still not well understood. Mathematical models that describe choice behavior in specific contexts have provided important insights into the computations that may underlie decision making in the brain. However, a critical and largely unanswered question is whether these models generalize from one choice context to another. Here we show that a model adapted from the perceptual decision-making domain and estimated on choices over food rewards accurately predicts choices and reaction times in four independent sets of subjects making social decisions. The robustness of the model across domains provides behavioral evidence for a common decision-making process in perceptual, primary reward, and social decision making. PMID:26460812
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Food choice decision-making by women with gestational diabetes.
Hui, Amy Leung; Sevenhuysen, Gustaaf; Harvey, Dexter; Salamon, Elizabeth
2014-02-01
To enhance the dietary education presented to women with gestational diabetes (GDM) by exploring the reasons and experiences that women with GDM reported in making their food-choice decisions after receipt of dietary education from a healthcare professional. Food Choice Map (FCM) semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 30 women with GDM living in the Winnipeg area during their pregnancies. Verbatim transcripts were generated from the interviews. A constant comparative method was used to generate common themes to answer research inquiries. Personal food preferences, hunger and cravings were the main factors affecting food choice decision-making in women with GDM. Although the information from healthcare professionals was 1 factor that affected food choice decision-making for most of the participants, more than half of the women, including all the women who were on insulin, reported difficulties in quick adaptation to dietary management in a limited time period. Information from other sources such as family members, friends, and internet were used to cope with the adaptation. These difficulties led to a sense of decreased control of GDM and were accompanied by frustration, especially for women taking insulin. Food choice decision-making varied for this group of women with GDM. Knowledge and information aided in making healthy food choices and in portion control. However, balancing individual needs and blood glucose control in a short time period was felt to be difficult and created frustration. The findings suggested that dietary consultation needs to be personalized and to be time sensitive to promote confidence in self-control. Copyright © 2014 Canadian Diabetes Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Serotonin enhances the impact of health information on food choice.
Vlaev, Ivo; Crockett, Molly J; Clark, Luke; Müller, Ulrich; Robbins, Trevor W
2017-06-01
Serotonin has been implicated in promoting self-control, regulation of hunger and physiological homeostasis, and regulation of caloric intake. However, it remains unclear whether the effects of serotonin on caloric intake reflect purely homeostatic mechanisms, or whether serotonin also modulates cognitive processes involved in dietary decision making. We investigated the effects of an acute dose of the serotonin reuptake inhibitor citalopram on choices between food items that differed along taste and health attributes, compared with placebo and the noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor atomoxetine. Twenty-seven participants attended three sessions and received single doses of atomoxetine, citalopram, and placebo in a double-blind randomised cross-over design. Relative to placebo, citalopram increased choices of more healthy foods over less healthy foods. Citalopram also increased the emphasis on health considerations in decisions. Atomoxetine did not affect decision making relative to placebo. The results support the hypothesis that serotonin may influence food choice by enhancing a focus on long-term goals. The findings are relevant for understanding decisions about food consumption and also for treating health conditions such as eating disorders and obesity.
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Food Choice Drivers in the Context of the Nutrition Transition in Delhi, India.
Bailey, Claire; Garg, Vandana; Kapoor, Deksha; Wasser, Heather; Prabhakaran, Dorairaj; Jaacks, Lindsay M
2018-04-27
To understand factors that influence the process of food decision-making among urban Indian women in the context of the nutrition transition. Mixed methods. Semistructured interviews and sorting of 12 a priori hypothesized drivers into categories of always, sometimes, and never influencing food choice. Delhi, India. Thirty-eight women aged 20-35 years selected from the roster of a prospective cohort study. Drivers of food choice. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and translated, then analyzed using an iterative, constant comparative process. Differences in pile sort rankings across tertiles of body mass index and wealth index were tested using Fisher exact tests. Four primary themes emerged: (1) family influence; (2) cultural perceptions, with 3 subthemes of beliefs relating to (a) outside food and less healthful food, (b) seasonality, and (c) hometown food; (3) convenience, with 3 subthemes of (a) decisions regarding procurement of food, (b) not having time to cook, resulting in eating out or purchasing premade foods, and (c) eating whatever is available at home or is left over from previous meals; and (4) habit, with 2 subthemes of (a) subconscious decisions and (b) food roots. Responses from the pile sort activity revealed perceptions that food safety and health most influence food choice whereas marketing and advertisements least influence it. Young adult women in Delhi seem to rely on preferences of their families, habits and perceptions established in childhood, convenience, and food safety and health when making choices about food. These aspects of decision-making should be targeted in future interventions aimed at improving dietary intake in this population. Copyright © 2018 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Fazil, A; Rajic, A; Sanchez, J; McEwen, S
2008-11-01
In the food safety arena, the decision-making process can be especially difficult. Decision makers are often faced with social and fiscal pressures when attempting to identify an appropriate balance among several choices. Concurrently, policy and decision makers in microbial food safety are under increasing pressure to demonstrate that their policies and decisions are made using transparent and accountable processes. In this article, we present a multi-criteria decision analysis approach that can be used to address the problem of trying to select a food safety intervention while balancing various criteria. Criteria that are important when selecting an intervention were determined, as a result of an expert consultation, to include effectiveness, cost, weight of evidence, and practicality associated with the interventions. The multi-criteria decision analysis approach we present is able to consider these criteria and arrive at a ranking of interventions. It can also provide a clear justification for the ranking as well as demonstrate to stakeholders, through a scenario analysis approach, how to potentially converge toward common ground. While this article focuses on the problem of selecting food safety interventions, the range of applications in the food safety arena is truly diverse and can be a significant tool in assisting decisions that need to be coherent, transparent, and justifiable. Most importantly, it is a significant contributor when there is a need to strike a fine balance between various potentially competing alternatives and/or stakeholder groups.
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Marty, Lucile; Nicklaus, Sophie; Miguet, Maud; Chambaron, Stéphanie; Monnery-Patris, Sandrine
2018-06-01
Children identify liking and healthiness of foods as factors influencing their food choices. However, the food decision making process is also influenced by both personal characteristics and food contexts. The present study explored the influence of liking and perceived healthiness of foods in normal- and overweight children's food choices intentions in a pleasure-oriented social eating context and a health-oriented social eating context. Children aged from 6 to 11 years old (n = 63; 34 children who were of normal weight and 29 who were overweight) were asked to select 5 foods among 10, based on food pictures, to make up a snack that would be suitable for their birthday party or a nutrition class. In addition, they rated their liking and healthiness perception of the foods. No significant difference in food choices was found between children who were of normal weight and children who were overweight. Both groups of children chose more healthy food items in a health-oriented social context (i.e., a fictive nutrition class) than in a pleasure-oriented social context (i.e., a fictive birthday party). Moreover, only liking significantly predicted food choices in the pleasure-oriented social context whereas both healthiness and liking significantly predicted food choices in the health-oriented social context. Overall these results advance our understanding on how children make food decisions and inform strategies that may help children to adopt a healthy diet. Because liking predicted children's food choices in both eating contexts, emphasizing the "good" taste of healthy foods and providing children with healthy foods they like could be efficient strategies to promote healthy eating habits in children. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Decision-making in the dairy aisle: maximizing taste, health, cost and family considerations.
Hammond, Gail K; Chapman, Gwen E
2008-01-01
To gain insight into the decision-making processes used by women when selecting dairy and dairy alternative foods, including examination of the role of bone health concerns. Semi-structured, point-of-purchase interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of 30 female grocery shoppers. Constant comparative data analysis was used to generate themes on shoppers' decision-making processes. Women considered multiple issues in their dairy and dairy alternative food choice strategies: taste was most often associated with the fat and sugar content of foods; health concerns were centred on achieving an acceptable body weight and preventing osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease, and women chose foods to satisfy other family members' needs and preferences and to obtain "good food value." Women prioritized their food choices by weighing the value of each issue, which led to a strategic process for "maximizing the value" of their food choices. The availability of a wide range of dairy and dairy alternative foods meant that in most instances, it was unnecessary for women to "trade off" one area of concern for another. Dietitians and nutrition educators can help women make dietary changes by helping them identify foods that they perceive as meeting a variety of needs.
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Lambert, Michelle; Chivers, Paola; Farringdon, Fiona
2018-06-11
University students generally make independent decisions regarding food choices. Current research about knowledge of Australian Dietary Guidelines (ADG), sources of nutrition information and influences on food choices for this group is scarce. Qualitative data was collected from gender separated focus groups comprising four female (n=31) and four male (n=18) to identify: knowledge of ADG, sources of nutrition information; factors that influence food choices; perceived relevant nutrition messages and how best to deliver them. Gaps in knowledge were identified particularly regarding number of serves and serving size for food groups. Social media was the most commonly reported source of knowledge. Social media was also a major influence on food choice due to its impact on body ideals. Current health promotion nutrition messages were perceived irrelevant given the focus on long-term health risks. Health and adhering to the ADG were not identified as important. The desire to look a particular way was the major influence on food choices. SO WHAT?: While there is an awareness of ADG, our participants made a deliberate decision not to follow them. This provides a challenge for developing relevant preventive health messages for this target audience. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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Latty, Tanya; Beekman, Madeleine
2010-01-01
How individuals deal with multiple conflicting demands is an important aspect of foraging ecology, yet work on foraging behavior has typically neglected neurologically simple organisms. Here we examine the impact of an abiotic risk (light) and energetic status on the foraging decisions of a protist, the slime mold Physarum polycephalum. We examined patch choice in a "non-risky" environment by presenting starved and non-starved P. polycephalum amoebas with a choice between two shaded food patches (one high quality, one low quality). We next examined patch choice in the presence of a conflict between foraging risk (light exposure) and food quality by presenting amoebas with a choice between a shaded, low-quality patch, and a light-exposed, high-quality patch. When both patches were shaded, 100% of amoebas selected the higher quality food patch, irrespective of food-quality differences or the individual's energetic status. When light exposure and food quality conflicted, amoebas selected the patch with the higher food quality when the quality difference between the patches was high. When the quality difference between patches was small, amoebas selected the shaded, lower quality patch.
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Let's talk about health: shoppers' discourse regarding health while food shopping.
O'Brien, Michelle C; McConnon, Aine; Hollywood, Lynsey E; Cuskelly, Geraldine J; Barnett, Julie; Raats, Monique; Dean, Moira
2015-04-01
The present study aimed to examine the role of health in consumers' food purchasing decisions through investigating the nature of people's discourse regarding health while conducting their food shopping. The study employed the think-aloud technique as part of an accompanied shop. All mentions of health and terms relating to health were identified from the data set. Inductive thematic analysis was conducted to examine how health was talked about in relation to people's food choice decisions. Supermarkets in Dublin, Republic of Ireland and Belfast, Northern Ireland. Participants (n 50) were aged over 18 years and represented the main household shopper. Responsibility for others and the perceived need to illicit strict control to avoid 'unhealthy' food selections played a dominant role in how health was talked about during the accompanied shop. Consequently healthy shopping was viewed as difficult and effort was required to make the healthy choice, with shoppers relating to product-based inferences to support their decisions. This qualitative exploration has provided evidence of a number of factors influencing the consideration of health during consumers' food shopping. These results highlight opportunities for stakeholders such as public health bodies and the food industry to explore further ways to help enable consumers make healthy food choices.
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Altered dynamics between neural systems sub-serving decisions for unhealthy food
He, Qinghua; Xiao, Lin; Xue, Gui; Wong, Savio; Ames, Susan L.; Xie, Bin; Bechara, Antoine
2014-01-01
Using BOLD functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) techniques, we examined the relationships between activities in the neural systems elicited by the decision stage of the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), and food choices of either vegetables or snacks high in fat and sugar. Twenty-three healthy normal weight adolescents and young adults, ranging in age from 14 to 21, were studied. Neural systems implicated in decision-making and inhibitory control were engaged by having participants perform the IGT during fMRI scanning. The Youth/Adolescent Questionnaire, a food frequency questionnaire, was used to obtain daily food choices. Higher consumption of vegetables correlated with higher activity in prefrontal cortical regions, namely the left superior frontal gyrus (SFG), and lower activity in sub-cortical regions, namely the right insular cortex. In contrast, higher consumption of fatty and sugary snacks correlated with lower activity in the prefrontal regions, combined with higher activity in the sub-cortical, insular cortex. These results provide preliminary support for our hypotheses that unhealthy food choices in real life are reflected by neuronal changes in key neural systems involved in habits, decision-making and self-control processes. These findings have implications for the creation of decision-making based intervention strategies that promote healthier eating. PMID:25414630
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Søvik, Eirik; LaMora, Angela; Seehra, Gurpreet; Barron, Andrew B.; Duncan, Jennifer G.; Ben-Shahar, Yehuda
2017-01-01
Members of the Natural resistance-associated macrophage protein (NRAMP) family are evolutionarily-conserved metal ion transporters that play an essential role in regulating intracellular divalent cation homeostasis in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Malvolio (Mvl), the sole NRAMP family member in insects, plays a role in food choice behaviors in Drosophila and other species. However, the specific physiological and cellular processes that require the action of Mvl for appropriate feeding decisions remain elusive. Here we demonstrate that normal food choice requires Mvl function specifically in the dopaminergic system, and can be rescued by supplementing food with manganese. Collectively, our data indicate that the action of the Mvl transporter affects food choice behavior via the regulation of dopaminergic innervation of the mushroom bodies, a principle brain region associated with decision making in insects. Our studies suggest that the homeostatic regulation of the intra-neuronal levels of divalent cations plays an important role in the development and function of the dopaminergic system and associated behaviors. PMID:28220999
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2016-01-01
Background: The price of food has long been considered one of the major factors that affects food choices. However, the price metric (e.g., the price of food per calorie or the price of food per gram) that individuals predominantly use when making food choices is unclear. Understanding which price metric is used is especially important for studying individuals with severe budget constraints because food price then becomes even more important in food choice. Objective: We assessed which price metric is used by low-income individuals in deciding what to eat. Methods: With the use of data from NHANES and the USDA Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies, we created an agent-based model that simulated an environment representing the US population, wherein individuals were modeled as agents with a specific weight, age, and income. In our model, agents made dietary food choices while meeting their budget limits with the use of 1 of 3 different metrics for decision making: energy cost (price per calorie), unit price (price per gram), and serving price (price per serving). The food consumption patterns generated by our model were compared to 3 independent data sets. Results: The food choice behaviors observed in 2 of the data sets were found to be closest to the simulated dietary patterns generated by the price per calorie metric. The behaviors observed in the third data set were equidistant from the patterns generated by price per calorie and price per serving metrics, whereas results generated by the price per gram metric were further away. Conclusions: Our simulations suggest that dietary food choice based on price per calorie best matches actual consumption patterns and may therefore be the most salient price metric for low-income populations. PMID:27655757
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Beheshti, Rahmatollah; Igusa, Takeru; Jones-Smith, Jessica
2016-11-01
The price of food has long been considered one of the major factors that affects food choices. However, the price metric (e.g., the price of food per calorie or the price of food per gram) that individuals predominantly use when making food choices is unclear. Understanding which price metric is used is especially important for studying individuals with severe budget constraints because food price then becomes even more important in food choice. We assessed which price metric is used by low-income individuals in deciding what to eat. With the use of data from NHANES and the USDA Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies, we created an agent-based model that simulated an environment representing the US population, wherein individuals were modeled as agents with a specific weight, age, and income. In our model, agents made dietary food choices while meeting their budget limits with the use of 1 of 3 different metrics for decision making: energy cost (price per calorie), unit price (price per gram), and serving price (price per serving). The food consumption patterns generated by our model were compared to 3 independent data sets. The food choice behaviors observed in 2 of the data sets were found to be closest to the simulated dietary patterns generated by the price per calorie metric. The behaviors observed in the third data set were equidistant from the patterns generated by price per calorie and price per serving metrics, whereas results generated by the price per gram metric were further away. Our simulations suggest that dietary food choice based on price per calorie best matches actual consumption patterns and may therefore be the most salient price metric for low-income populations. © 2016 American Society for Nutrition.
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Training impulsive choices for healthy and sustainable food.
Veling, Harm; Chen, Zhang; Tombrock, Merel C; Verpaalen, Iris A M; Schmitz, Laura I; Dijksterhuis, Ap; Holland, Rob W
2017-06-01
Many people find it hard to change their dietary choices. Food choice often occurs impulsively, without deliberation, and it has been unclear whether impulsive food choice can be experimentally created. Across 3 exploratory and 2 confirmatory preregistered experiments we examined whether impulsive food choice can be trained. Participants were cued to make motor responses upon the presentation of, among others, healthy and sustainable food items. They subsequently selected these food items more often for actual consumption when they needed to make their choices impulsively as a result of time pressure. This effect disappeared when participants were asked to think about their choices, merely received more time to make their choices, or when choosing required attention to alternatives. Participants preferred high to low valued food items under time pressure and without time pressure, suggesting that the impulsive choices reflect valid preferences. These findings demonstrate that it is possible to train impulsive choices for food items while leaving deliberative choices for these items unaffected, and connect research on attention training to dual-process theories of decision making. The present research suggests that attention training may lead to behavioral change only when people behave impulsively. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).
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Australian parents' views on their 5-6-year-old children's food choices.
Campbell, Karen J; Crawford, David A; Hesketh, Kylie D
2007-03-01
The home food environment is central to the development of healthy eating behaviours, but associations between the home food environment and children's food choices are not yet fully understood. The aims of this study were to explore parents' views regarding factors that influence children's food choices and parents' decision-making regarding the food they provide to their children. In-depth one-on-one interviews were conducted using a semi-structured interview schedule. Key concepts and themes were coded independently by two investigators. Participants include seventeen parents (16 mothers and 1 father) of children in their first year of formal schooling (aged 5-6 years). Five main themes emerged from the interviews: food marketing, food availability/food exposure, feeding strategies, modelling of eating and opportunities for food involvement. Parents believed that food marketing influenced their child's food preferences but differed in the ways they managed these influences. The food made available to children was also seen to influence what a child ate. Yet, although some parents believed it was the parents' role to determine what foods were made available to their child, others offered food on the basis of the child's tastes or preferences. The use of food as a reward was a feeding strategy employed by many parents. Family mealtimes were seen as an important opportunity for modelling of eating behaviour by parents. Peers were also seen to influence children's food preferences and eating behaviour. Finally, many parents believed that involving children in the preparation of food had a positive impact on children's food choices. Associations between the home food environment and children's food choices are complex and involve multiple mediators. Parents' views on the promoters and reinforcers of their decision-making regarding food and their child's food choices provide useful insights into these mediating factors. Increased understanding of these relationships is likely to enhance obesity prevention efforts.
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Demos, Kathryn E; McCaffery, Jeanne M; Thomas, J Graham; Mailloux, Kimberly A; Hare, Todd A; Wing, Rena R
2017-07-01
Behavioral weight loss (BWL) programs are the recommended treatment for obesity, yet it is unknown whether these programs change one's ability to use self-control in food choices and what specific mechanisms support such change. Using experimental economics methods, we investigated whether changes in dietary behavior in individuals with obesity following BWL are driven by one or more of the following potential mechanisms: changes in the perception of the 1) health or 2) taste of food items, and/or 3) shifting decision weights for health versus taste attributes. Therefore, we compared these mechanisms between obese participants and lifetime normal weight controls (NW) both before and after BWL. Females with obesity (N = 37, mean BMI = 33.2) completed a food choice task involving health ratings, taste ratings, and decision-making pre- and post-standard BWL intervention. NW controls (N = 30, BMI = 22.4) completed the same task. Individuals with obesity exhibited increased self-control (selecting healthier, less tasty food choices) post-treatment. However, their rates of self-control remained significantly lower than NW. We found no differences in initial health perceptions across groups, and no changes with treatment. In contrast, taste ratings and the relative value of taste versus health decreased following treatment. Although, post-treatment participants continued to perceive unhealthy foods as tastier and used less self-control than NW controls, they showed significant improvements in these domains following a BWL intervention. To help individuals improve dietary decisions, additional research is needed to determine how to make greater changes in taste preferences and/or the assignment of value to taste versus health attributes in food choices. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Bielser, Marie-Laure; Crézé, Camille; Murray, Micah M; Toepel, Ulrike
2016-12-01
How food valuation and decision-making influence the perception of food is of major interest to better understand food intake behavior and, by extension, body weight management. Our study investigated behavioral responses and spatio-temporal brain dynamics by means of visual evoked potentials (VEPs) in twenty-two normal-weight participants when viewing pairs of food photographs. Participants rated how much they liked each food item (valuation) and subsequently chose between the two alternative food images. Unsurprisingly, strongly liked foods were also chosen most often. Foods were rated faster as strongly liked than as mildly liked or disliked irrespective of whether they were subsequently chosen over an alternative. Moreover, strongly liked foods were subsequently also chosen faster than the less liked alternatives. Response times during valuation and choice were positively correlated, but only when foods were liked; the faster participants rated foods as strongly liked, the faster they were in choosing the food item over an alternative. VEP modulations by the level of liking attributed as well as the subsequent choice were found as early as 135-180ms after food image onset. Analyses of neural source activity patterns over this time interval revealed an interaction between liking and the subsequent choice within the insula, dorsal frontal and superior parietal regions. The neural responses to food viewing were found to be modulated by the attributed level of liking only when foods were chosen, not when they were dismissed for an alternative. Therein, the responses to disliked foods were generally greater than those to foods that were liked more. Moreover, the responses to disliked but chosen foods were greater than responses to disliked foods which were subsequently dismissed for an alternative offer. Our findings show that the spatio-temporal brain dynamics to food viewing are immediately influenced both by how much foods are liked and by choices taken on them. These valuation and choice processes are subserved by brain regions involved in salience and reward attribution as well as in decision-making processes, which are likely to influence prospective dietary choices in everyday life. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Errors Affect Hypothetical Intertemporal Food Choice in Women
Sellitto, Manuela; di Pellegrino, Giuseppe
2014-01-01
Growing evidence suggests that the ability to control behavior is enhanced in contexts in which errors are more frequent. Here we investigated whether pairing desirable food with errors could decrease impulsive choice during hypothetical temporal decisions about food. To this end, healthy women performed a Stop-signal task in which one food cue predicted high-error rate, and another food cue predicted low-error rate. Afterwards, we measured participants’ intertemporal preferences during decisions between smaller-immediate and larger-delayed amounts of food. We expected reduced sensitivity to smaller-immediate amounts of food associated with high-error rate. Moreover, taking into account that deprivational states affect sensitivity for food, we controlled for participants’ hunger. Results showed that pairing food with high-error likelihood decreased temporal discounting. This effect was modulated by hunger, indicating that, the lower the hunger level, the more participants showed reduced impulsive preference for the food previously associated with a high number of errors as compared with the other food. These findings reveal that errors, which are motivationally salient events that recruit cognitive control and drive avoidance learning against error-prone behavior, are effective in reducing impulsive choice for edible outcomes. PMID:25244534
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Søvik, E; LaMora, A; Seehra, G; Barron, A B; Duncan, J G; Ben-Shahar, Y
2017-06-01
Members of the natural resistance-associated macrophage protein (NRAMP) family are evolutionarily conserved metal ion transporters that play an essential role in regulating intracellular divalent cation homeostasis in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Malvolio (Mvl), the sole NRAMP family member in insects, plays a role in food choice behaviors in Drosophila and other species. However, the specific physiological and cellular processes that require the action of Mvl for appropriate feeding decisions remain elusive. Here, we show that normal food choice requires Mvl function specifically in the dopaminergic system, and can be rescued by supplementing food with manganese. Collectively, our data indicate that the action of the Mvl transporter affects food choice behavior via the regulation of dopaminergic innervation of the mushroom bodies, a principle brain region associated with decision-making in insects. Our studies suggest that the homeostatic regulation of the intraneuronal levels of divalent cations plays an important role in the development and function of the dopaminergic system and associated behaviors. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd and International Behavioural and Neural Genetics Society.
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Impact of Perceived Healthiness of Food on Food Choices and Intake.
Provencher, Véronique; Jacob, Raphaëlle
2016-03-01
Healthy eating is an important determinant of health, but adherence to dietary guidelines remains a public health concern. Identifying factors that impact dietary habits is therefore important to facilitate healthy eating. One widely used strategy to help consumers make healthier food choices is nutrition information, such as labeling and claims. Despite the intention of these strategies to improve decision making, they can also be misunderstood or misinterpreted by consumers. The aim of this review is to explore food perceptions by examining how cognitive factors influence perceived healthiness of food, and the impact of perceived healthiness of food on food choices and intake. Overall findings of this review suggest that cognitive factors, such as type of food and branding, significantly contribute to judgmental bias and have an impact on perceived healthiness while not consistently or systematically influencing choice and intake.
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Perry, Christina M.; De Ayala, R. J.; Lebow, Ryan; Hayden, Emily
2008-01-01
The purpose of this study was to obtain validity evidence for the Physical Activity and Healthy Food Efficacy Scale for Children (PAHFE). Construct validity evidence identifies four subscales: Goal-Setting for Physical Activity, Goal-Setting for Healthy Food Choices, Decision-Making for Physical Activity, and Decision-Making for Healthy Food…
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It’s who I am and what we eat: Mothers’ food-related identities in family food choice
Johnson, Cassandra M.; Sharkey, Joseph R.; Dean, Wesley R.; McIntosh, W. Alex; Kubena, Karen S.
2011-01-01
This study aimed to understand mothers’ everyday food choices using one type of visual method-participant-driven photo-elicitation (PDPE). The sample consisted of 12 low/moderate income mothers (26–53 years) living in Bryan/College Station, Texas. Each mother completed a photography activity, where she created photographs of her food experience, and an in-depth interview using the mother’s photographs. Interview transcripts were analyzed using a grounded theory approach and coded using qualitative data analysis software ATLAS.ti. Mothers emphasized their identities related to food and eating as they described food-related decisions and activities. These identities influenced a mother’s food choices for herself and those she made for her children. Analysis revealed that mothers with a more defined health identity made healthier choices for themselves and similar food choices for their children. In addition, they exhibited behaviors that positively influenced their children’s food choices. Mothers who struggled to see themselves as healthy indulged with more junk food and indicated feelings of anxiety and guilt; these mothers’ food choices were more disconnected from their children’s. These findings underscore the importance of understanding how identities related to food and eating can influence food choices. Encouraging mothers to develop and maintain health identities may be one way to improve food and eating habits in families. PMID:21600253
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The application of defaults to optimize parents' health-based choices for children.
Loeb, Katharine L; Radnitz, Cynthia; Keller, Kathleen; Schwartz, Marlene B; Marcus, Sue; Pierson, Richard N; Shannon, Michael; DeLaurentis, Danielle
2017-06-01
Optimal defaults is a compelling model from behavioral economics and the psychology of human decision-making, designed to shape or "nudge" choices in a positive direction without fundamentally restricting options. The current study aimed to test the effectiveness of optimal (less obesogenic) defaults and parent empowerment priming on health-based decisions with parent-child (ages 3-8) dyads in a community-based setting. Two proof-of-concept experiments (one on breakfast food selections and one on activity choice) were conducted comparing the main and interactive effects of optimal versus suboptimal defaults, and parent empowerment priming versus neutral priming, on parents' health-related choices for their children. We hypothesized that in each experiment, making the default option more optimal will lead to more frequent health-oriented choices, and that priming parents to be the ultimate decision-makers on behalf of their child's health will potentiate this effect. Results show that in both studies, default condition, but not priming condition or the interaction between default and priming, significantly predicted choice (healthier vs. less healthy option). There was also a significant main effect for default condition (and no effect for priming condition or the interaction term) on the quantity of healthier food children consumed in the breakfast experiment. These pilot studies demonstrate that optimal defaults can be practicably implemented to improve parents' food and activity choices for young children. Results can inform policies and practices pertaining to obesogenic environmental factors in school, restaurant, and home environments. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Children's food choice process in the home environment. A qualitative descriptive study.
Holsten, Joanna E; Deatrick, Janet A; Kumanyika, Shiriki; Pinto-Martin, Jennifer; Compher, Charlene W
2012-02-01
This qualitative descriptive study explored children's food choices in the home with particular attention to environmental influences. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11- to 14-year-old children (n=47) from one middle school. A data-driven content analysis using selected principles of grounded theory was performed. Children's food choices in the home emerged as a process that involved three interacting components, the child, the parent, and the food, embedded within the context of time. Children's structured activities throughout the day, week, and year provided an overall context for food choices. Parents affected children's food choices through their presence in the home, time pressure and activity prioritization, incorporation of family members' preferences, food preparation effort and skills, and financial and health concerns. Parents created food options through food purchasing and preparation and indirectly affected children's food choices by setting rules, providing information, and modeling behaviors. Children affected parents' decisions by communicating food preferences. For children, important aspects of the food itself included its availability at home and attributes related to taste, preparation, and cost. Children evaluated potential food options based on their hunger level, food preferences, time pressure and activity prioritization, food preparation effort and skills, and expected physical consequences of food. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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The role of women in food provision and food choice decision-making in Singapore: a case study.
Wang, May C; Naidoo, Nasheen; Ferzacca, Steve; Reddy, Geetha; Van Dam, Rob M
2014-01-01
As countries develop economically and increasing numbers of women enter the workforce, children are partly being cared for by someone other than their mother. Little is known about the impact of this shift in child-care provider on children's nutrition. This study presents findings from a case study of Singapore, a small country that has experienced phenomenal economic growth. Focus groups were conducted with 130 women of varying educational levels and ethnicities to learn about food decisions in their families. The findings showed that Singaporean working women cook infrequently, families eat out frequently, and children exert considerable influence on food choices. Implications for work-family policies and child health are discussed.
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The Role of Women in Food Provision and Food Choice Decision-Making in Singapore: A Case Study
WANG, MAY C.; NAIDOO, NASHEEN; FERZACCA, STEVE; REDDY, GEETHA; VAN DAM, ROB M.
2015-01-01
As countries develop economically and increasing numbers of women enter the workforce, children are partly being cared for by someone other than their mother. Little is known about the impact of this shift in child-care provider on children’s nutrition. This study presents findings from a case study of Singapore, a small country that has experienced phenomenal economic growth. Focus groups were conducted with 130 women of varying educational levels and ethnicities to learn about food decisions in their families. The findings showed that Singaporean working women cook infrequently, families eat out frequently, and children exert considerable influence on food choices. Implications for work–family policies and child health are discussed. PMID:25357270
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Natural selection can favour 'irrational' behaviour.
McNamara, J M; Trimmer, P C; Houston, A I
2014-01-01
Understanding decisions is the fundamental aim of the behavioural sciences. The theory of rational choice is based on axiomatic principles such as transitivity and independence of irrelevant alternatives (IIA). Empirical studies have demonstrated that the behaviour of humans and other animals often seems irrational; there can be a lack of transitivity in choice and seemingly irrelevant alternatives can alter decisions. These violations of transitivity and IIA undermine rational choice theory. However, we show that an individual that is maximizing its rate of food gain can exhibit failure of transitivity and IIA. We show that such violations can be caused because a current option may disappear in the near future or a better option may reappear soon. Current food options can be indicative of food availability in the near future, and this key feature can result in apparently irrational behaviour.
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Decision making: the neuroethological turn
Pearson, John M.; Watson, Karli K.; Platt, Michael L.
2014-01-01
Neuroeconomics applies models from economics and psychology to inform neurobiological studies of choice. This approach has revealed neural signatures of concepts like value, risk, and ambiguity, which are known to influence decision-making. Such observations have led theorists to hypothesize a single, unified decision process that mediates choice behavior via a common neural currency for outcomes like food, money, or social praise. In parallel, recent neuroethological studies of decision-making have focused on natural behaviors like foraging, mate choice, and social interactions. These decisions strongly impact evolutionary fitness and thus are likely to have played a key role in shaping the neural circuits that mediate decision-making. This approach has revealed a suite of computational motifs that appear to be shared across a wide variety of organisms. We argue that the existence of deep homologies in the neural circuits mediating choice may have profound implications for understanding human decision-making in health and disease. PMID:24908481
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Subjective costs drive overly patient foraging strategies in rats on an intertemporal foraging task.
Wikenheiser, Andrew M; Stephens, David W; Redish, A David
2013-05-14
Laboratory studies of decision making often take the form of two-alternative, forced-choice paradigms. In natural settings, however, many decision problems arise as stay/go choices. We designed a foraging task to test intertemporal decision making in rats via stay/go decisions. Subjects did not follow the rate-maximizing strategy of choosing only food items associated with short delays. Instead, rats were often willing to wait for surprisingly long periods, and consequently earned a lower rate of food intake than they might have by ignoring long-delay options. We tested whether foraging theory or delay discounting models predicted the behavior we observed but found that these models could not account for the strategies subjects selected. Subjects' behavior was well accounted for by a model that incorporated a cost for rejecting potential food items. Interestingly, subjects' cost sensitivity was proportional to environmental richness. These findings are at odds with traditional normative accounts of decision making but are consistent with retrospective considerations having a deleterious influence on decisions (as in the "sunk-cost" effect). More broadly, these findings highlight the utility of complementing existing assays of decision making with tasks that mimic more natural decision topologies.
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Subjective costs drive overly patient foraging strategies in rats on an intertemporal foraging task
Wikenheiser, Andrew M.; Stephens, David W.; Redish, A. David
2013-01-01
Laboratory studies of decision making often take the form of two-alternative, forced-choice paradigms. In natural settings, however, many decision problems arise as stay/go choices. We designed a foraging task to test intertemporal decision making in rats via stay/go decisions. Subjects did not follow the rate-maximizing strategy of choosing only food items associated with short delays. Instead, rats were often willing to wait for surprisingly long periods, and consequently earned a lower rate of food intake than they might have by ignoring long-delay options. We tested whether foraging theory or delay discounting models predicted the behavior we observed but found that these models could not account for the strategies subjects selected. Subjects’ behavior was well accounted for by a model that incorporated a cost for rejecting potential food items. Interestingly, subjects’ cost sensitivity was proportional to environmental richness. These findings are at odds with traditional normative accounts of decision making but are consistent with retrospective considerations having a deleterious influence on decisions (as in the “sunk-cost” effect). More broadly, these findings highlight the utility of complementing existing assays of decision making with tasks that mimic more natural decision topologies. PMID:23630289
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Drewnowski, Adam; Kawachi, Ichiro
2015-09-01
Health is shaped by both personal choices and features of the food environment. Food-choice decisions depend on complex interactions between biology and behavior, and are further modulated by the built environment and community structure. That lower-income families have lower-quality diets is well established. Yet, diet quality also varies across small geographic neighborhoods and can be influenced by transportation, retail, and ease of access to healthy foods, as well as by attitudes, beliefs, and social interactions. The learnings from the Seattle Obesity Study (SOS II) can be usefully applied to the much larger, more complex, and far more socially and ethnically diverse urban environment of New York City. The Kavli HUMAN Project (KHP) is ideally positioned to advance the understanding of health disparities by exploring the multiple underpinnings of food decision making. By combining geo-localized food shopping and consumption data with health behaviors, diet quality measures, and biomarkers, also coded by geographic location, the KHP will create the first-of-its-kind bio-behavioral, economic, and cultural atlas of diet quality and health for New York City.
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Helfer, Peter; Shultz, Thomas R
2014-12-01
The widespread availability of calorie-dense food is believed to be a contributing cause of an epidemic of obesity and associated diseases throughout the world. One possible countermeasure is to empower consumers to make healthier food choices with useful nutrition labeling. An important part of this endeavor is to determine the usability of existing and proposed labeling schemes. Here, we report an experiment on how four different labeling schemes affect the speed and nutritional value of food choices. We then apply decision field theory, a leading computational model of human decision making, to simulate the experimental results. The psychology experiment shows that quantitative, single-attribute labeling schemes have greater usability than multiattribute and binary ones, and that they remain effective under moderate time pressure. The computational model simulates these psychological results and provides explanatory insights into them. This work shows how experimental psychology and computational modeling can contribute to the evaluation and improvement of nutrition-labeling schemes. © 2014 New York Academy of Sciences.
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Balancing Risk and Reward: A Rat Model of Risky Decision-Making
Simon, Nicholas W.; Gilbert, Ryan J.; Mayse, Jeffrey D.; Bizon, Jennifer L.; Setlow, Barry
2009-01-01
We developed a behavioral task in rats to assess the influence of risk of punishment on decision-making. Male Long-Evans rats were given choices between pressing a lever to obtain a small, “safe” food reward and a large food reward associated with risk of punishment (footshock). Each test session consisted of 5 blocks of 10 choice trials, with punishment risk increasing with each consecutive block (0, 25, 50, 75, 100%). Preference for the large, “risky” reward declined with both increased probability and increased magnitude of punishment, and reward choice was not affected by the level of satiation or the order of risk presentation. Performance in this risky decision-making task was correlated with the degree to which the rats discounted the value of probabilistic rewards, but not delayed rewards. Finally, the acute effects of different doses of amphetamine and cocaine on risky decision-making were assessed. Systemic amphetamine administration caused a dose-dependent decrease in choice of the large risky reward (i.e. – it made rats more risk-averse). Cocaine did not cause a shift in reward choice, but instead impaired rats’ sensitivity to changes in punishment risk. These results should prove useful for investigating neuropsychiatric disorders in which risk taking is a prominent feature, such as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and addiction. PMID:19440192
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Balancing risk and reward: a rat model of risky decision making.
Simon, Nicholas W; Gilbert, Ryan J; Mayse, Jeffrey D; Bizon, Jennifer L; Setlow, Barry
2009-09-01
We developed a behavioral task in rats to assess the influence of risk of punishment on decision making. Male Long-Evans rats were given choices between pressing a lever to obtain a small, 'safe' food reward and a large food reward associated with risk of punishment (footshock). Each test session consisted of 5 blocks of 10 choice trials, with punishment risk increasing with each consecutive block (0, 25, 50, 75, 100%). Preference for the large, 'risky' reward declined with both increased probability and increased magnitude of punishment, and reward choice was not affected by the level of satiation or the order of risk presentation. Performance in this risky decision-making task was correlated with the degree to which the rats discounted the value of probabilistic rewards, but not delayed rewards. Finally, the acute effects of different doses of amphetamine and cocaine on risky decision making were assessed. Systemic amphetamine administration caused a dose-dependent decrease in choice of the large risky reward (ie, it made rats more risk averse). Cocaine did not cause a shift in reward choice, but instead impaired the rats' sensitivity to changes in punishment risk. These results should prove useful for investigating neuropsychiatric disorders in which risk taking is a prominent feature, such as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and addiction.
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Mitchell, Marci R.; Vokes, Colin M.; Blankenship, Amy L.; Simon, Nicholas W.
2011-01-01
Rationale Most individuals can accurately assess the risks and rewards associated with choice alternatives and decide accordingly; however, drug users often display maladaptive decision-making, such that choices are biased toward excessively risky options. Objective The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a range of drugs of abuse on risky decision-making. Methods Male Long–Evans rats were trained in the Risky Decision-Making Task, in which they chose between two levers, one which produced a small, “safe” food reward and the other which produced a large, “risky” food reward. The large reward was accompanied by the risk of a mild footshock, the probability of which increased over the course of each test session (0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%). Results Nicotine (0.6 mg/kg) and amphetamine (1.5 mg/kg) caused a significant decrease in choice of the large risky reward (decreased risk taking). Diazepam (1.0 mg/kg) caused a significant increase in choice of the large risky reward (increased risk taking), whereas morphine (3.0 mg/kg) caused only a trend toward increased choice of the large risky reward. Ethanol had no effect on choice behavior. Conclusions These results show that acute administration of drugs of abuse can modulate risk taking in a drug-specific manner, either increasing or decreasing preference for highly rewarding, but risky, options. PMID:21638222
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When good pigeons make bad decisions: Choice with probabilistic delays and outcomes.
Pisklak, Jeffrey M; McDevitt, Margaret A; Dunn, Roger M; Spetch, Marcia L
2015-11-01
Pigeons chose between an (optimal) alternative that sometimes provided food after a 10-s delay and other times after a 40-s delay and another (suboptimal) alternative that sometimes provided food after 10 s but other times no food after 40 s. When outcomes were not signaled during the delays, pigeons strongly preferred the optimal alternative. When outcomes were signaled, choices of the suboptimal alternative increased and most pigeons preferred the alternative that provided no food after the long delay despite the cost in terms of obtained food. The pattern of results was similar whether the short delays occurred on 25% or 50% of the trials. Shortening the 40-s delay to food sharply reduced suboptimal choices, but shortening the delay to no food had little effect. The results suggest that a signaled delay to no food does not punish responding in probabilistic choice procedures. The findings are discussed in terms of conditioned reinforcement by signals for good news. © Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.
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Ozturk, Orgul D; McInnes, Melayne M; Blake, Christine E; Frongillo, Edward A; Jones, Sonya J
2016-01-01
The objective of this study is to develop a structured observational method for the systematic assessment of the food-choice architecture that can be used to identify key points for behavioral economic intervention intended to improve the health quality of children's diets. We use an ethnographic approach with observations at twelve elementary schools to construct our survey instrument. Elements of the structured observational method include decision environment, salience, accessibility/convenience, defaults/verbal prompts, number of choices, serving ware/method/packaging, and social/physical eating environment. Our survey reveals important "nudgeable" components of the elementary school food-choice architecture, including precommitment and default options on the lunch line.
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Davis, Rachel E; Cole, Suzanne M; Blake, Christine E; McKenney-Shubert, Shannon J; Peterson, Karen E
2016-06-01
This mixed methods study sought to understand who makes decisions about whether preschool-aged Mexican American children engage in eating, outdoor play, sleep, and screen time behaviors. Forty Mexican American mothers of children ages 3-4 participated in two interviews, during which both closed- and open-ended questions elicited perceptions of who made decisions for the four behaviors, as well as who was present, mealtime rules, and food choice values. Interviews were transcribed, coded for emergent themes, and compared across participants. Participants generally perceived themselves to be primary decision makers for all four behaviors; however, food decisions often seemed to be made collaboratively with the child. Fathers were most likely to participate in evening television decisions. Other family members were rarely mentioned. Selecting foods that children liked was a strong food choice value, while cost was rarely mentioned. Participants appeared to have low perceived control over their child's behaviors relative to their perceived roles in decision making. Mothers may be the primary audience for obesity prevention messages for preschool-aged, Mexican American children; however, health promotion programs may need to increase mothers' awareness of their control over children's behaviors. Understanding how children's behaviors are regulated is an important aspect of obesity prevention for low-income, Mexican American children. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Apples or candy? Internal and external influences on children's food choices.
Bruce, Amanda S; Lim, Seung-Lark; Smith, Timothy Ryan; Cherry, J Bradley C; Black, William R; Davis, Ann M; Bruce, Jared M
2015-10-01
The goal of this concise narrative review is to examine the current literature regarding endogenous and exogenous influences on youth food choices. Specifically, we discuss internal factors such as interoception (self-awareness) of pain and hunger, and neural mechanisms (neurofunctional aspects) of food motivation. We also explore external factors such as early life feeding experiences (including parenting), social influences (peers), and food marketing (advertising). We conclude with a discussion of the overlap of these realms and future directions for the field of pediatric food decision science. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Pitt, Erin; Gallegos, Danielle; Comans, Tracy; Cameron, Cate; Thornton, Lukar
2017-09-01
Systematic reviews investigating associations between objective measures of the food environment and dietary behaviours or health outcomes have not established a consistent evidence base. The present paper aims to synthesise qualitative evidence regarding the influence of local food environments on food and purchasing behaviours. A systematic review in the form of a qualitative thematic synthesis. Urban localities. Adults. Four analytic themes were identified from the review including community and consumer nutrition environments, other environmental factors and individual coping strategies for shopping and purchasing decisions. Availability, accessibility and affordability were consistently identified as key determinants of store choice and purchasing behaviours that often result in less healthy food choices within community nutrition environments. Food availability, quality and food store characteristics within consumer nutrition environments also greatly influenced in-store purchases. Individuals used a range of coping strategies in both the community and consumer nutrition environments to make optimal purchasing decisions, often within the context of financial constraints. Findings from the current review add depth and scope to quantitative literature and can guide ongoing theory, interventions and policy development in food environment research. There is a need to investigate contextual influences within food environments as well as individual and household socio-economic characteristics that contribute to the differing use of and views towards local food environments. Greater emphasis on how individual and environmental factors interact in the food environment field will be key to developing stronger understanding of how environments can support and promote healthier food choices.
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Kim, Chang-O
2016-01-01
Social network type might affect an individual's food choice because these decisions are often made as a group rather than individually. In this study, the associations between social network type, food choice value, and diet quality in frail older adults with low socioeconomic status were investigated. For this cross-sectional study, 87 frail older adults were recruited from the National Home Healthcare Services in Seoul, South Korea. Social network types, food choice values, and diet quality were assessed using The Practitioner Assessment of Network Type Instrument, The Food Choice Questionnaire, and mean adequacy ratio, respectively. Results showed that frail older adults with close relationships with local family and/or friends and neighbors were less likely to follow their own preferences, such as taste, price, and beliefs regarding food health values. In contrast, frail older adults with a small social network and few community contacts were more likely to be influenced by their food choice values, such as price or healthiness of food. Frail older adults who tend to choose familiar foods were associated with low-quality dietary intake, while older adults who valued healthiness or use of natural ingredients were associated with a high-quality diet. The strength and direction of these associations were dependent on social network type of frail older adults. This study explored the hypothesis that food choice values are associated with a certain type of social network and consequently affect diet quality. While additional research needs to be conducted, community-based intervention intended to improve diet quality of frail older adults must carefully consider individual food choice values as well as social network types. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Paradoxical choice in rats: Subjective valuation and mechanism of choice.
Ojeda, Andrés; Murphy, Robin A; Kacelnik, Alex
2018-07-01
Decision-makers benefit from information only when they can use it to guide behavior. However, recent experiments found that pigeons and starlings value information that they cannot use. Here we show that this paradox is also present in rats, and explore the underlying decision process. Subjects chose between two options that delivered food probabilistically after a fixed delay. In one option ("info"), outcomes (food/no-food) were signaled immediately after choice, whereas in the alternative ("non-info") the outcome was uncertain until the delay lapsed. Rats sacrificed up to 20% potential rewards by preferring the info option, but reversed preference when the cost was 60%. This reversal contrasts with the results found with pigeons and starlings and may reflect species' differences worth of further investigation. Results are consistent with predictions of the Sequential Choice Model (SCM), that proposes that choices are driven by the mechanisms that control action in sequential encounters. As expected from the SCM, latencies to respond in single-option trials predicted preferences in choice trials, and latencies in choice trials were the same or shorter than in single-option trials. We argue that the congruence of results in distant vertebrates probably reflects evolved adaptations to shared fundamental challenges in nature, and that the apparently paradoxical overvaluing of information is not sub-optimal as has been claimed, even though its functional significance is not yet understood. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Kamphuis, Carlijn B M; de Bekker-Grob, Esther W; van Lenthe, Frank J
2015-04-01
Healthiness, price, and convenience are typically indicated as important motives for food choices; however, it is largely unknown to what extent older adults from high and low socioeconomic groups differ in these underlying motives. A discrete choice experiment (DCE) is an innovative way to elicit implicit motives for food choices. The aim was to investigate differences in food motives between socioeconomic groups by means of a DCE. A DCE was carried out during a face-to-face interview among older adults as part of the Health and Living Conditions in Eindhoven and surrounding cities (GLOBE) cohort study, The Netherlands. Participants (n = 399; mean age: 63.3 y) were offered a series of choice sets about a usual dinner at home and were asked to choose in each choice set between 2 meals and an opt-out choice, with different combinations of attribute levels. We included 5 meal attributes (taste, healthiness, preparation time, travel time to shops, and price) and 3 or 4 levels for each attribute. Data were analyzed by multinomial logit models. Healthiness, taste, price, and travel time to the grocery store proved to significantly influence older adults' meal decisions; preparation time was not significant. Healthiness was the most important attribute for all of the participants. More highly educated participants rated a healthy and less expensive meal to be more important than did less educated participants. Those with a high income rated a meal that was healthy and very tasteful to be more important than did those with a lower income. Healthiness, taste, price, and travel time to grocery shops influenced older adults' meal decisions. Higher socioeconomic groups valued health more than did lower socioeconomic groups. DCEs represent a promising method to gain insight into the relative importance of motives for food choices. This trial was registered at www.isrctn.com as ISRCTN60293770. © 2015 American Society for Nutrition.
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Escaron, Anne L; Meinen, Amy M; Nitzke, Susan A; Martinez-Donate, Ana P
2013-04-11
Increasingly high rates of obesity have heightened interest among researchers and practitioners in identifying evidence-based interventions to increase access to healthful foods and beverages. Because most food purchasing decisions are made in food stores, such settings are optimal for interventions aimed at influencing these decisions. The objective of this review was to synthesize the evidence on supermarket and grocery store interventions to promote healthful food choices. We searched PubMed through July 2012 to identify original research articles evaluating supermarket and grocery store interventions that promoted healthful food choices. We categorized each intervention by type of intervention strategy and extracted and summarized data on each intervention. We developed a scoring system for evaluating each intervention and assigned points for study design, effectiveness, reach, and availability of evidence. We averaged points for each intervention category and compared the strength of the evidence for each category. We identified 58 articles and characterized 33 interventions. We found 7 strategies used alone or in combination. The most frequently used strategy was the combination of point-of-purchase and promotion and advertising (15 interventions); evidence for this category was scored as sufficient. On average, of 3 points possible, the intervention categories scored 2.6 for study design, 1.1 for effectiveness, 0.3 for reach, and 2 for availability of evidence. Three categories showed sufficient evidence; 4 showed insufficient evidence; none showed strong evidence. More rigorous testing of interventions aimed at improving food and beverage choices in food stores, including their effect on diet and health outcomes, is needed.
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Meinen, Amy M.; Nitzke, Susan A.; Martinez-Donate, Ana P.
2013-01-01
Introduction Increasingly high rates of obesity have heightened interest among researchers and practitioners in identifying evidence-based interventions to increase access to healthful foods and beverages. Because most food purchasing decisions are made in food stores, such settings are optimal for interventions aimed at influencing these decisions. The objective of this review was to synthesize the evidence on supermarket and grocery store interventions to promote healthful food choices. Methods We searched PubMed through July 2012 to identify original research articles evaluating supermarket and grocery store interventions that promoted healthful food choices. We categorized each intervention by type of intervention strategy and extracted and summarized data on each intervention. We developed a scoring system for evaluating each intervention and assigned points for study design, effectiveness, reach, and availability of evidence. We averaged points for each intervention category and compared the strength of the evidence for each category. Results We identified 58 articles and characterized 33 interventions. We found 7 strategies used alone or in combination. The most frequently used strategy was the combination of point-of-purchase and promotion and advertising (15 interventions); evidence for this category was scored as sufficient. On average, of 3 points possible, the intervention categories scored 2.6 for study design, 1.1 for effectiveness, 0.3 for reach, and 2 for availability of evidence. Three categories showed sufficient evidence; 4 showed insufficient evidence; none showed strong evidence. Conclusion More rigorous testing of interventions aimed at improving food and beverage choices in food stores, including their effect on diet and health outcomes, is needed. PMID:23578398
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Endogenous Formation of Preferences: Choices Systematically Change Willingness-to-Pay for Goods
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Voigt, Katharina; Murawski, Carsten; Bode, Stefan
2017-01-01
Standard decision theory assumes that choices result from stable preferences. This position has been challenged by claims that the act of choosing between goods may alter preferences. To test this claim, we investigated in three experiments whether choices between equally valued snack food items can systematically shape preferences. We directly…
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Russian consumers' motives for food choice.
Honkanen, Pirjo; Frewer, Lynn
2009-04-01
Knowledge about food choice motives which have potential to influence consumer consumption decisions is important when designing food and health policies, as well as marketing strategies. Russian consumers' food choice motives were studied in a survey (1081 respondents across four cities), with the purpose of identifying consumer segments based on these motives. These segments were then profiled using consumption, attitudinal and demographic variables. Face-to-face interviews were used to sample the data, which were analysed with two-step cluster analysis (SPSS). Three clusters emerged, representing 21.5%, 45.8% and 32.7% of the sample. The clusters were similar in terms of the order of motivations, but differed in motivational level. Sensory factors and availability were the most important motives for food choice in all three clusters, followed by price. This may reflect the turbulence which Russia has recently experienced politically and economically. Cluster profiles differed in relation to socio-demographic factors, consumption patterns and attitudes towards health and healthy food.
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Affective and cognitive mechanisms of risky decision making.
Shimp, Kristy G; Mitchell, Marci R; Beas, B Sofia; Bizon, Jennifer L; Setlow, Barry
2015-01-01
The ability to make advantageous decisions under circumstances in which there is a risk of adverse consequences is an important component of adaptive behavior; however, extremes in risk taking (either high or low) can be maladaptive and are characteristic of a number of neuropsychiatric disorders. To better understand the contributions of various affective and cognitive factors to risky decision making, cohorts of male Long-Evans rats were trained in a "Risky Decision making Task" (RDT), in which they made discrete trial choices between a small, "safe" food reward and a large, "risky" food reward accompanied by varying probabilities of footshock. Experiment 1 evaluated the relative contributions of the affective stimuli (i.e., punishment vs. reward) to RDT performance by parametrically varying the magnitudes of the footshock and large reward. Varying the shock magnitude had a significant impact on choice of the large, "risky" reward, such that greater magnitudes were associated with reduced choice of the large reward. In contrast, varying the large, "risky" reward magnitude had minimal influence on reward choice. Experiment 2 compared individual variability in RDT performance with performance in an attentional set shifting task (assessing cognitive flexibility), a delayed response task (assessing working memory), and a delay discounting task (assessing impulsive choice). Rats characterized as risk averse in the RDT made more perseverative errors on the set shifting task than did their risk taking counterparts, whereas RDT performance was not related to working memory abilities or impulsive choice. In addition, rats that showed greater delay discounting (greater impulsive choice) showed corresponding poorer performance in the working memory task. Together, these results suggest that reward-related decision making under risk of punishment is more strongly influenced by the punishment than by the reward, and that risky and impulsive decision making are associated with distinct components of executive function. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Affective and cognitive mechanisms of risky decision making
Shimp, Kristy G.; Mitchell, Marci R.; Beas, B. Sofia; Bizon, Jennifer L.; Setlow, Barry
2014-01-01
The ability to make advantageous decisions under circumstances in which there is a risk of adverse consequences is an important component of adaptive behavior; however, extremes in risk taking (either high or low) can be maladaptive and are characteristic of a number of neuropsychiatric disorders. To better understand the contributions of various affective and cognitive factors to risky decision making, cohorts of male Long-Evans rats were trained in a “Risky Decision making Task” (RDT), in which they made discrete trial choices between a small, “safe” food reward and a large, “risky” food reward accompanied by varying probabilities of footshock. Experiment 1 evaluated the relative contributions of the affective stimuli (i.e., punishment vs. reward) to RDT performance by parametrically varying the magnitudes of the footshock and large reward. Varying the shock magnitude had a significant impact on choice of the large, “risky” reward, such that greater magnitudes were associated with reduced choice of the large reward. In contrast, varying the large, “risky” reward magnitude had minimal influence on reward choice. Experiment 2 compared individual variability in RDT performance with performance in an attentional set shifting task (assessing cognitive flexibility), a delayed response task (assessing working memory), and a delay discounting task (assessing impulsive choice). Rats characterized as risk averse in the RDT made more perseverative errors on the set shifting task than did their risk taking counterparts, whereas RDT performance was not related to working memory abilities or impulsive choice. In addition, rats that showed greater delay discounting (greater impulsive choice) showed corresponding poorer performance in the working memory task. Together, these results suggest that reward-related decision making under risk of punishment is more strongly influenced by the punishment than by the reward, and that risky and impulsive decision making are associated with distinct components of executive function. PMID:24642448
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Kennedy, Mike
2002-01-01
Explores the decision by colleges and universities to outsource or self-operate school services such as food, bookstores, and maintenance. Discusses factors influencing the decision, the pros and cons of outsourcing, and the importance of maintaining the goal of improving operations. (EV)
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An exploratory investigation of food choice behavior of teenagers with and without food allergies.
Sommer, Isolde; Mackenzie, Heather; Venter, Carina; Dean, Taraneh
2014-05-01
Understanding food choice behavior in adolescence is important because many core eating habits may be tracked into adulthood. The food choices of at least 2.3% of teenagers living in the United Kingdom are determined by food allergies. However, the effect of food allergies on eating habits in teenagers has not yet been studied. To provide an understanding of how teenagers with food allergies make food choice decisions and how these differ from those of non-food-allergic teenagers. One focus group discussion with non-food-allergic teenagers (n = 11) and 14 semistructured interviewers (7 with food-allergic and 7 with non-food-allergic teenagers) were performed (age range, 12-18 years). The focus group discussion and interviews were audiorecorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using thematic content analysis. Teenagers from both groups (food-allergic and non-food-allergic) named sensory characteristics of foods as the main reason for choosing them. Some food-allergic teenagers downplayed their allergy and frequently engaged in risk-taking behavior in terms of their food choices. However, they reported difficulties in trying new foods, especially when away from home. Parental control was experienced as protective by those with food allergies, whereas non-food-allergic teenagers felt the opposite. Most teenagers, including food-allergic ones, expressed the wish to eat similar foods to their friends. Other themes did not vary between the 2 groups. Food-allergic teenagers strive to be able to make similar food choices to their friends, although differences to non-food-allergic teenagers exist. It is important to address these differences to improve their dietary management. Copyright © 2014 American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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[Food behaviour and obesity: insights from decision neuroscience].
Petit, Olivia; Basso, Frédéric; Huguet, Pascal; Plassmann, Hilke; Oullier, Olivier
2011-11-01
Neuroimaging allows to estimate brain activity when individuals are doing something. The location and intensity of this estimated activity provides information on the dynamics and processes that guide choice behaviour and associated actions that should be considered a complement to behavioural studies. Decision neuroscience therefore sheds new light on whether the brain evaluates and compares alternatives when decisions are made, or if other processes are at stake. This work helped to demonstrate that the situations faced by individuals (risky, uncertain, delayed in time) do not all have the same (behavioural) complexity, and are not underlined by activity in the cerebral networks. Taking into account brain dynamics of people (suffering from obesity or not) when making food consumption decisions might allow for improved strategies in public health prevention, far from the rational choice theory promoted by neoclassical economics. © 2011 médecine/sciences – Inserm / SRMS.
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McMurray, Matthew S; Conway, Sineadh M; Roitman, Jamie D
2017-01-01
Animal models of decision-making rely on an animal's motivation to decide and its ability to detect differences among various alternatives. Food reinforcement, although commonly used, is associated with problematic confounds, especially satiety. Here, we examined the use of brain stimulation reward (BSR) as an alternative reinforcer in rodent models of decision-making and compared it with the effectiveness of sugar pellets. The discriminability of various BSR frequencies was compared to differing numbers of sugar pellets in separate free-choice tasks. We found that BSR was more discriminable and motivated greater task engagement and more consistent preference for the larger reward. We then investigated whether rats prefer BSR of varying frequencies over sugar pellets. We found that animals showed either a clear preference for sugar reward or no preference between reward modalities, depending on the frequency of the BSR alternative and the size of the sugar reward. Overall, these results suggest that BSR is an effective reinforcer in rodent decision-making tasks, removing food-related confounds and resulting in more accurate, consistent, and reliable metrics of choice.
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Health on impulse: when low self-control promotes healthy food choices.
Salmon, Stefanie J; Fennis, Bob M; de Ridder, Denise T D; Adriaanse, Marieke A; de Vet, Emely
2014-02-01
Food choices are often made mindlessly, when individuals are not able or willing to exert self-control. Under low self-control, individuals have difficulties to resist palatable but unhealthy food products. In contrast to previous research aiming to foster healthy choices by promoting high self-control, this study exploits situations of low self-control, by strategically using the tendency under these conditions to rely on heuristics (simple decision rules) as quick guides to action. More specifically, the authors associated healthy food products with the social proof heuristic (i.e., normative cues that convey majority endorsement for those products). One hundred seventy-seven students (119 men), with an average age of 20.47 years (SD = 2.25) participated in the experiment. This study used a 2 (low vs. high self-control) × 2 (social proof vs. no heuristic) × 2 (trade-off vs. control choice) design, with the latter as within-subjects factor. The dependent variable was the number of healthy food choices in a food-choice task. In line with previous studies, people made fewer healthy food choices under low self-control. However, this negative effect of low self-control on food choice was reversed when the healthy option was associated with the social proof heuristic. In that case, people made more healthy choices under conditions of low self-control. Low self-control may be even more beneficial for healthy food choices than high self-control in the presence of a heuristic. Exploiting situations of low self-control is a new and promising method to promote health on impulse. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.
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Gao, Xiao; Liang, Qianlin; Wu, Guorong; She, Ying; Sui, Nan; Chen, Hong
2018-08-01
Increasing animal models as well as brain imaging studies among human suggest an association between substance-related impulsivity in decision-making and decreased function of dorsal striatum. However, the resting-state intrinsic functional organization of dorsal striatum underlying food-choice impulsivity remains unknown. To address this issue, we used resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) to measure brain activity among adult females. Subjects underwent the food rating task, during which they rated each food item according to their subjective perception of its taste (from Dislike it very much to Like it very much), its long term effect on health (from very unhealthy to very healthy) and decision strength to eat it (from Strong no to Strong yes). Behaviorally, impulsivity in food-choice was indexed by the decision strength of the palatable high-calorie food rather than of the low-caloric food. Results on rs-fMRI showed that greater impulsivity in food-related decision-making was inversely correlated with spontaneous regional homogeneity in the dorsal striatum (dorsal caudate), as well as the resting-state functional connectivity (rs-FC) between the dorsal caudate seed and the rostral putamen. Furthermore, the caudate-putamen rs-FC inversely predicted BMI change at six-month follow-up. These findings may suggest the insensitivity to reward signals in dorsal caudate in decision-making coupled with an imbalance between goal-directed behaviors (modulated by dorsal caudate) and habitual actions (modulated by putamen) underlying impulsivity and future weight gain. In sum, these findings extend our understanding on the neural basis of food-related impulsivity, and provide evidence for the dorsal striatum as one of the landmarks in over eating and weight change. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Yehle, Karen S.; Chen, Aleda M. H.; Plake, Kimberly S.; Yi, Ji Soo; Mobley, Amy R.
2012-01-01
PURPOSE Dietary adherence can be challenging for patients with coronary heart disease (CHD), as they may require multiple dietary changes. Choosing appropriate food items may be difficult or take extensive amounts of time without the aid of technology. The objective of this project was to (1) examine the dietary challenges faced by patients with CHD, (2) examine methods of coping with dietary challenges, (3) explore the feasibility of a web-based food decision support system, and (4) explore the feasibility of a mobile-based food decision support system. METHODS Food for the Heart (FFH), a website-based food decision support system, and Mobile Magic Lens (MML), a mobile-based system, were developed to aid in daily dietary choices. Three CHD patient focus groups were conducted and focused on CHD-associated dietary changes as well as the FFH and MML prototypes. A total of 20 CHD patients and 7 informal caregivers participated. Qualitative, content analysis was performed to find themes grounded in the responses. RESULTS Five predominant themes emerged: 1) decreasing carbohydrate intake and portion control are common dietary challenges, 2) clinician and social support makes dietary adherence easier, 3) FFH could make meal-planning and dietary adherence less complicated, 4) MML could save time and assist with healthy choices, and 5) additional features need to be added to make both tools more comprehensive. CONCLUSIONS FFH and MML may be tools that CHD patients would value in making food choices and adhering to dietary recommendations, especially if additional features are added to assist patients with changes. PMID:22760245
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Investigating key beliefs guiding mothers' dietary decisions for their 2-3 year old.
Spinks, Teagan; Hamilton, Kyra
2015-06-01
Currently, there is no research in Australia that systematically investigates the underlying beliefs for mothers' decisions regarding their young child's nutritional needs based on current guidelines. We aimed to determine, using a Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) belief-based approach, key beliefs that guide mothers' decisions with regards to: (a) providing their child with a wide range of foods from the five food groups ('healthy eating'); and (b) limiting their child's intake of 'discretionary choices' (e.g. lollies). Mothers (N = 197, M age = 34.39, SD = 5.65) completed a main questionnaire either online or on hard copy (paper-based), with a 1-week phone follow-up of the target behaviours (N = 161). Correlations and multiple regression analyses were conducted, and a number of key behavioural, normative, and control beliefs emerged for both healthy eating and discretionary choice behaviours. For healthy eating, mothers identified behavioural beliefs 'improving my child's health' and 'resistance from my child'; normative beliefs 'other family members' and 'spouse/partner'; and control beliefs 'child's food preferences'. For discretionary choices, behavioural beliefs 'maintain consistent energy levels in my child' for intentions, and 'give my child their required nutritional intake'; normative beliefs 'spouse/partner', 'healthcare professionals' and 'friends'; and control beliefs 'child's food preferences' were identified. These findings can inform the development of future intervention programmes aimed at modifying mothers' child feeding practices to encourage healthy eating and limit discretionary choice intake and, ultimately, increase the life expectancy of the current generation of children. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Costly learning: preference for familiar food persists despite negative impact on survival.
Costa, Thaiany M; Hebets, Eileen A; Melo, Diogo; Willemart, Rodrigo H
2016-07-01
Animals often rely on events in their environment that provide information (i.e. experience) to alter their future decision-making in ways that are presumed to be beneficial. Such experience-based learning, however, does not always lead to adaptive decision-making. In this study, we use the omnivorous harvestman Heteromitobates discolor to explore the role of past diet on subsequent food choice and survival. We first tested whether a short-term homogeneous diet (rotten crickets, fresh crickets or dog food) influenced subsequent food choice (rotten cricket versus fresh cricket). We next examine the impact of diet on survival. We found that following experience with a homogeneous cricket diet, adult harvestmen displayed a learned preference for familiar food, regardless of whether it was rotten or fresh crickets; individuals experiencing dog food were equally likely to choose rotten versus fresh crickets. We additionally found that individuals that ate rotten crickets suffered shorter survival than those that ate fresh crickets. Together, our results suggest that the diet an individual experiences can lead to maladaptive food preferences-preferences that ultimately result in reduced longevity. © 2016 The Author(s).
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Irrational decision-making in an amoeboid organism: transitivity and context-dependent preferences.
Latty, Tanya; Beekman, Madeleine
2011-01-22
Most models of animal foraging and consumer choice assume that individuals make choices based on the absolute value of items and are therefore 'economically rational'. However, frequent violations of rationality by animals, including humans, suggest that animals use comparative valuation rules. Are comparative valuation strategies a consequence of the way brains process information, or are they an intrinsic feature of biological decision-making? Here, we examine the principles of rationality in an organism with radically different information-processing mechanisms: the brainless, unicellular, slime mould Physarum polycephalum. We offered P. polycephalum amoebas a choice between food options that varied in food quality and light exposure (P. polycephalum is photophobic). The use of an absolute valuation rule will lead to two properties: transitivity and independence of irrelevant alternatives (IIA). Transitivity is satisfied if preferences have a consistent, linear ordering, while IIA states that a decision maker's preference for an item should not change if the choice set is expanded. A violation of either of these principles suggests the use of comparative rather than absolute valuation rules. Physarum polycephalum satisfied transitivity by having linear preference rankings. However, P. polycephalum's preference for a focal alternative increased when a third, inferior quality option was added to the choice set, thus violating IIA and suggesting the use of a comparative valuation process. The discovery of comparative valuation rules in a unicellular organism suggests that comparative valuation rules are ubiquitous, if not universal, among biological decision makers.
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How Choice Ecology Influences Search in Decisions from Experience
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Lejarraga, Tomas; Hertwig, Ralph; Gonzalez, Cleotilde
2012-01-01
Research into human decision-making has often sidestepped the question of search despite its importance across a wide range of domains such as search for food, mates, allies, visual targets or information. Recently, research on decisions from experience has made progress in finding out how individual characteristics shape search for information.…
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USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database
Background: Faced with tens of thousands of food choices, consumers frequently turn to promotional advertising, such as Sunday sales circulars, to make purchasing decisions. To date, little research has examined the content of sales circulars over multiple seasons. Methods: Food items from 12 months...
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van Buul, Vincent J; Bolman, Catherine A W; Brouns, Fred J P H; Lechner, Lilian
2017-09-01
People are increasingly aware of the positive effects of a healthy diet. Concurrently, daily food consumption decisions - choices about both the quality and quantity of food that is ingested - are steered more by what consumers consider healthy. Despite the increased aim to eat healthier, however, consumers often do not read or incorrectly interpret on-pack nutrition information, resulting in suboptimal food choices in terms of health. This study aims to unravel the determinants of such inadvertent food choices from these consumers. In an online process-tracking study, we measured the actual usage of available back-of-pack nutrition information during substitutive food choices made by 240 participants who had the intention to eat healthy. Using mouse-tracking software in a computerized task in which participants had to make dichotomous food choices (e.g., coconut oil or olive oil for baking), we measured the frequency and time of nutritional information considered. Combined with demographic and psychosocial data, including information on the level of intention, action planning, self-efficacy, and nutrition literacy, we were able to model the determinants of inadvertent unhealthy substitutive food choices in a sequential multiple regression (R 2 = 0.40). In these consumers who intended to eat healthy, the quantity of obtained nutrition information significantly contributed as an associative factor of the percentage of healthy food choices made. Moreover, the level of correct answers in a nutrition literacy test, as well as taste preferences, significantly predicted the percentage of healthier choices. We discuss that common psychosocial determinants of healthy behavior, such as intention, action planning, and self-efficacy, need to be augmented with a person's actual reading and understanding of nutrition information to better explain the variance in healthy food choice behavior. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Scarborough, Peter; Matthews, Anne; Eyles, Helen; Kaur, Asha; Hodgkins, Charo; Raats, Monique M; Rayner, Mike
2015-12-12
Colour coded front-of-pack nutrition labelling ('traffic light labelling') has been recommended for use in the UK since 2006. The voluntary scheme is used by all the major retailers and some manufacturers. It is not clear how consumers use these labels to make a single decision about the relative healthiness of foods. Our research questions were: Which of the four nutrients on UK traffic light labels (total fat, saturated fat, sugar and salt) has the most influence on decisions? Do green lights or red lights have a greater influence? Are there age and gender differences in how people use the colour and nutrient information? We recruited participants from a UK supermarket chain membership list to conduct an online choice experiment in May 2014. We analysed data using multilevel logisitic models with food choices (n = 3321) nested in individuals (n = 187) as the unit of analysis. A food with more reds was 11.4 (95% confidence intervals: 10.3, 12.5) times less likely to be chosen as healthy, whereas a food with more greens was 6.1 (5.6, 6.6) times more likely to be chosen as healthy. Foods with better colours on saturated fat and salt were 7.3 (6.7, 8.0) and 7.1 (6.5, 7.8) times more likely to be chosen as healthy - significantly greater than for total fat (odds ratio 4.8 (4.4, 5.3)) and sugar (5.2 (4.7, 5.6)). Results were broadly similar for different genders and age groups. We found that participants were more concerned with avoiding reds than choosing greens, and that saturated fat and salt had a greater influence on decisions regarding healthiness than total fat and sugar. This could influence decisions about food reformulation and guidance on using nutrition labelling.
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Velazquez, Cayley E; Pasch, Keryn E
2014-04-01
The purpose of this study was to examine how objective measures of attention to food/beverage advertising were associated with the unhealthy food/beverage preferences and choices of children and adolescents. A self-report survey and eye-tracking session were completed by 102 youth (mean age=11.6 years; 56.4% were white; 43.1% were female) between April and November 2010. Participants viewed 40 food/beverage advertisements on a computer and their eye movements were recorded. Objective attention measures included total viewing time, fixation length (time spent viewing characters/logos, unhealthy food/beverage items), and fixation count (number of times an individual stops to examine characters/logos, unhealthy food/beverage items). Food/beverage preferences and choices were measured by self-report. The preferences index summed responses to 12 questions measuring snack food and sugar-sweetened beverage preferences and the choices index summed responses to eight questions measuring consumption of snack foods and sugar-sweetened beverages. Regression models examined whether attention to food/beverage advertising was associated with food preferences and choices, controlling for sex, age, and body mass index z score. The length of time and number of times participants looked at unhealthy food and beverage items within advertisements were each significantly associated with unhealthy food/beverage preferences of youth (P<0.05). Associations were no longer significant after controlling for demographic characteristics. Attention to advertising was not significantly associated with food/beverage choices. Research with larger samples is needed to more fully understand the role of attention. Future research should also examine the association between attention to advertising and purchase requests, given the important role of parents in the decision-making process surrounding food choice. Copyright © 2014 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Levi, Annette; Chan, Kenny K.; Pence, Dan
2006-01-01
Consumer literature shows that a decision's degree of personal importance and relevance--one's level of involvement in the decision--indicates which type of intervention strategy will be effective in influencing consumers' choices. The authors surveyed 358 college students at a state university in the western United States to test the…
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Is decision-making ability related to food choice and facets of eating behaviour in adolescents?
Macchi, Rosemarie; MacKew, Laura; Davis, Caroline
2017-09-01
To test the prediction that poor decision-making would predict poor eating-related behaviours, which in turn would relate to elevated body mass index (BMI) percentile. Associations among decision-making ability, eating behaviours, and BMI percentile were examined in a sample of 311 healthy male and female adolescents, aged 14-18 years. Structural equation modelling was used to test the proposed relationships. The predicted model was a good fit to the data and all paths between latent and indicator variables were significant. Impulsive responding significantly predicted poor food choice and overeating. No significant relationships emerged between eating-related variables and BMI percentile. Findings from this study extend the existing research in adults and offer a more comprehensive understanding of factors that may contribute to eating behaviours and weight status in teenagers. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Jensen, Melissa L; Frongillo, Edward A; Leroy, Jef L; Blake, Christine E
2016-08-01
Food assistance programs may alter food choices, but factors determining households' decisions regarding food acquisition, preparation, and consumption in the context of food aid are not well understood. This study aimed to understand how the Programa Comunitario Materno Infantil de Diversificación Alimentaria (Mother-Child Community Food Diversification Program; PROCOMIDA), a food-assisted maternal and child health and nutrition program in rural Alta Verapaz, Guatemala, altered household food choices. We conducted semistructured interviews and focus groups with 63 households in 3 participating (n = 32 households) and 3 control (n = 31) villages. A last-day food recall (without estimating quantities) and food-frequency questionnaire that used food cards assessed dietary choices. Qualitative analysis used thematic a priori and emergent coding; food group consumption frequencies were analyzed by using 2-level, logistic, mixed modeling, and chi-square testing while accounting for community clustering. Compared with control households, PROCOMIDA changed household food choices through a combination of providing food resources (with monthly food rations) and new knowledge and skills related to health and food (in the program's behavior change communication component) while reinforcing existing knowledge and beliefs. PROCOMIDA families consumed rice, red beans, and oil more frequently than did control families (differences of 2.20 (P < 0.001), 2.68 (P < 0.001), and 1.64 (P = 0.038) times/wk, respectively); these foods were in the rations. PROCOMIDA families also ate chicken, local plants, and some vegetables more frequently. The importance of these foods was emphasized in the behavioral change communication component; these foods may have been more accessible because provision of food rations freed resources. Our findings suggest that if a program provides food free of cost to rural indigenous families in the context of a maternal and child nutrition and health program, it may be important to include a well-designed behavioral change communication component to improve household food choices. © 2016 American Society for Nutrition.
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Narratives of mothers of children with autism spectrum disorders: focus on eating behavior.
Lázaro, Cristiane P; Pondé, Milena P
2017-01-01
To investigate the eating behavior of individuals with autism through their mothers' narratives. The study of narratives was used to report on the narrators' experiences. Data on the eating habits of individuals with autism were collected using semi-structured interviews held individually with the mothers. The interviews were recorded, transcribed and codified using the NVivo software program. Eighteen mothers of boys/young men with autism participated in the study. Analysis yielded three major categories: eating patterns, the family's attitudes to the child's eating habits, and food-related behavior. Results show that autism-related factors may affect the child's food choices. Environmental factors, particularly the parents' behavior, may also play a decisive role, both in reinforcing the child's food choices and in encouraging a healthier and more diversified diet. Professionals should instruct parents regarding their decisive role in reinforcing or discouraging inappropriate mealtime behavior in children with autism.
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Hartmann, Monika; Cash, Sean B; Yeh, Ching-Hua; Landwehr, Stefanie C; McAlister, Anna R
2017-10-01
Children's dietary-related diseases and their associated costs have expanded dramatically in many countries, making children's food choice a policy issue of increasing relevance. As children spend a considerable amount of money on energy-dense, nutrient-poor (EDNP) products, a better understanding of the main drivers of children's independent food purchase decisions is crucial to move this behavior toward healthier options. The objective of the study is to investigate the role of branding and price in motivating children to choose healthier snack options. The study investigates snack choices of children ages 8 to 11, using a survey and a purchase experiment. The research took place in after-school programs of selected schools in the Boston area. Participants included 116 children. Products in the choice experiment differed on three factors: product type, brand, and price. Data were analyzed using aggregated and mixed logit models. Children's purchase decisions are primarily determined by product type (Importance Value (IV) 56.6%), while brand (IV 22.8%) and price (IV 20.6%) prove to be of less relevance. Only those children who state that they like the familiar brand reveal a preference for the branded product in their purchase decision. Price is a significant predictor of choice when controlling for whether or not children obtain an allowance. It is not simple brand awareness but a child's liking of the brand that determines whether a brand is successful in motivating a child to choose a product. The extent of children's experience with money influences their price responsiveness. To the extent that children who receive an allowance are primarily the ones buying food snacks, higher prices for EDNP snacks could be successful in motivating children to choose a healthier option. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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The use of predictive models to optimize risk of decisions.
Baranyi, József; Buss da Silva, Nathália
2017-01-02
The purpose of this paper is to set up a mathematical framework that risk assessors and regulators could use to quantify the "riskiness" of a particular recommendation (choice/decision). The mathematical theory introduced here can be used for decision support systems. We point out that efficient use of predictive models in decision making for food microbiology needs to consider three major points: (1) the uncertainty and variability of the used information based on which the decision is to be made; (2) the validity of the predictive models aiding the assessor; and (3) the cost generated by the difference between the a-priory choice and the a-posteriori outcome. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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An (un)healthy poster: When environmental cues affect consumers' food choices at vending machines.
Stöckli, Sabrina; Stämpfli, Aline E; Messner, Claude; Brunner, Thomas A
2016-01-01
Environmental cues can affect food decisions. There is growing evidence that environmental cues influence how much one consumes. This article demonstrates that environmental cues can similarly impact the healthiness of consumers' food choices. Two field studies examined this effect with consumers of vending machine foods who were exposed to different posters. In field study 1, consumers with a health-evoking nature poster compared to a pleasure-evoking fun fair poster or no poster in their visual sight were more likely to opt for healthy snacks. Consumers were also more likely to buy healthy snacks when primed by an activity poster than when exposed to the fun fair poster. In field study 2, this consumer pattern recurred with a poster of skinny Giacometti sculptures. Overall, the results extend the mainly laboratory-based evidence by demonstrating the health-relevant impact of environmental cues on food decisions in the field. Results are discussed in light of priming literature emphasizing the relevance of preexisting associations, mental concepts and goals. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Ability to Categorize Food Predicts Hypothetical Food Choices in Head Start Preschoolers.
Nicholson, Jody S; Barton, Jennifer M; Simons, Ali L
2018-03-01
To investigate whether preschoolers are able to identify and categorize foods, and whether their ability to classify food as healthy predicts their hypothetical food choice. Structured interviews and body measurements with preschoolers, and teacher reports of classroom performance. Six Head Start centers in a large southeastern region. A total of 235 preschoolers (mean age [SD], 4.73 [0.63] years; 45.4% girls). Teachers implemented a nutrition education intervention across the 2014-2015 school year in which children were taught to identify and categorize food as sometimes (ie, unhealthy) and anytime (ie, healthy). Preschooler responses to a hypothetical snack naming, classifying, and selection scenario. Hierarchical regression analyses to examine predictors of child hypothetical food selection. While controlling for child characteristics and cognitive functioning, preschoolers who were better at categorizing food as healthy or unhealthy were more likely to say they would choose the healthy food. Low-contrast food pairs in which food had to be classified based on multiple dimensions were outside the cognitive abilities of the preschoolers. Nutrition interventions may be more effective in helping children make healthy food choices if developmental limitations in preschoolers' abilities to categorize food is addressed in their curriculum. Classification of food into evaluative categories is challenging for this age group. Categorizing on multiple dimensions is difficult, and dichotomous labeling of food as good or bad is not always accurate in directing children toward making food choices. Future research could evaluate further preschoolers' developmental potential for food categorization and nutrition decision making and consider factors that influence healthy food choices at both snack and mealtime. Copyright © 2017 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Ensaff, H; Bunting, E; O'Mahony, S
2018-04-01
To examine factors influencing parents' selection of packed lunches over a school lunch, their choices in food preparation, and the role of children within these. A qualitative approach using semistructured focus group and individual interviews. Four primary schools in a UK local authority. Twenty parents providing a packed lunch for their children (aged 5-11 years). An inductive thematic approach was used to identify categories and themes. The researchers maintained rigor in the data analysis through internal discussion and review until consensus was reached. Children emerged as active decision makers exerting substantial power particularly in the initial decision to have a packed lunch, and then in influencing the lunch's contents. The packed lunch could be a source of anxiety for some parents; however, ultimately parents' attitudes and perceptions revolved around the key requirement that the lunch was eaten. Providing a packed lunch was a means of achieving this. This study highlights children's growing authority over everyday food decisions. Further research is needed to explore children's perceptions of their role in food provision. The study's findings have implications for school food, nutrition education, and school-based interventions. Frameworks that look to improve children's nutrition in this area should reflect children's growing status as food decision makers and consider how this can be employed to support and sustain positive changes. Copyright © 2018 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Slater, Joyce; Sevenhuysen, Gustaaf; Edginton, Barry; O'neil, John
2012-09-01
This research examined the aetiology of employed mothers' food choice and food provisioning decisions using a qualitative, grounded theory methodology. Semi-structured interviews using the Food Choice Map were conducted with eleven middle-income employed mothers of elementary school-age children. Results demonstrated that the women exhibited conflicting identities with respect to food choice and provisioning. As 'good mothers' they were the primary food and nutrition caregivers for the family, desiring to provide healthy, homemade foods their families preferred at shared family meals. They also sought to be independent selves, working outside the home, within the context of a busy modern family. Increased food autonomy of children, and lack of time due to working outside the home and children's involvement in extracurricular activities, were significant influences on their food choice and provisioning. This resulted in frequently being unable to live up to their expectations of consistently providing healthy homemade foods and having shared family meals. To cope, the women frequently relied on processed convenience and fast foods despite their acknowledged inferior nutritional status. Using Giddens' structuration theory, the dynamic relationships between the women's food choice and provisioning actions, their identities and larger structures including socio-cultural norms, conditions of work and the industrial food system were explored. The ensuing dietary pattern of the women and their families increases the risk of poor health outcomes, including obesity. These results have implications for public health responses to improve population health by shifting the focus from individual-level maternal influences to structural influences on diet.
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Dopaminergic modulation of reward-guided decision making in alcohol-preferring AA rats.
Oinio, Ville; Bäckström, Pia; Uhari-Väänänen, Johanna; Raasmaja, Atso; Piepponen, Petteri; Kiianmaa, Kalervo
2017-05-30
R**esults from animal gambling models have highlighted the importance of dopaminergic neurotransmission in modulating decision making when large sucrose rewards are combined with uncertainty. The majority of these models use food restriction as a tool to motivate animals to accomplish operant behavioral tasks, in which sucrose is used as a reward. As enhanced motivation to obtain sucrose due to hunger may impact its reward-seeking effect, we wanted to examine the decision-making behavior of rats in a situation where rats were fed ad libitum. For this purpose, we chose alcohol-preferring AA (alko alcohol) rats, as these rats have been shown to have high preference for sweet agents. In the present study, AA rats were trained to self-administer sucrose pellet rewards in a two-lever choice task (one pellet vs. three pellets). Once rational choice behavior had been established, the probability of gaining three pellets was decreased over time (50%, 33%, 25% then 20%). The effect of d-amphetamine on decision making was studied at every probability level, as well as the effect of the dopamine D 1 receptor agonist SKF-81297 and D 2 agonist quinpirole at probability levels of 100% and 25%. d-Amphetamine increased unprofitable choices in a dose-dependent manner at the two lowest probability levels. Quinpirole increased the frequency of unprofitable decisions at the 25% probability level, and SKF-82197 did not affect choice behavior. These results mirror the findings of probabilistic discounting studies using food-restricted rats. Based on this, the use of AA rats provides a new approach for studies on reward-guided decision making. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Oemichen, Megan; Smith, Chery
2016-06-01
Investigate food choice, food access, and food insecurity among seniors. Eight focus groups were conducted in 2 counties with high and low Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation rates. A total of 62 seniors (aged ≥ 60 years) were recruited and each attended 1 focus group at a community center. The sample was 79% female and most were Caucasian (91%), similar to state demographics. The focus group themes of how seniors make food choices and access food, and food insecurity perceptions among this population were identified based on discussion commonalities. For quantitative data, P < .05 was significant. Five themes emerged: (1) former experiences affecting eating behaviors; (2) financial and food security driving use of food assistance programs; (3) food access strategies: restaurants, retail markets, and alternative sources; (4) physical changes associated with aging influencing food access and intake; and (5) social influences that play a role in decision making. Both SNAP and congregate dining offer food assistance to seniors, but SNAP use was considered unacceptable by some seniors living in county 1 because of the negative stigma attached to the program or because they lacked program knowledge about income criteria. More effort needs to be made to educate seniors about SNAP. It is important to gain insight into how food insecurity affects their food choices. Copyright © 2016 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Context-dependent preferences in starlings: linking ecology, foraging and choice.
Vasconcelos, Marco; Monteiro, Tiago; Kacelnik, Alex
2013-01-01
Foraging animals typically encounter opportunities that they either pursue or skip, but occasionally meet several alternatives simultaneously. Behavioural ecologists predict preferences using absolute properties of each option, while decision theorists focus on relative evaluations at the time of choice. We use European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) to integrate ecological reasoning with decision models, linking and testing hypotheses for value acquisition and choice mechanism. We hypothesise that options' values depend jointly on absolute attributes, learning context, and subject's state. In simultaneous choices, preference could result either from comparing subjective values using deliberation time, or from processing each alternative independently, without relative comparisons. The combination of the value acquisition hypothesis and independent processing at choice time has been called the Sequential Choice Model. We test this model with options equated in absolute properties to exclude the possibility of preference being built at the time of choice. Starlings learned to obtain food by responding to four stimuli in two contexts. In context [AB], they encountered options A5 or B10 in random alternation; in context [CD], they met C10 or D20. Delay to food is denoted, in seconds, by the suffixes. Observed latency to respond (Li) to each option alone (our measure of value) ranked thus: LA≈LC
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School children's own views, roles and contribution to choices regarding diet and activity in Spain.
Lopez-Dicastillo, O; Grande, G; Callery, P
2013-01-01
Behaviours regarding food and activity are learned during childhood and continue throughout life. Children can be very important agents in making decisions concerning their own well-being and care and their perspective is essential to understanding how they and/or others make choices for them to achieve a healthy lifestyle. However, their perspectives remain under-researched. This study provides an insight into school children's own perspectives, behaviours and contribution to food and activity choices. The paper reports on the findings from an ethnographic study with 38 Spanish children aged 5-7 years. Information was obtained through participant observations, diaries kept by children and group interviews. Data were analysed using techniques of analytical induction and constant comparison. The children who took part in this study described choices about activities with enthusiasm. Children saw activity as a way of learning new things, mastering skills and socializing. They were willing to try and experience new activities and games. However, the activities performed depended on parents' agendas and security issues. In contrast, children reported less interest in and active involvement in food choices. They contributed to family food choices indirectly through the expression of their preferences, not wanting to eat what they disliked or tasting new foods. Children had strong preferences and motivations, particularly about activities which could be harnessed in interventions to prevent obesity and promote healthy diet and activity. Parental involvement and commitment is also important both to encourage exercise according to children's interests and active informed food choices, including introduction to unfamiliar foods. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
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Parrish, Audrey E; Evans, Theodore A; Beran, Michael J
2015-02-01
Decision-making largely is influenced by the relative value of choice options, and the value of such options can be determined by a combination of different factors (e.g., the quantity, size, or quality of a stimulus). In this study, we examined the competing influences of quantity (i.e., the number of food items in a set) and quality (i.e., the original state of a food item) of choice items on chimpanzees' food preferences in a two-option natural choice paradigm. In Experiment 1, chimpanzees chose between sets of food items that were either entirely whole or included items that were broken into pieces before being shown to the chimpanzees. Chimpanzees exhibited a bias for whole food items even when such choice options consisted of a smaller overall quantity of food than the sets containing broken items. In Experiment 2, chimpanzees chose between sets of entirely whole food items and sets of initially whole items that were subsequently broken in view of the chimpanzees just before choice time. Chimpanzees continued to exhibit a bias for sets of whole items. In Experiment 3, chimpanzees chose between sets of new food items that were initially discrete but were subsequently transformed into a larger cohesive unit. Here, chimpanzees were biased to choose the discrete sets that retained their original qualitative state rather than toward the cohesive or clumped sets. These results demonstrate that beyond a food set's quantity (i.e., the value dimension that accounts for maximization in terms of caloric intake), other seemingly non-relevant features (i.e., quality in terms of a set's original state) affect how chimpanzees assign value to their choice options. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Haghighian Roudsari, Arezoo; Vedadhir, Abouali; Amiri, Parisa; Kalantari, Naser; Omidvar, Nasrin; Eini-Zinab, Hassan; Hani Sadati, Seyed Mohammad
2017-01-01
Objective: Food choice is a process through which people think, feel, and eat food. It does not only influence individuals' health and well-being, families and communities, but also it has an effect on regional, national, and global levels. This qualitative study was conducted to explore perceptions and lived experiences of Tehran adult residents on psychological, social and cultural determinants of food choice. Method: In this qualitative design, we recruited 33 adults aged 30 to 64 years from various districts of Tehran, capital of Iran, and we explored how people make decisions about food choice in practice and shape their perception, attitude, and eating practices. An individual in-depth semi-structured interview guide included major questions with follow-up probes was used to explore participants’ current and past eating habits from childhood to adulthood, dietary change at different life courses, and effective psychological state on food selection in different seasons. Results: This study revealed that food choice in the studied adults (30-64 years old) was widely influenced by psychological, social, and cultural determinants, which can be categorized into 5 main themes: cultural context and patterns; social Structure and norms; information resources and media; household and family structure; and nutrition transition. Conclusion: The findings clarified the importance of social and cultural contexts, which influence the food choice of adults in a metropolis like Tehran. Many of these concepts are contextualized from childhood. These findings could serve as guideline to design socio-culturally appropriate strategies and improve dietary behaviors of Iranians. PMID:29472950
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Haghighian Roudsari, Arezoo; Vedadhir, Abouali; Amiri, Parisa; Kalantari, Naser; Omidvar, Nasrin; Eini-Zinab, Hassan; Hani Sadati, Seyed Mohammad
2017-10-01
Objective: Food choice is a process through which people think, feel, and eat food. It does not only influence individuals' health and well-being, families and communities, but also it has an effect on regional, national, and global levels. This qualitative study was conducted to explore perceptions and lived experiences of Tehran adult residents on psychological, social and cultural determinants of food choice. Method: In this qualitative design, we recruited 33 adults aged 30 to 64 years from various districts of Tehran, capital of Iran, and we explored how people make decisions about food choice in practice and shape their perception, attitude, and eating practices. An individual in-depth semi-structured interview guide included major questions with follow-up probes was used to explore participants' current and past eating habits from childhood to adulthood, dietary change at different life courses, and effective psychological state on food selection in different seasons. Results: This study revealed that food choice in the studied adults (30-64 years old) was widely influenced by psychological, social, and cultural determinants, which can be categorized into 5 main themes: cultural context and patterns; social Structure and norms; information resources and media; household and family structure; and nutrition transition. Conclusion: The findings clarified the importance of social and cultural contexts, which influence the food choice of adults in a metropolis like Tehran. Many of these concepts are contextualized from childhood. These findings could serve as guideline to design socio-culturally appropriate strategies and improve dietary behaviors of Iranians.
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How important is local food to organic-minded consumers?
Hempel, Corinna; Hamm, Ulrich
2016-01-01
The study deals with German consumers' attitudes towards organic food and local food, their food purchase behaviour and their personal characteristics. The purpose is to investigate the differences in attitudes and willingness-to-pay values between consumers who consider the organic production of food (very) important and those who consider it less important. This study combines a consumer survey with an in-store, discrete choice experiment. In the analysis, findings from the consumer survey were related to the choices made by consumers in the experiment. Consumers' preferences and willingness-to-pay values were estimated through random parameter logit modelling. Organic-minded consumers (i.e. those who regarded organic food production as (very) important in the survey) have stronger preferences and estimated willingness-to-pay values for organic as well as local products. Locally produced food, as opposed to food from neighbouring countries or non-EU countries, is preferred over organically produced food by both consumer groups which demonstrates that organic-minded consumers do not only consider organic food production as important, but also value local food production in a purchase situation. Hence, it can be assumed that local food production complements organic food production for the group of organic-minded consumers. This contribution is the first study dealing with local and organic food purchase behaviour in Germany that examines four different products and is carried out in rural as well as urban locations in four different regions. Due to the application of a choice experiment including no-choice options and binding purchase decisions, the results are expected to be closer to real purchase situations than results of direct questioning and choice experiments in online applications. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Bonobos and chimpanzees exhibit human-like framing effects
Krupenye, Christopher; Rosati, Alexandra G.; Hare, Brian
2015-01-01
Humans exhibit framing effects when making choices, appraising decisions involving losses differently from those involving gains. To directly test for the evolutionary origin of this bias, we examined decision-making in humans' closest living relatives: bonobos (Pan paniscus) and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). We presented the largest sample of non-humans to date (n = 40) with a simple task requiring minimal experience. Apes made choices between a ‘framed’ option that provided preferred food, and an alternative option that provided a constant amount of intermediately preferred food. In the gain condition, apes experienced a positive ‘gain’ event in which the framed option was initially presented as one piece of food but sometimes was augmented to two. In the loss condition, apes experienced a negative ‘loss' event in which they initially saw two pieces but sometimes received only one. Both conditions provided equal pay-offs, but apes chose the framed option more often in the positive ‘gain’ frame. Moreover, male apes were more susceptible to framing than were females. These results suggest that some human economic biases are shared through common descent with other apes and highlight the importance of comparative work in understanding the origins of individual differences in human choice. PMID:25672997
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Offering variety: a subtle manipulation to promote healthy food choice throughout the day.
Burns, Rachel J; Rothman, Alexander J
2015-05-01
Providing a variety of food generally increases consumption and enjoyment. This effect is typically associated with unhealthy behavior (e.g., overindulgence at a buffet) and studied during a single meal. Two studies tested whether this effect can be leveraged in a subtle, simple manipulation to promote healthy food choices over the course of a day. In Studies 1 and 2, 188 and 187 participants, respectively, chose between a sweet and a piece of fruit in the afternoon. The fruit was either the same as or different from fruit that was selected in the morning; choice was not given in the morning. Study 1 tested this effect in the domain of expressed preferences and Study 2 examined actual choice. In both studies, a second piece of fruit was more likely to be selected in the afternoon if it was different from fruit that was selected in the morning. These results illustrate how a robust effect that is typically associated with unhealthy outcomes can be harnessed to promote healthy food choices and underscore the importance of conceptualizing eating as a series of interrelated behavioral decisions. This work has implications for applied settings, such as cafeterias, and is distinguished from other simple structural manipulations by its focus on sustaining healthy food choice over the course of the day. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).
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Floral odor learning within the hive affects honeybees' foraging decisions
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Arenas, Andrés; Fernández, Vanesa M.; Farina, Walter M.
2007-03-01
Honeybees learn odor cues quickly and efficiently when visiting rewarding flowers. Memorization of these cues facilitates the localization and recognition of food sources during foraging flights. Bees can also use information gained inside the hive during social interactions with successful foragers. An important information cue that can be learned during these interactions is food odor. However, little is known about how floral odors learned in the hive affect later decisions of foragers in the field. We studied the effect of food scent on foraging preferences when this learning is acquired directly inside the hive. By using in-hive feeders that were removed 24 h before the test, we showed that foragers use the odor information acquired during a 3-day stimulation period with a scented solution during a food-choice situation outside the nest. This bias in food preference is maintained even 24 h after the replacement of all the hive combs. Thus, without being previously collected outside by foragers, food odors learned within the hive can be used during short-range foraging flights. Moreover, correct landings at a dual-choice device after replacing the storing combs suggests that long-term memories formed within the colony can be retrieved while bees search for food in the field.
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Tirelli, Christian; Pilar Martínez-Ruiz, María; Gómez-Ladrón-De-Guevara, Ricardo
2013-12-01
To analyze how food values and other variables related to dietary acculturation affect international university students' food buying decisions, this article provides an in-depth review of relevant literature related to the food buying decisions of groups of sojourners, which suggest several research hypotheses. The data collection targeted international university students in Spain and used factorial analysis of the main components together with linear parametric regressions. The resulting findings offer distinct insights, according to sojourners' continent of origin. Specifically, whereas European students exhibit a higher propensity to value sustainable production practices in the food choices, American students emphasize flavor and exhibit a greater degree of adaptation. These findings in turn suggest some key managerial recommendations and research guidelines for both private and public operators in related fields. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Infant Feeding Practices in Central Anatolia, Turkey
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Sanlier, Nevin; Unusan, Nurhan
2009-01-01
Infant feeding decisions are some of the most important choices parents make. Breast milk or formula is the first decision made in infant feeding. Complementary feeding is common among very young children in Turkey. Therefore, the aim of this research is to focus on the introduction of solid foods, and to determine the relationship between…
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Towal, R Blythe; Mormann, Milica; Koch, Christof
2013-10-01
Many decisions we make require visually identifying and evaluating numerous alternatives quickly. These usually vary in reward, or value, and in low-level visual properties, such as saliency. Both saliency and value influence the final decision. In particular, saliency affects fixation locations and durations, which are predictive of choices. However, it is unknown how saliency propagates to the final decision. Moreover, the relative influence of saliency and value is unclear. Here we address these questions with an integrated model that combines a perceptual decision process about where and when to look with an economic decision process about what to choose. The perceptual decision process is modeled as a drift-diffusion model (DDM) process for each alternative. Using psychophysical data from a multiple-alternative, forced-choice task, in which subjects have to pick one food item from a crowded display via eye movements, we test four models where each DDM process is driven by (i) saliency or (ii) value alone or (iii) an additive or (iv) a multiplicative combination of both. We find that models including both saliency and value weighted in a one-third to two-thirds ratio (saliency-to-value) significantly outperform models based on either quantity alone. These eye fixation patterns modulate an economic decision process, also described as a DDM process driven by value. Our combined model quantitatively explains fixation patterns and choices with similar or better accuracy than previous models, suggesting that visual saliency has a smaller, but significant, influence than value and that saliency affects choices indirectly through perceptual decisions that modulate economic decisions.
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Towal, R. Blythe; Mormann, Milica; Koch, Christof
2013-01-01
Many decisions we make require visually identifying and evaluating numerous alternatives quickly. These usually vary in reward, or value, and in low-level visual properties, such as saliency. Both saliency and value influence the final decision. In particular, saliency affects fixation locations and durations, which are predictive of choices. However, it is unknown how saliency propagates to the final decision. Moreover, the relative influence of saliency and value is unclear. Here we address these questions with an integrated model that combines a perceptual decision process about where and when to look with an economic decision process about what to choose. The perceptual decision process is modeled as a drift–diffusion model (DDM) process for each alternative. Using psychophysical data from a multiple-alternative, forced-choice task, in which subjects have to pick one food item from a crowded display via eye movements, we test four models where each DDM process is driven by (i) saliency or (ii) value alone or (iii) an additive or (iv) a multiplicative combination of both. We find that models including both saliency and value weighted in a one-third to two-thirds ratio (saliency-to-value) significantly outperform models based on either quantity alone. These eye fixation patterns modulate an economic decision process, also described as a DDM process driven by value. Our combined model quantitatively explains fixation patterns and choices with similar or better accuracy than previous models, suggesting that visual saliency has a smaller, but significant, influence than value and that saliency affects choices indirectly through perceptual decisions that modulate economic decisions. PMID:24019496
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Bailey, Rachel L
2017-10-01
From an ecological perception perspective (Gibson, 1977), the availability of perceptual information alters what behaviors are more and less likely at different times. This study examines how perceptual information delivered in food advertisements and packaging alters the time course of information processing and decision making. Participants categorized images of food that varied in information delivered in terms of color, glossiness, and texture (e.g., food cues) before and after being exposed to a set of advertisements that also varied in this way. In general, items with more direct cues enhanced appetitive motivational processes, especially if they were also advertised with direct food cues. Individuals also chose to eat products that were packaged with more available direct food cues compared to opaque packaging.
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Role of expendable income and price in food choice by low income families.
Burns, Cate; Cook, Kay; Mavoa, Helen
2013-12-01
The public health literature suggests that the cheapness of energy-dense foods is driving the obesity epidemic. We examined food purchases in low-income families and its relationship to the price of food and availability of funds. In-depth interviews were conducted with 22 parents with children less than 15 years of age whose major source of income was a government pension. A photo taxonomy, where participants sorted 50 photos of commonly purchased foods, was used to explore food choice. The most common food groupings used by the participants were: basic, emergency, treat and comfort. The process of food purchase was described by participants as weighing up the attributes of a food in relation to price and money available. Shoppers nominated the basic unit of measurement as quantity per unit price and the heuristic for food choice when shopping as determining "value for money" in a process of triage relating to food purchase decisions. Participants stated satiation of hunger to be the most common "value" relative to price. Given that the foods nominated as filling tended to be carbohydrate-rich staples, we suggest that public health initiatives need to acknowledge this triage process and shape interventions to promote nutrition over satiation. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Mindless Eating and Healthy Heuristics for the Irrational.
Wansink, Brian; Just, David R; Payne, Collin R
2009-05-01
Food choice decisions are not the same as intake volume decisions. The former determine what we eat (soup or salad); the latter determine how much we eat (half of the bowl or all of it). Large amounts of money, time, and intelligence have been invested in understanding the physiological mechanisms that influence food choice (James O. Hill, forthcoming). Much less has been invested in understanding how and why our environment influences food consumption volume. Yet environmental factors (such as package size, plate shape, lighting, variety, or the presence of others) affect our food consumption volume far more than we realize (Wansink 2006). Whereas people can acknowledge that environmental factors influence others, they wrongly believe they are unaffected. Perhaps they are influenced at a basic level of which they are not aware. A better understanding of these drivers of consumption volume will have immediate implications for research, policy, and personal interventions. There are three objectives of this paper: (1) explain why environmental factors may unknowingly influence food consumption; (2) identify resulting myths that may lead to is specified models or misguided policy recommendations; and (3) offer clear direction for future research, policy, and personal dietary efforts.
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The joint effect of tangible and non-tangible rewards on healthy food choices in children.
Grubliauskiene, Aiste; Verhoeven, Maxime; Dewitte, Siegfried
2012-10-01
This study investigated how a combination of tangible and non-tangible rewards can alter health-related decisions made by children. Children chose between an unhealthy food option (a bowl of potato crisps) and a healthy food option (a bowl of grapes) on two occasions. In the first round, we manipulated the expected tangible reward and praise. The tangible reward was manipulated by means of a game that the child received upon choosing the healthy product, and the praise was manipulated by means of the teacher's applause and smiles if the child selected the healthy option. The second trial occurred three days after the first trial using the same food item options. Neither tangible rewards nor praise influenced the children's choices by themselves, but combining the two substantially increased the children's likelihood of selecting the healthy food choice. The data were consistent with a reattribution process akin to social labelling. Although initially externally motivated to select the healthy option, the children who received praise appeared to interpret their choice as internally motivated and therefore continued to select the healthy option even in the absence of reward. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Commensal bacteria and essential amino acids control food choice behavior and reproduction
Fioreze, Gabriela Tondolo; Anjos, Margarida; Baltazar, Célia; Elias, Ana Paula; Itskov, Pavel M.; Piper, Matthew D. W.
2017-01-01
Choosing the right nutrients to consume is essential to health and wellbeing across species. However, the factors that influence these decisions are poorly understood. This is particularly true for dietary proteins, which are important determinants of lifespan and reproduction. We show that in Drosophila melanogaster, essential amino acids (eAAs) and the concerted action of the commensal bacteria Acetobacter pomorum and Lactobacilli are critical modulators of food choice. Using a chemically defined diet, we show that the absence of any single eAA from the diet is sufficient to elicit specific appetites for amino acid (AA)-rich food. Furthermore, commensal bacteria buffer the animal from the lack of dietary eAAs: both increased yeast appetite and decreased reproduction induced by eAA deprivation are rescued by the presence of commensals. Surprisingly, these effects do not seem to be due to changes in AA titers, suggesting that gut bacteria act through a different mechanism to change behavior and reproduction. Thus, eAAs and commensal bacteria are potent modulators of feeding decisions and reproductive output. This demonstrates how the interaction of specific nutrients with the microbiome can shape behavioral decisions and life history traits. PMID:28441450
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Commensal bacteria and essential amino acids control food choice behavior and reproduction.
Leitão-Gonçalves, Ricardo; Carvalho-Santos, Zita; Francisco, Ana Patrícia; Fioreze, Gabriela Tondolo; Anjos, Margarida; Baltazar, Célia; Elias, Ana Paula; Itskov, Pavel M; Piper, Matthew D W; Ribeiro, Carlos
2017-04-01
Choosing the right nutrients to consume is essential to health and wellbeing across species. However, the factors that influence these decisions are poorly understood. This is particularly true for dietary proteins, which are important determinants of lifespan and reproduction. We show that in Drosophila melanogaster, essential amino acids (eAAs) and the concerted action of the commensal bacteria Acetobacter pomorum and Lactobacilli are critical modulators of food choice. Using a chemically defined diet, we show that the absence of any single eAA from the diet is sufficient to elicit specific appetites for amino acid (AA)-rich food. Furthermore, commensal bacteria buffer the animal from the lack of dietary eAAs: both increased yeast appetite and decreased reproduction induced by eAA deprivation are rescued by the presence of commensals. Surprisingly, these effects do not seem to be due to changes in AA titers, suggesting that gut bacteria act through a different mechanism to change behavior and reproduction. Thus, eAAs and commensal bacteria are potent modulators of feeding decisions and reproductive output. This demonstrates how the interaction of specific nutrients with the microbiome can shape behavioral decisions and life history traits.
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"It's All About Ben10[TM]": Children's Play, Health and Sustainability Decisions in the Early Years
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Edwards, S.; Skouteris, H.; Rutherford, L.; Cutter-Mackenzie, A.
2013-01-01
In today's fast food, fast-paced consumer society, too few questions are asked about the influence of digital media on young children's health and sustainability choices, and indeed how such choices are expressed in children's play (and early childhood classrooms). By interviewing children and parents, and using such data to prompt teacher…
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Decision-making based on emotional images.
Katahira, Kentaro; Fujimura, Tomomi; Okanoya, Kazuo; Okada, Masato
2011-01-01
The emotional outcome of a choice affects subsequent decision making. While the relationship between decision making and emotion has attracted attention, studies on emotion and decision making have been independently developed. In this study, we investigated how the emotional valence of pictures, which was stochastically contingent on participants' choices, influenced subsequent decision making. In contrast to traditional value-based decision-making studies that used money or food as a reward, the "reward value" of the decision outcome, which guided the update of value for each choice, is unknown beforehand. To estimate the reward value of emotional pictures from participants' choice data, we used reinforcement learning models that have successfully been used in previous studies for modeling value-based decision making. Consequently, we found that the estimated reward value was asymmetric between positive and negative pictures. The negative reward value of negative pictures (relative to neutral pictures) was larger in magnitude than the positive reward value of positive pictures. This asymmetry was not observed in valence for an individual picture, which was rated by the participants regarding the emotion experienced upon viewing it. These results suggest that there may be a difference between experienced emotion and the effect of the experienced emotion on subsequent behavior. Our experimental and computational paradigm provides a novel way for quantifying how and what aspects of emotional events affect human behavior. The present study is a first step toward relating a large amount of knowledge in emotion science and in taking computational approaches to value-based decision making.
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Obesity: can behavioral economics help?
Just, David R; Payne, Collin R
2009-12-01
Consumers regularly and predictably behave in ways that contradict standard assumptions of economic analysis such that they make decisions that prevent them from reaching rationally intended goals. These contradictions play a significant role with respect to consumers' food decisions and the effect these decisions have on their health. Food decisions that are rationally derived include those that trade short-term gains of sensory pleasure (hedonic) for longer term gains of health and wellness (utilitarian). However, extra-rational food decisions are much more common. They can occur because of the contexts in which they are made--such as being distracted or pressed for time. In these contexts, heuristics (or rules of thumb) are used. Because food decisions are made with little cognitive involvement, food policies designed to appeal to highly cognitive thought (e.g., fat taxes, detailed information labels) are likely to have little impact. Furthermore, food marketing environments influence not only what foods consumers buy but also how much. As a general principle, when individuals do not behave in their own interest, markets will feed perverse and sub-optimal behaviors. Given the limited ability of individuals to retain and use accurate health information coupled with varying levels of self control, profit motivations of marketers can become predatory--though not necessarily malicious. Alternative policy options that do not restrict choice are outlined, which enable consumers to make better decisions. These options allow for profit motivations of marketers to align with the long-term well being of the consumer.
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A selective emotional decision-making bias elicited by facial expressions.
Furl, Nicholas; Gallagher, Shannon; Averbeck, Bruno B
2012-01-01
Emotional and social information can sway otherwise rational decisions. For example, when participants decide between two faces that are probabilistically rewarded, they make biased choices that favor smiling relative to angry faces. This bias may arise because facial expressions evoke positive and negative emotional responses, which in turn may motivate social approach and avoidance. We tested a wide range of pictures that evoke emotions or convey social information, including animals, words, foods, a variety of scenes, and faces differing in trustworthiness or attractiveness, but we found only facial expressions biased decisions. Our results extend brain imaging and pharmacological findings, which suggest that a brain mechanism supporting social interaction may be involved. Facial expressions appear to exert special influence over this social interaction mechanism, one capable of biasing otherwise rational choices. These results illustrate that only specific types of emotional experiences can best sway our choices.
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A Selective Emotional Decision-Making Bias Elicited by Facial Expressions
Furl, Nicholas; Gallagher, Shannon; Averbeck, Bruno B.
2012-01-01
Emotional and social information can sway otherwise rational decisions. For example, when participants decide between two faces that are probabilistically rewarded, they make biased choices that favor smiling relative to angry faces. This bias may arise because facial expressions evoke positive and negative emotional responses, which in turn may motivate social approach and avoidance. We tested a wide range of pictures that evoke emotions or convey social information, including animals, words, foods, a variety of scenes, and faces differing in trustworthiness or attractiveness, but we found only facial expressions biased decisions. Our results extend brain imaging and pharmacological findings, which suggest that a brain mechanism supporting social interaction may be involved. Facial expressions appear to exert special influence over this social interaction mechanism, one capable of biasing otherwise rational choices. These results illustrate that only specific types of emotional experiences can best sway our choices. PMID:22438936
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Yeh, Ching-Hua; Hartmann, Monika; Hirsch, Stefan
2018-06-01
The presentation of credence attributes such as the product's origin or the production method has a significant influence on consumers' food purchase decisions. The dataset includes survey responses from a discrete choice experiment with 1309 food shoppers in Taiwan using the example of sweet pepper. The survey was carried out in 2014 in the three largest Taiwanese cities. It evaluates the impact of providing information on the equality of organic standards on consumers' preferences at the example of sweet pepper. Equality of organic standards implies that regardless of products' country-of-origin (COO) organic certifications are based on the same production regulation and managerial processes. Respondents were randomly allocated to the information treatment and the control group. The dataset contains the product choices of participants in both groups, as well as their sociodemographic information.
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Dating and eating. Beliefs about dating foods among university students.
Amiraian, Dana E; Sobal, Jeffery
2009-10-01
Dating is an important courtship activity in the U.S., and food consumption is part of dating events. Students use dating scripts to guide decisions and behaviors on dates, and perform scripts on dates to construct positive impression management. This study examined how students conceptualized dating foods. A questionnaire was administered in one large university class, and data from 301 students were analyzed. Students were asked to name three dating foods, three foods that are not dating foods, what makes foods dating foods, and what makes foods not dating foods. Findings revealed that both common and uncommon foods were named as dating and not dating foods. Alcoholic beverages were sometimes named as dating foods. Women often named feminine foods (considered appropriate for females) as dating foods, but men were not more likely to name masculine foods (considered appropriate for males) as dating foods. Neat and easy-to-eat foods were often named as dating foods, while pungent foods and foods causing bad breath were named as not dating foods. These findings support the conception that dating scripts guide thinking about food choices to enhance impression management. Dating food choices are important for current health and as potential precursors for long-term eating relationships like marriage.
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A comparative study of American and Chinese college students' motives for food choice.
Pearcey, Sharon M; Zhan, Ginny Q
2018-04-01
Previous cross-cultural research has examined college students' food choice decisions in different countries. The current study aimed to add to the literature by examining similarities and differences in motives for food choice between American (N = 328) and Chinese (N = 333) college students. The Food Choice Questionnaire (FCQ) was used to measure the participants' motives for food choice. Students' perceptions on the importance of diet and on their body satisfaction were also obtained. Results show that, while there are many similarities between the two cultural groups on the FCQ items, there are also significant differences. Specifically, the two groups view sensory appeal, weight, health, mood, and familiarity in a similar way, but the American participants score higher on price and convenience whereas the Chinese score higher on natural content and ethical concerns. We believe contextual cultural factors of each country may be related to these results. Women view sensory appeal and weight as significantly more important than men. Interactions between culture and gender are also found. For example, American women score significantly higher than American men on mood whereas there is no gender difference in the Chinese group; on the other hand, Chinese men score significantly higher on price than Chinese women whereas there is no gender difference in the American group. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Bonobos and chimpanzees exhibit human-like framing effects.
Krupenye, Christopher; Rosati, Alexandra G; Hare, Brian
2015-02-01
Humans exhibit framing effects when making choices, appraising decisions involving losses differently from those involving gains. To directly test for the evolutionary origin of this bias, we examined decision-making in humans' closest living relatives: bonobos (Pan paniscus) and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). We presented the largest sample of non-humans to date (n = 40) with a simple task requiring minimal experience. Apes made choices between a 'framed' option that provided preferred food, and an alternative option that provided a constant amount of intermediately preferred food. In the gain condition, apes experienced a positive 'gain' event in which the framed option was initially presented as one piece of food but sometimes was augmented to two. In the loss condition, apes experienced a negative 'loss' event in which they initially saw two pieces but sometimes received only one. Both conditions provided equal pay-offs, but apes chose the framed option more often in the positive 'gain' frame. Moreover, male apes were more susceptible to framing than were females. These results suggest that some human economic biases are shared through common descent with other apes and highlight the importance of comparative work in understanding the origins of individual differences in human choice. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.
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A lack of appetite for information and computation. Simple heuristics in food choice.
Schulte-Mecklenbeck, Michael; Sohn, Matthias; de Bellis, Emanuel; Martin, Nathalie; Hertwig, Ralph
2013-12-01
The predominant, but largely untested, assumption in research on food choice is that people obey the classic commandments of rational behavior: they carefully look up every piece of relevant information, weight each piece according to subjective importance, and then combine them into a judgment or choice. In real world situations, however, the available time, motivation, and computational resources may simply not suffice to keep these commandments. Indeed, there is a large body of research suggesting that human choice is often better accommodated by heuristics-simple rules that enable decision making on the basis of a few, but important, pieces of information. We investigated the prevalence of such heuristics in a computerized experiment that engaged participants in a series of choices between two lunch dishes. Employing MouselabWeb, a process-tracing technique, we found that simple heuristics described an overwhelmingly large proportion of choices, whereas strategies traditionally deemed rational were barely apparent in our data. Replicating previous findings, we also observed that visual stimulus segments received a much larger proportion of attention than any nutritional values did. Our results suggest that, consistent with human behavior in other domains, people make their food choices on the basis of simple and informationally frugal heuristics. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Influences underlying family food choices in mothers from an economically disadvantaged community.
Hardcastle, Sarah J; Blake, Nicola
2016-01-01
The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the perceptions and attitudes that underlie food choices, and, the impact of a school-based healthy eating intervention in mothers from an economically-disadvantaged community. The aim of the intervention was to educate children to act as 'health messengers' to their families. Sixteen semi-structured phone interviews were conducted with mothers with four receiving a second interview. Interviews were conducted following their child's participation in a six-week after school healthy cooking intervention. Thematic content analysis revealed four main themes: Cost and budget influence on food choices, diversity in household rules controlling food, role of socialisation on diet, and improved cooking skills and confidence to make homemade meals. The interview findings demonstrated the positive influence of the after-school cooking intervention on children and their families in cooking skills, promoting healthier cooking methods and increasing confidence to prepare homemade meals. The findings demonstrated the wider economic and social influences on food choices and eating practices. Socialisation into, and strong cultural norms around, eating habits were significant influences on family diet and on parental decisions underpinning food choices and attitudes towards the control of food within the family. The intervention was perceived to be successful in terms of improving nutritional knowledge, cooking skills and increasing confidence to make healthy and tasty homemade meals. The study demonstrates the importance of parental involvement in school-based interventions if improvements in healthy eating are to be evidenced at the family level and maintained. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Mendez, Ian A.; Gilbert, Ryan J.; Bizon, Jennifer L.
2012-01-01
Rationale Alterations in cost–benefit decision making accompany numerous neuropsychiatric conditions, including schizophrenia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and addiction. Central cholinergic systems have been linked to the etiology and/or treatment of many of these conditions, but little is known about the role of cholinergic signaling in cost–benefit decision making. Objectives The goal of these experiments was to determine how cholinergic signaling is involved in cost–benefit decision making, using a behavioral pharmacological approach. Methods Male Long-Evans rats were trained in either “probability discounting” or “delay discounting” tasks, in which rats made discrete-trial choices between a small food reward and a large food reward associated with either varying probabilities of omission or varying delays to delivery, respectively. The effects of acute administration of different doses of nicotinic and muscarinic acetylcholine receptor agonists and antagonists were assessed in each task. Results In the probability discounting task, acute nicotine administration (1.0 mg/kg) significantly increased choice of the large risky reward, and control experiments suggested that this was due to robust nicotine-induced impairments in behavioral flexibility. In the delay discounting task, the muscarinic antagonists scopolamine (0.03, 0.1, and 0.3 mg/kg) and atropine (0.3 mg/kg) both significantly increased choice of the small immediate reward. Neither mecamylamine nor oxotremorine produced reliable effects on either of the decision making tasks. Conclusions These data suggest that cholinergic receptors play multiple roles in decision making contexts which include consideration of reward delay or probability. These roles should be considered when targeting these receptors for therapeutic purposes. PMID:22760484
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Mendez, Ian A; Gilbert, Ryan J; Bizon, Jennifer L; Setlow, Barry
2012-12-01
Alterations in cost-benefit decision making accompany numerous neuropsychiatric conditions, including schizophrenia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and addiction. Central cholinergic systems have been linked to the etiology and/or treatment of many of these conditions, but little is known about the role of cholinergic signaling in cost-benefit decision making. The goal of these experiments was to determine how cholinergic signaling is involved in cost-benefit decision making, using a behavioral pharmacological approach. Male Long-Evans rats were trained in either "probability discounting" or "delay discounting" tasks, in which rats made discrete-trial choices between a small food reward and a large food reward associated with either varying probabilities of omission or varying delays to delivery, respectively. The effects of acute administration of different doses of nicotinic and muscarinic acetylcholine receptor agonists and antagonists were assessed in each task. In the probability discounting task, acute nicotine administration (1.0 mg/kg) significantly increased choice of the large risky reward, and control experiments suggested that this was due to robust nicotine-induced impairments in behavioral flexibility. In the delay discounting task, the muscarinic antagonists scopolamine (0.03, 0.1, and 0.3 mg/kg) and atropine (0.3 mg/kg) both significantly increased choice of the small immediate reward. Neither mecamylamine nor oxotremorine produced reliable effects on either of the decision making tasks. These data suggest that cholinergic receptors play multiple roles in decision making contexts which include consideration of reward delay or probability. These roles should be considered when targeting these receptors for therapeutic purposes.
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Applicant expectations and decision factors for jobs and careers in food-supply veterinary medicine.
Prince, J Bruce; Gwinner, Kevin; Andrus, David M
2008-01-01
This article examines the job expectations of applicants as reported by recruiters interviewing food-supply veterinary medicine (FSVM) candidates and the career-choice decision factors used by year 3 and 4 veterinary students pursuing careers in FSVM. The responses of 1,047 veterinary recruiters and 270 year 3 and 4 students with a food-supply focus from 32 colleges of veterinary medicine in the United States and Canada were examined. Recruiters were asked to report the two most important job factors applicants took into account when deciding to accept an offer; students were asked the two most important reasons for choosing a career in FSVM and the two most important benefits of working as a food-supply veterinarian. Recruiters reported that high salaries and good benefits are the two most important decision factors. Interest in the food-animal career area and a desire for a rural, outdoor lifestyle were the top reasons students gave for choosing an FSVM career. Students saw the enjoyment of working with and helping producers and food animals as the most important benefits of a career in FSVM.
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Kim, Hannah; Kim, Tae-Kyung; Kim, Ji-Eun; Park, Jin-Young; Lee, Yunjin; Kang, Minkyung; Kim, Kyoung-Shim; Han, Pyung-Lim
2014-11-07
Behavioral choices in habits and innate behaviors occur automatically in the absence of conscious selection. These behaviors are not easily modified by learning. Similar types of behaviors also occur in various mental illnesses including drug addiction, obsessive-compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, and autism. However, underlying mechanisms are not clearly understood. In the present study, we investigated the molecular mechanisms regulating unconditioned preferred behaviors in food-choices. Mice lacking adenylyl cyclase-5 (AC5 KO mice), which is preferentially expressed in the dorsal striatum, consumed food pellets nearly one after another in cages. AC5 KO mice showed aversive behaviors to bitter tasting quinine, but they compulsively chose quinine-containing AC5 KO-pellets over fresh pellets. The unusual food-choice behaviors in AC5 KO mice were due to the gain of behavioral preferences for food pellets containing an olfactory cue, which wild-type mice normally ignored. Such food-choice behaviors in AC5 KO mice disappeared when whiskers were trimmed. Conversely, whisker trimming in wildtype mice induced behavioral preferences for AC5 KO food pellets, indicating that preferred food-choices were not learned through prior experience. Both AC5 KO mice and wildtype mice with trimmed whiskers had increased glutamatergic input from the barrel cortex into the dorsal striatum, resulting in an increase in the mGluR1-dependent signaling cascade. The siRNA-mediated inhibition of mGluR1 in the dorsal striatum in AC5 KO mice and wildtype mice with trimmed whiskers abolished preferred choices for AC5 KO food pellets, whereas siRNA-mediated inhibition of mGluR3 glutamate receptors in the dorsal striatum in wildtype mice induced behavioral preferences for AC5 KO food pellets, thus mimicking AC5 KO phenotypes. Our results show that the gain and loss of behavioral preferences for a specific cue-directed option were regulated by specific cellular factors in the dorsal striatum, such that the preferred food choices were switched on when either the mGluR3-AC5 pathway was inactive or the mGluR1 pathway was active, whereas the preferred food-choices were switched off when mGluR1 or its downstream pathway was suppressed. These results identify the AC5 and mGluR system in the dorsal striatum as molecular on/off switches to direct decisions on behavioral preferences for cue-oriented options.
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Identifying attributes of food literacy: a scoping review.
Azevedo Perry, Elsie; Thomas, Heather; Samra, H Ruby; Edmonstone, Shannon; Davidson, Lyndsay; Faulkner, Amy; Petermann, Lisa; Manafò, Elizabeth; Kirkpatrick, Sharon I
2017-09-01
An absence of food literacy measurement tools makes it challenging for nutrition practitioners to assess the impact of food literacy on healthy diets and to evaluate the outcomes of food literacy interventions. The objective of the present scoping review was to identify the attributes of food literacy. A scoping review of peer-reviewed and grey literature was conducted and attributes of food literacy identified. Subjects included in the search were high-risk groups. Eligible articles were limited to research from Canada, USA, the UK, Australia and New Zealand. The search identified nineteen peer-reviewed and thirty grey literature sources. Fifteen identified food literacy attributes were organized into five categories. Food and Nutrition Knowledge informs decisions about intake and distinguishing between 'healthy' and 'unhealthy' foods. Food Skills focuses on techniques of food purchasing, preparation, handling and storage. Self-Efficacy and Confidence represent one's capacity to perform successfully in specific situations. Ecologic refers to beyond self and the interaction of macro- and microsystems with food decisions and behaviours. Food Decisions reflects the application of knowledge, information and skills to make food choices. These interdependent attributes are depicted in a proposed conceptual model. The lack of evaluated tools inhibits the ability to assess and monitor food literacy; tailor, target and evaluate programmes; identify gaps in programming; engage in advocacy; and allocate resources. The present scoping review provides the foundation for the development of a food literacy measurement tool to address these gaps.
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von Tigerstrom, Barbara
2013-06-01
Regulatory measures, including taxes and subsidies on food and beverage products, food labelling requirements, regulation of food content and regulation of food marketing, have been proposed to encourage healthier eating and prevent obesity. The objective of this article is to explore the extent to which international trade agreements affect governments' choices to use such regulatory measures. It reviews key provisions of relevant World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements and their implications. Some insights can be gained by examining 2 recent developments in the WTO regarding tobacco control: a current dispute involving Australia's plain packaging law and its effect on trademarks, and a recent decision involving the United States law banning flavoured cigarettes. This decision said that the ban did not restrict trade more than necessary to fulfil its legitimate health objective, but it was discriminatory because it banned imported products (clove cigarettes) while exempting domestic products (menthol cigarettes) with similar characteristics. The conclusion we can draw from this decision is that WTO member states probably enjoy a significant degree of latitude in developing food regulations as part of an obesity prevention strategy, so long as those do not disproportionately affect imported products and therefore raise questions of discrimination. The approach taken in this case encourages the adoption of public health policies that are consistent with strong scientific evidence, but may restrict governments' ability to make political compromises, which could frustrate some proposals. The ongoing development of WTO law will continue to affect policy choices in public health. Copyright © 2013 Canadian Diabetes Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Mott, Allison M.; Nunes, Eric J.; Collins, Lyndsey E.; Port, Russell G.; Sink, Kelly S.; Hockemeyer, Jörg; Müller, Christa E.
2010-01-01
Rationale Mesolimbic dopamine (DA) is a critical component of the brain circuitry regulating behavioral activation and effort-related processes. Research involving choice tasks has shown that rats with impaired DA transmission reallocate their instrumental behavior away from food-reinforced tasks with high response requirements and instead select less effortful food-seeking behaviors. Objective Previous work showed that adenosine A2A antagonism can reverse the effects of the DA antagonist haloperidol in an operant task that assesses effort-related choice. The present work used a T-maze choice procedure to assess the effects of adenosine A2A and A1 antagonism. Materials and methods With this task, the two arms of the maze have different reinforcement densities (four vs. two food pellets), and a vertical 44 cm barrier is positioned in the arm with the higher density, presenting the animal with an effort-related challenge. Untreated rats strongly prefer the arm with the high density of food reward and climb the barrier in order to obtain the food. Results Haloperidol produced a dose-related (0.05–0.15 mg/kg i.p.) reduction in the number of trials in which the rats chose the high-barrier arm. Co-administration of the adenosine A2A receptor antagonist MSX-3 (0.75, 1.5, and 3.0 mg/kg i.p.), but not the A1 antagonist 8-cyclopentyl-1,3-dipropylxanthine (0.75, 1.5, and 3.0 mg/kg i.p.), reversed the effects of haloperidol on effort-related choice and latency. Conclusions Adenosine A2A and D2 receptors interact to regulate effort-related decision making, which may have implications for the treatment of psychiatric symptoms such as psychomotor slowing or anergia that can be observed in depression, parkinsonism, and other disorders. PMID:19132351
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Mott, Allison M; Nunes, Eric J; Collins, Lyndsey E; Port, Russell G; Sink, Kelly S; Hockemeyer, Jörg; Müller, Christa E; Salamone, John D
2009-05-01
Mesolimbic dopamine (DA) is a critical component of the brain circuitry regulating behavioral activation and effort-related processes. Research involving choice tasks has shown that rats with impaired DA transmission reallocate their instrumental behavior away from food-reinforced tasks with high response requirements and instead select less effortful food-seeking behaviors. Previous work showed that adenosine A(2A) antagonism can reverse the effects of the DA antagonist haloperidol in an operant task that assesses effort-related choice. The present work used a T-maze choice procedure to assess the effects of adenosine A(2A) and A(1) antagonism. With this task, the two arms of the maze have different reinforcement densities (four vs. two food pellets), and a vertical 44 cm barrier is positioned in the arm with the higher density, presenting the animal with an effort-related challenge. Untreated rats strongly prefer the arm with the high density of food reward and climb the barrier in order to obtain the food. Haloperidol produced a dose-related (0.05-0.15 mg/kg i.p.) reduction in the number of trials in which the rats chose the high-barrier arm. Co-administration of the adenosine A(2A) receptor antagonist MSX-3 (0.75, 1.5, and 3.0 mg/kg i.p.), but not the A(1) antagonist 8-cyclopentyl-1,3-dipropylxanthine (0.75, 1.5, and 3.0 mg/kg i.p.), reversed the effects of haloperidol on effort-related choice and latency. Adenosine A(2A) and D2 receptors interact to regulate effort-related decision making, which may have implications for the treatment of psychiatric symptoms such as psychomotor slowing or anergia that can be observed in depression, parkinsonism, and other disorders.
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Collective choice in ants: the role of protein and carbohydrates ratios.
Arganda, S; Nicolis, S C; Perochain, A; Péchabadens, C; Latil, G; Dussutour, A
2014-10-01
In a foraging context, social insects make collective decisions from individuals responding to local information. When faced with foods varying in quality, ants are known to be able to select the best food source using pheromone trails. Until now, studies investigating collective decisions have focused on single nutrients, mostly carbohydrates. In the environment, the foods available are a complex mixture and are composed of various nutrients, available in different forms. In this paper, we explore the effect of protein to carbohydrate ratio on ants' ability to detect and choose between foods with different protein characteristics (free amino acids or whole proteins). In a two-choice set up, Argentine ants Linepithema humile were presented with two artificial foods containing either whole protein or amino acids in two different dietary conditions: high protein food or high carbohydrate food. At the collective level, when ants were faced with high carbohydrate foods, they did not show a preference between free amino acids or whole proteins, while a preference for free amino acids emerged when choosing between high protein foods. At the individual level, the probability of feeding was higher for high carbohydrates food and for foods containing free amino acids. Two mathematical models were developed to evaluate the importance of feeding probability in collective food selection. A first model in which a forager deposits pheromone only after feeding, and a second model in which a forager always deposits pheromone, but with greater intensity after feeding. Both models were able to predict free amino acid selection, however the second one was better able to reproduce the experimental results suggesting that modulating trail strength according to feeding probability is likely the mechanism explaining amino acid preference at a collective level in Argentine ants. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Mothers of young children cluster into 4 groups based on psychographic food decision influencers.
Byrd-Bredbenner, Carol; Abbot, Jaclyn Maurer; Cussler, Ellen
2008-08-01
This study explored how mothers grouped into clusters according to multiple psychographic food decision influencers and how the clusters differed in nutrient intake and nutrient content of their household food supply. Mothers (n = 201) completed a survey assessing basic demographic characteristics, food shopping and meal preparation activities, self and spouse employment, exposure to formal food or nutrition education, education level and occupation, weight status, nutrition and food preparation knowledge and skill, family member health and nutrition status, food decision influencer constructs, and dietary intake. In addition, an in-home inventory of 100 participants' household food supplies was conducted. Four distinct clusters presented when 26 psychographic food choice influencers were evaluated. These clusters appear to be valid and robust classifications of mothers in that they discriminated well on the psychographic variables used to construct the clusters as well as numerous other variables not used in the cluster analysis. In addition, the clusters appear to transcend demographic variables that often segment audiences (eg, race, mother's age, socioeconomic status), thereby adding a new dimension to the way in which this audience can be characterized. Furthermore, psychographically defined clusters predicted dietary quality. This study demonstrates that mothers are not a homogenous group and need to have their unique characteristics taken into consideration when designing strategies to promote health. These results can help health practitioners better understand factors affecting food decisions and tailor interventions to better meet the needs of mothers.
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Changing the Food Environment: The French Experience12
Chauliac, Michel; Hercberg, Serge
2012-01-01
The French National Nutrition and Health Program was launched in 2001. To achieve its objectives, 2 main preventive strategies were identified: 1) provide information and education to help individuals make healthy food and physical activity choices; and 2) improve the food and physical environment so that making healthy choices is easier. School regulations have been established to improve the nutritional quality of meals served to children and adolescents, and vending machines have been banned. Since 2007, companies in France’s food industry have had the option of signing the national government’s “Charte d'engagement volontaire de progrès nutritionnel” (charter of commitments to nutritional improvements) which aims to benefit all consumers. A standard reference document, developed by public authorities as the basis for decisions made by a committee of experts in the food industry, aims to validate the voluntary commitments made by companies to improve the nutrient content of the foods they produce. There is strict follow-up. A Food Quality Observatory was created in 2009 to monitor the nutrient quality of the food supply in France. Various results show the positive impact of these actions. PMID:22798000
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Changing the food environment: the French experience.
Chauliac, Michel; Hercberg, Serge
2012-07-01
The French National Nutrition and Health Program was launched in 2001. To achieve its objectives, 2 main preventive strategies were identified: 1) provide information and education to help individuals make healthy food and physical activity choices; and 2) improve the food and physical environment so that making healthy choices is easier. School regulations have been established to improve the nutritional quality of meals served to children and adolescents, and vending machines have been banned. Since 2007, companies in France's food industry have had the option of signing the national government's "Charte d'engagement volontaire de progrès nutritionnel" (charter of commitments to nutritional improvements) which aims to benefit all consumers. A standard reference document, developed by public authorities as the basis for decisions made by a committee of experts in the food industry, aims to validate the voluntary commitments made by companies to improve the nutrient content of the foods they produce. There is strict follow-up. A Food Quality Observatory was created in 2009 to monitor the nutrient quality of the food supply in France. Various results show the positive impact of these actions.
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Predictors of food decision making: A systematic interdisciplinary mapping (SIM) review.
Symmank, Claudia; Mai, Robert; Hoffmann, Stefan; Stok, F Marijn; Renner, Britta; Lien, Nanna; Rohm, Harald
2017-03-01
The number of publications on consumer food decision making and its predictors and correlates has been steadily increasing over the last three decades. Given that different scientific disciplines illuminate this topic from different perspectives, it is necessary to develop an interdisciplinary overview. The aim of this study is to conduct a systematic interdisciplinary mapping (SIM) review by using rapid review techniques to explore the state-of-the-art, and to identify hot topics and research gaps in this field. This interdisciplinary review includes 1,820 publications in 485 different journals and other types of publications from more than ten disciplines (including nutritional science, medicine/health science, psychology, food science and technology, business research, etc.) across a period of 60 years. The identified predictors of food decision making were categorized in line with the recently proposed DONE (Determinants Of Nutrition and Eating behavior) framework. After applying qualitative and quantitative analyses, this study reveals that most of the research emphasizes biological, psychological, and product-related predictors, whereas policy-related influences on food choice are scarcely considered. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Surveys suck: Consumer preferences when purchasing genetically engineered foods.
Powell, Douglas A
2013-01-01
Many studies have attempted to gauge consumers' acceptance of genetically engineered or modified (GM) foods. Surveys, asking people about attitudes and intentions, are easy-to-collect proxies of consumer behavior. However, participants tend to respond as citizens of society, not discrete individuals, thereby inaccurately portraying their potential behavior. The Theory of Planned Behavior improved the accuracy of self-reported information, but its limited capacity to account for intention variance has been attributed to the hypothetical scenarios to which survey participants must respond. Valuation methods, asking how much consumers may be willing to pay or accept for GM foods, have revealed that consumers are usually willing to accept them at some price, or in some cases willing to pay a premium. Ultimately, it's consumers' actual--not intended--behavior that is of most interest to policy makers and business decision-makers. Real choice experiments offer the best avenue for revealing consumers' food choices in normal life.
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Visser, Sanne Siete; Hutter, Inge; Haisma, Hinke
2016-02-01
The growing rates of (childhood) obesity worldwide are a source concern for health professionals, policy-makers, and researchers. The increasing prevalence of associated diseases-such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and psychological problems-shows the impact of obesity on people's health, already from a young age. In turn, these problems have obvious consequences for the health care system, including higher costs. However, the treatment of obesity has proven to be difficult, which makes prevention an important goal. In this study, we focus on food practices, one of the determinants of obesity. In recent years, it has become increasingly clear that interventions designed to encourage healthy eating of children and their families are not having the desired impact, especially among groups with a lower socioeconomic background (SEB). To understand why interventions fail to have an impact, we need to study the embedded social and cultural constructions of families. We argue that we need more than just decision-making theories to understand this cultural embeddedness, and to determine what cultural and social factors influence the decision-making process. By allowing families to explain their cultural background, their capabilities, and their opportunities, we will gain new insights into how families choose what they eat from a complex set of food choices. We have thus chosen to build a framework based on Sen's capability approach and the theory of cultural schemas. This framework, together with a holistic ethnographic research approach, can help us better understand what drives the food choices made in families. The framework is built to serve as a starting point for ethnographic research on food choice in families, and could contribute to the development of interventions that are embedded in the cultural realities of the targeted groups. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.
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Environmental considerations influencing dietary choices: exploring consumer attitudes
USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database
Introduction: With increasing focus on anthropogenic causes of climate change, more attention is on the contribution of food systems. Public discourse on sustainability leads consumers to consider how they may reduce environmental damage with personal dietary decisions. US-based studies evaluating p...
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Nudging healthy food choices: a field experiment at the train station.
Kroese, Floor M; Marchiori, David R; de Ridder, Denise T D
2016-06-01
Recognizing the mindless nature of many food decisions, it has been suggested that attempts to increase healthy eating should not focus on convincing people what is 'right' but rather aim to adjust the environment such that people are automatically directed toward healthy choices. This study investigated a nudge aiming to promote healthy food choices in train station snack shops. The nudge involved a repositioning of food products: healthy foods were placed at the cash register desk, while keeping unhealthy products available elsewhere in the shop. Three snack shops were included: a control condition; a nudge condition repositioning healthy products and a nudge + disclosure condition employing the same nudge together with an explanatory sign. Next to examining its effectiveness during 1 week, the study assessed customers' acceptance of the nudge. Controlling for a baseline week, more healthy (but not fewer unhealthy) products were sold in both nudge conditions, with no difference between the nudge and the nudge + disclosure condition. A majority of customers reported positive attitudes toward the nudge. Repositioning healthy foods is a simple, effective and well-accepted nudge to increase healthy purchases. Moreover, disclosing its purpose does not impact on effectiveness. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.
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Roodenburg, A J C; Popkin, B M; Seidell, J C
2011-11-01
A global push to reduce the amount of saturated and trans-fatty acids, added salt and sugar in processed food, and to enhance fruit, vegetable and whole grain intake, while limiting energy intake, exists for most populations. To redesign the International Choices Program (note: this is unrelated to the US Smart Choices Program), initially Netherlands focused, by an international board of scientists to create a generic, global front-of-pack nutrition logo system that helps consumers make healthier food choices and stimulates product reformulation. The Programme is a product-group-specific-nutrient-profiling approach with a distinction between basic and discretionary foods. The basic product groups are main contributors of essential and beneficial nutrients, and are based on food-based dietary guidelines from more than 20 countries across the globe. Generic criteria are derived from international nutrient recommendations for trans-fatty acids, saturated fatty acids, sodium, added sugar, fibre and energy, and evaluated against food composition data from 12 countries across Europe and market reality (actual foods on the market). Selected debates such as the source of fibre are also presented. Generic criteria and a decision framework were developed to further define food categories, so as to meet the unique country- and region-specific dietary needs. The result is a complete set of criteria that is evaluated on a regular basis to ensure its alignment with international dietary patterns, new scientific insights and current developments within the food market. These guidelines are currently used in a number of countries across the globe, and are being evaluated for effectiveness. Completed studies have demonstrated an increase in consumer awareness, a positive effect on product innovation and a potential impact on nutrient intakes.
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Privitera, Gregory J; Phillips, Taylor E; Zuraikat, Faris M; Paque, Robert
2015-09-01
Health literacy, the ability to acquire health-related knowledge and make appropriate health-related decisions, is regarded as a key barrier to meaningfully convey health information to children and can impact food choice. Emolabeling is an image-based labeling strategy aimed at addressing this problem by conveying health information using emotional correlates of health using emoticons (happy = healthy; sad = not healthy). To test the utility of such a method to promote healthy food choices among children, 64 children (59% girls, <5% non-White, mean BMI = 52nd percentile) in kindergarten through 5th grade were first given a brief 5-min lesson on how to use the emoticons, then asked to choose any 4 foods in each of 2 aisles structured to mimic a grocery aisle - there were 12 identical foods placed in the same location in each aisle with half being low calorie and half high calorie snacks. Foods were emolabeled in one aisle; no emolabels were used in the other aisle; the order that children were brought in each aisle was counterbalanced. Results showed that adding emolabels increased the number (M ± SD) of healthy foods chosen (3.6 ± 0.7 with vs. 2.3 ± 1.1 without emolabels present [95% CI 1.0, 1.5], R(2) = .67) and reduced the total calories (M ± SD) of foods chosen (193.5 ± 88.5 Cal with vs. 374.3 ± 152.6 Cal without emolabels present [95% CI -212.6, -149.0], R(2) = .70). Hence, adding emolabels was associated with healthier food choices among children, thereby demonstrating one possible strategy to effectively overcome health literacy barriers at these ages. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Roodenburg, A J C; Popkin, B M; Seidell, J C
2011-01-01
Background: A global push to reduce the amount of saturated and trans-fatty acids, added salt and sugar in processed food, and to enhance fruit, vegetable and whole grain intake, while limiting energy intake, exists for most populations. Objectives: To redesign the International Choices Program (note: this is unrelated to the US Smart Choices Program), initially Netherlands focused, by an international board of scientists to create a generic, global front-of-pack nutrition logo system that helps consumers make healthier food choices and stimulates product reformulation. Methods: The Programme is a product-group-specific-nutrient-profiling approach with a distinction between basic and discretionary foods. The basic product groups are main contributors of essential and beneficial nutrients, and are based on food-based dietary guidelines from more than 20 countries across the globe. Generic criteria are derived from international nutrient recommendations for trans-fatty acids, saturated fatty acids, sodium, added sugar, fibre and energy, and evaluated against food composition data from 12 countries across Europe and market reality (actual foods on the market). Selected debates such as the source of fibre are also presented. Results: Generic criteria and a decision framework were developed to further define food categories, so as to meet the unique country- and region-specific dietary needs. The result is a complete set of criteria that is evaluated on a regular basis to ensure its alignment with international dietary patterns, new scientific insights and current developments within the food market. Conclusions: These guidelines are currently used in a number of countries across the globe, and are being evaluated for effectiveness. Completed studies have demonstrated an increase in consumer awareness, a positive effect on product innovation and a potential impact on nutrient intakes. PMID:21697817
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Sex differences in selecting between food and cocaine reinforcement are mediated by estrogen.
Kerstetter, Kerry A; Ballis, Maya A; Duffin-Lutgen, Stevie; Carr, Amanda E; Behrens, Alexandra M; Kippin, Tod E
2012-11-01
Cocaine-dependent women, relative to their male counterparts, report shorter cocaine-free periods and report transiting faster from first use to entering treatment for addiction. Similarly, preclinical studies indicate that female rats, particularly those in the estrus phase of their reproductive cycle, show increased operant responding for cocaine under a wide variety of schedules. Making maladaptive choices is a component of drug dependence, and concurrent reinforcement schedules that examine cocaine choice offers an animal model of the conditions of human drug use; therefore, the examination of sex differences in decision-making may be critical to understanding why women display a more severe profile of cocaine addiction than men. Accordingly, we assessed sex and estrous cycle differences in choice between food (45 mg grain pellets) and intravenous cocaine (0.4 or 1.0 mg/kg per infusion) reinforcement in male, female (freely cycling), and ovariectomized (OVX) females treated with either estrogen benzoate (EB; 5 μg per day) or vehicle. At both cocaine doses, intact female rats choose cocaine over food significantly more than male rats. However, the estrous cycle did not impact the level of cocaine choice in intact females. Nevertheless, OVX females treated with vehicle exhibited a substantially lower cocaine choice compared with those receiving daily EB or to intact females. These results demonstrate that intact females have a greater preference for cocaine over food compared with males. Furthermore, this higher preference is estrogen-dependent, but does not vary across the female reproductive cycle, suggesting that ovarian hormones regulate cocaine choice. The present findings indicate that there is a biological predisposition for females to forgo food reinforcement to obtain cocaine reinforcement, which may substantially contribute to women experiencing a more severe profile of cocaine addiction than men.
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Sex Differences in Selecting Between Food and Cocaine Reinforcement are Mediated by Estrogen
Kerstetter, Kerry A; Ballis, Maya A; Duffin-Lutgen, Stevie; Carr, Amanda E; Behrens, Alexandra M; Kippin, Tod E
2012-01-01
Cocaine-dependent women, relative to their male counterparts, report shorter cocaine-free periods and report transiting faster from first use to entering treatment for addiction. Similarly, preclinical studies indicate that female rats, particularly those in the estrus phase of their reproductive cycle, show increased operant responding for cocaine under a wide variety of schedules. Making maladaptive choices is a component of drug dependence, and concurrent reinforcement schedules that examine cocaine choice offers an animal model of the conditions of human drug use; therefore, the examination of sex differences in decision-making may be critical to understanding why women display a more severe profile of cocaine addiction than men. Accordingly, we assessed sex and estrous cycle differences in choice between food (45 mg grain pellets) and intravenous cocaine (0.4 or 1.0 mg/kg per infusion) reinforcement in male, female (freely cycling), and ovariectomized (OVX) females treated with either estrogen benzoate (EB; 5 μg per day) or vehicle. At both cocaine doses, intact female rats choose cocaine over food significantly more than male rats. However, the estrous cycle did not impact the level of cocaine choice in intact females. Nevertheless, OVX females treated with vehicle exhibited a substantially lower cocaine choice compared with those receiving daily EB or to intact females. These results demonstrate that intact females have a greater preference for cocaine over food compared with males. Furthermore, this higher preference is estrogen-dependent, but does not vary across the female reproductive cycle, suggesting that ovarian hormones regulate cocaine choice. The present findings indicate that there is a biological predisposition for females to forgo food reinforcement to obtain cocaine reinforcement, which may substantially contribute to women experiencing a more severe profile of cocaine addiction than men. PMID:22871910
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Improving supplementary feeding in species conservation.
Ewen, John G; Walker, Leila; Canessa, Stefano; Groombridge, Jim J
2015-04-01
Supplementary feeding is often a knee-jerk reaction to population declines, and its application is not critically evaluated, leading to polarized views among managers on its usefulness. Here, we advocate a more strategic approach to supplementary feeding so that the choice to use it is clearly justified over, or in combination with, other management actions and the predicted consequences are then critically assessed following implementation. We propose combining methods from a set of specialist disciplines that will allow critical evaluation of the need, benefit, and risks of food supplementation. Through the use of nutritional ecology, population ecology, and structured decision making, conservation managers can make better choices about what and how to feed by estimating consequences on population recovery across a range of possible actions. This structured approach also informs targeted monitoring and more clearly allows supplementary feeding to be integrated in recovery plans and reduces the risk of inefficient decisions. In New Zealand, managers of the endangered Hihi (Notiomystis cincta) often rely on supplementary feeding to support reintroduced populations. On Kapiti island the reintroduced Hihi population has responded well to food supplementation, but the logistics of providing an increasing demand recently outstretched management capacity. To decide whether and how the feeding regime should be revised, managers used a structured decision making approach informed by population responses to alternative feeding regimes. The decision was made to reduce the spatial distribution of feeders and invest saved time in increasing volume of food delivered into a smaller core area. The approach used allowed a transparent and defendable management decision in regard to supplementary feeding, reflecting the multiple objectives of managers and their priorities. © 2014 The Authors. Conservation Biology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc., on behalf of Society for Conservation Biology.
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Bellows, Anne C; Alcaraz V, Gabriela; Hallman, William K
2010-12-01
Food choice is influenced by consumer attitudes towards food attributes. This U.S.-based study (n = 601) simultaneously compares attitudes towards selected food attributes of organic, locally grown, U.S. grown, and GM-free food in relation to other food attributes. Exploratory factor analysis identifies underlying constructs that determine, together and separately, female and male food choice decisions. Gendered analysis of the value of food in life and food behaviours (cooking and shopping) support the investigation of the highlighted food attributes. Respondents generally assigned greater importance to the U.S. grown, followed by GM-free, locally grown, and organically produced food attributes in deciding what to eat. Analysis of the female and male subsamples yielded similar factor results. All four main attributes were captured in a single factor, associated with respondents in both the female and male subsamples who are older, have lower incomes, and who are religiously observant. Additionally, among females, this factor was associated with higher education; and among males, living in households with children and/or with partners. Additional studies should further explore the interaction of food attributes now becoming increasingly important and prevalent in current food products. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Acquisition of choice in concurrent chains: Assessing the cumulative decision model.
Grace, Randolph C
2016-05-01
Concurrent chains is widely used to study pigeons' choice between terminal links that can vary in delay, magnitude, or probability of reinforcement. We review research on the acquisition of choice in this procedure. Acquisition has been studied with a variety of research designs, and some studies have incorporated no-food trials to allow for timing and choice to be observed concurrently. Results show that: Choice can be acquired rapidly within sessions when terminal links change unpredictably; under steady-state conditions, acquisition depends on both initial- and terminal-link schedules; and initial-link responding is mediated by learning about the terminal-link stimulus-reinforcer relations. The cumulative decision model (CDM) proposed by Christensen and Grace (2010) and Grace and McLean (2006, 2015) provides a good description of within-session acquisition, and correctly predicts the effects of initial and terminal-link schedules in steady-state designs (Grace, 2002a). Questions for future research include how abrupt shifts in preference within individual sessions and temporal control of terminal-link responding can be modeled. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Strategic and Operational Decision-Making: Does Military Weakness Affect Decisions Made?
2011-05-19
January he had no choice but to resign. 27 Ibid., 155. 28 Ibid., 155. 29 B.F. Johnston , Japanese Food Management in World War II (Stanford...Treaty of Versailles, which was the peace settlement signed after World War I. 84 In the Marshalls, several islands of the Kwajalein Atoll became...constantly shuttling Korean laborers and material from Japan for the systematic militarization of Truk in the Carolines and the Kwajalein Atoll .85
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Cue-based decision making. A new framework for understanding the uninvolved food consumer.
Hamlin, Robert P
2010-08-01
This article examines the processes that occur within the consumer's head as they make a choice between alternative market offers at a low level of involvement. It discusses recent research that indicates that the Theory of Planned Behaviour and its derivatives have restricted validity as a predictor of food consumers' evaluations and purchase patterns. This has significant implications as Planned Behaviour is the dominant paradigm within food industry research. The article demonstrates that Planned Behaviour has acquired this status more by default than by proven merit. The specific reasons for the failure of Planned Behaviour are discussed. An alternative paradigm, Cue-Based Decision Making is developed from an existing literature, and is proposed as a basis for increasing our understanding of the uninvolved food consumer in order to predict and influence their behaviour. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Steiner, Adam P.; Redish, A. David
2014-01-01
Summary Disappointment entails the recognition that one did not get the value one expected. In contrast, regret entails the recognition that an alternate (counterfactual) action would have produced a more valued outcome. Thus, the key to identifying regret is the representation of that counterfactual option in situations in which a mistake has been made. In humans, the orbitofrontal cortex is active during expressions of regret, and humans with damage to the orbitofrontal cortex do not express regret. In rats and non-human primates, both the orbitofrontal cortex and the ventral striatum have been implicated in decision-making, particularly in representations of expectations of reward. In order to examine representations of regretful situations, we recorded neural ensembles from orbitofrontal cortex and ventral striatum in rats encountering a spatial sequence of wait/skip choices for delayed delivery of different food flavors. We were able to measure preferences using an economic framework. Rats occasionally skipped low-cost choices and then encountered a high-cost choice. This sequence economically defines a potential regret-inducing instance. In these situations, rats looked backwards towards the lost option, the cells within the orbitofrontal cortex and ventral striatum represented that missed action, rats were more likely to wait for the long delay, and rats rushed through eating the food after that delay. That these situations drove rats to modify their behavior suggests that regret-like processes modify decision-making in non-human mammals. PMID:24908102
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Focus on the future: Episodic future thinking reduces discount rate and snacking.
Dassen, Fania C M; Jansen, Anita; Nederkoorn, Chantal; Houben, Katrijn
2016-01-01
Obesity seems related to a preference for immediate gratification. By changing this focus on short term benefits to a more future-oriented outlook, delay discounting (impulsive decision making) can be changed by a manipulation of episodic future thinking (EFT). EFT comprises a vivid mental simulation of general future experiences. EFT may also affect consumption of unhealthy foods, which can be seen as a choice for immediate gratification. Recent research shows that future orientation should be tailored to the behavior at outcome. We therefore hypothesize that the effectiveness of EFT on food intake could be enhanced by making the content food-related. We conducted a 2 (future vs past thinking) by 2 (food vs non-food related thoughts) between-subject design experiment in female undergraduates (N = 94), to compare the efficacy of EFT versus the recalling of episodic past events in reducing discount rate and caloric intake. Content of imagery was either unrestricted or food-related. Participants engaged in EFT or control episodic imagery while snacks were offered to freely consume, and next the Monetary Choice Questionnaire was completed as a measure of delay discounting, while again being engaged in EFT or control imagery. Both types of EFT reduced delay discounting, however, only food-related EFT lead to more restricted caloric consumption. Thus, we found evidence that EFT reduced discount rate during decision making. However, in order to restrict caloric intake, EFT should entail food-related imagery. As discount rate and caloric intake were not related in the current sample, the underlying mechanism remains to be discovered. Results however suggest that EFT is a promising technique to resist immediate gratification. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Health-seeking behavior and hospital choice in China's New Cooperative Medical System.
Brown, Philip H; Theoharides, Caroline
2009-07-01
Since the dissolution of the Rural Cooperative Medical System at the end of the commune period, illness has emerged as a leading cause of poverty in rural China. To address the poor state of health care, the Chinese government unveiled the New Cooperative Medical System in 2002. Because local governments have been given significant control over program design, fundamental characteristics of the program vary from one county to the next. These differences may influence the decision to seek health care as well as the choice of hospital conditional on that initial decision. In this paper, we use a nested logit model to analyze household survey data from 25 counties to analyze the determinants of such health-seeking behavior. We find that age, the share of household expenditures allocated to food consumption (a measure of relative income), and the presence of other sick people in the household negatively affect the decision to seek health care while disability has a positive influence. Further, conditional on seeking treatment, the reimbursement scheme in place in each county and the average daily expenditure associated with hospitalization strongly influence hospital choice.
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Kraak, Vivica; Englund, Tessa; Misyak, Sarah; Serrano, Elena
2017-07-12
Consumption of restaurant food and beverage products high in fat, sugar and sodium contribute to obesity and non-communicable diseases. We evaluated restaurant-sector progress to promote healthy food environments for Americans. We conducted a desk review of seven electronic databases (January 2006-January 2017) to examine restaurant strategies used to promote healthful options in the United States (U.S.). Evidence selection ( n = 84) was guided by the LEAD principles (i.e., locate, evaluate, and assemble evidence to inform decisions) and verified by data and investigator triangulation. A marketing-mix and choice-architecture framework was used to examine eight voluntary strategies (i.e., place, profile, portion, pricing, promotion, healthy default picks, priming or prompting and proximity) to evaluate progress (i.e., no, limited, some or extensive) toward 12 performance metrics based on available published evidence. The U.S. restaurant sector has made limited progress to use pricing, profile (reformulation), healthy default picks (choices), promotion (responsible marketing) and priming and prompting (information and labeling); and some progress to reduce portions. No evidence was available to assess progress for place (ambience) and proximity (positioning) to promote healthy choices during the 10-year review period. Chain and non-chain restaurants can apply comprehensive marketing-mix and nudge strategies to promote healthy food environments for customers.
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Misyak, Sarah; Serrano, Elena
2017-01-01
Consumption of restaurant food and beverage products high in fat, sugar and sodium contribute to obesity and non-communicable diseases. We evaluated restaurant-sector progress to promote healthy food environments for Americans. We conducted a desk review of seven electronic databases (January 2006–January 2017) to examine restaurant strategies used to promote healthful options in the United States (U.S.). Evidence selection (n = 84) was guided by the LEAD principles (i.e., locate, evaluate, and assemble evidence to inform decisions) and verified by data and investigator triangulation. A marketing-mix and choice-architecture framework was used to examine eight voluntary strategies (i.e., place, profile, portion, pricing, promotion, healthy default picks, priming or prompting and proximity) to evaluate progress (i.e., no, limited, some or extensive) toward 12 performance metrics based on available published evidence. The U.S. restaurant sector has made limited progress to use pricing, profile (reformulation), healthy default picks (choices), promotion (responsible marketing) and priming and prompting (information and labeling); and some progress to reduce portions. No evidence was available to assess progress for place (ambience) and proximity (positioning) to promote healthy choices during the 10-year review period. Chain and non-chain restaurants can apply comprehensive marketing-mix and nudge strategies to promote healthy food environments for customers. PMID:28704965
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A systematic review, and meta-analyses, of the impact of health-related claims on dietary choices.
Kaur, Asha; Scarborough, Peter; Rayner, Mike
2017-07-11
Health-related claims are statements regarding the nutritional content of a food (nutrition claims) and/or indicate that a relationship exists between a food and a health outcome (health claims). Their impact on food purchasing or consumption decisions is unclear. This systematic review measured the effect of health-related claims, on pre-packaged foods in retail settings, on adult purchasing decisions (real and perceived). In September 2016, we searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsychINFO, CAB abstracts, Business Source Complete, and Web of Science/Science Citation Index & Social Science Citation Index for articles in English published in peer-review journals. Studies were included if they were controlled experiments where the experimental group(s) included a health-related claim and the control group involved an identical product without a health-related claim. Included studies measured (at an individual or population level); actual or intended choice, purchases, and/or consumption. The primary outcome was product choices and purchases, the secondary outcome was food consumption and preference. Results were standardised through calculating odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the likelihood of choosing a product when a health-related claim was present. Results were combined in a random-effects meta-analysis. Thirty-one papers were identified, 17 of which were included for meta-analyses. Most studies were conducted in Europe (n = 17) and the USA (n = 7). Identified studies were choice experiments that measured the likelihood of a product being chosen when a claim was present compared to when a claim was not present, (n = 16), 15 studies were experiments that measured either; intent-rating scale outcomes (n = 8), consumption (n = 6), a combination of the two (n = 1), or purchase data (n = 1). Overall, 20 studies found that claims increase purchasing and/or consumption, eight studies had mixed results, and two studies found consumption/purchasing reductions. The meta-analyses of 17 studies found that health-related claims increase consumption and/or purchasing (OR 1.75, CI 1.60-1.91). Health-related claims have a substantial effect on dietary choices. However, this finding is based on research mostly conducted in artificial settings. Findings from natural experiments have yielded smaller effects. Further research is needed to assess effects of claims in real-world settings. PROSPERO systematic review registration number: CRD42016044042 .
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Human Decisions: Nitrogen Footprints and Environmental Effects
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Leach, A. M.; Bleeker, A.; Galloway, J. N.; Erisman, J.
2012-12-01
Human consumption choices are responsible for growing losses of reactive nitrogen (Nr) to the environment. Once in the environment, Nr can cause a cascade of negative impacts such as smog, acid rain, coastal eutrophication, climate change, and biodiversity loss. Although all humans must consume nitrogen as protein, the food production process releases substantial Nr to the environment. This dilemma presents a challenge: how do we feed a growing population while reducing Nr? Although top-down strategies to reduce Nr losses (e.g., emissions controls) are necessary, the bottom-up strategies focusing on personal consumption patterns will be imperative to solve the nitrogen challenge. Understanding the effects of different personal choices on Nr losses and the environment is an important first step for this strategy. This paper will utilize information and results from the N-Calculator, a per capita nitrogen footprint model (www.N-Print.org), to analyze the impact of different food consumption patterns on a personal food nitrogen footprint and the environment. Scenarios will analyze the impact of the following dietary patterns on the average United States (28 kg Nr/cap/yr) food nitrogen footprint: 1) Consuming only the recommended protein as defined by the WHO and the USDA; 2) Reducing food waste by 50%; 3) Consuming a vegetarian diet; 4) Consuming a vegan diet; 5) Consuming a demitarian diet (replacing half of animal protein consumption with vegetable protein); 6) Substituting chicken (a more efficient animal protein) with beef (a less efficient animal protein); 7) Consuming sustainably-produced food; and 8) Using advanced wastewater treatment. Preliminary results suggest that widespread advanced wastewater treatment with nutrient removal technology and halving food waste would each reduce the US personal food nitrogen footprint by 13%. In addition, reducing protein consumption to the recommended levels would reduce the footprint by about 42%. Combining these measures would reduce the food N footprint by ~60%. Such a reduction would result in significant lessening of the impacts of societal use of food resources on both ecosystem and human health. The personal food nitrogen footprints will then be linked to environmental effects based on the N species of the nitrogen footprint. Environmental effects considered will include global warming, air quality, drinking water quality, eutrophication, and stratospheric ozone depletion. Each of the scenarios will be scaled up to represent the full population of the United States, and the total national nitrogen reductions and the impact on environmental effects will be reported. The results of this analysis will help us begin to solve the human dimension of the nitrogen challenge by showing how different personal choices impact nitrogen losses and the environment. This information can then educate and empower consumers to make informed decisions about their food choices.
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2013-01-01
Following recent trends in environmental microbiology, food microbiology has benefited from the advances in molecular biology and adopted novel strategies to detect, identify, and monitor microbes in food. An in-depth study of the microbial diversity in food can now be achieved by using high-throughput sequencing (HTS) approaches after direct nucleic acid extraction from the sample to be studied. In this review, the workflow of applying culture-independent HTS to food matrices is described. The current scenario and future perspectives of HTS uses to study food microbiota are presented, and the decision-making process leading to the best choice of working conditions to fulfill the specific needs of food research is described. PMID:23475615
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Preference for oddity: uniqueness heuristic or hierarchical choice process?
Waite, Thomas A
2008-10-01
Traditional economic theories assume decision makers in multialternative choice tasks "assign" a value to each option and then express rational preferences. Here, I report an apparent violation of such rationality in gray jays (Perisoreus canadensis). I tested the jays' preference in a quaternary choice task where three options were the same color and the fourth option was a different color. All options offered an identical food reward and so the strictly rational expectation was that subjects would choose the odd-colored option in 25% of choices. In clear disagreement, every subject chose the odd option more frequently than expected. I speculate as to how this surprising preference for oddity might have been ecologically rational: by using a unique-choice heuristic, the jays might have been able to bypass a deliberative phase of the decision process and devote more attention to scanning for predators. Alternatively, it is conceivable that the jays did not prefer oddity per se. Instead, they might have used a hierarchical process, assigning options to color categories and then choosing between categories. If so, their behavior matches expectation after all (on average, subjects chose the odd option 50% of the time). It should be straightforward to test these competing hypotheses. The current results can be viewed as a new example of how simple mechanisms sometimes produce economically puzzling yet ecologically rational decision making.
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Value encoding in single neurons in the human amygdala during decision making.
Jenison, Rick L; Rangel, Antonio; Oya, Hiroyuki; Kawasaki, Hiroto; Howard, Matthew A
2011-01-05
A growing consensus suggests that the brain makes simple choices by assigning values to the stimuli under consideration and then comparing these values to make a decision. However, the network involved in computing the values has not yet been fully characterized. Here, we investigated whether the human amygdala plays a role in the computation of stimulus values at the time of decision making. We recorded single neuron activity from the amygdala of awake patients while they made simple purchase decisions over food items. We found 16 amygdala neurons, located primarily in the basolateral nucleus that responded linearly to the values assigned to individual items.
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Parenting practices toward food and children's behavior: Eating away from home versus at home.
Kasparian, Michelle; Mann, Georgianna; Serrano, Elena L; Farris, Alisha R
2017-07-01
Parenting style influences a child's overall diet quality and establishes food preferences. Parenting style and "food rules" for children differ by eating at home or away from home. Eating meals away from home is increasing despite associations with consumption of unhealthy foods and higher weight status. The objective of the current study was to compare parenting practices and decision-making at restaurants versus at home. A mixed methods approach was utilized: facilitated, individual interviews to explore decision-making and parenting practices; written questionnaires for socio-demographic information; and body mass index. Summaries and emergent themes were generated based on examination of tapes and transcripts. Descriptive statistics were computed for questionnaire data. Twenty-five mothers of children of five to eight years who ate at restaurants at least two times per week participated. Mothers reported more permissive food rules at restaurants yet maintained higher behavioral expectations. Mothers were also more likely to make decisions about whether they eat out, where to eat, and children's meal selections than their children. The findings suggest that parenting practices toward overall behavior and food choices may differ at restaurants than at home, highlighting the importance of healthy menu options, further research, and educational strategies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Raskind, Ilana G; Woodruff, Rebecca C; Ballard, Denise; Cherry, Sabrina T; Daniel, Sandra; Haardörfer, Regine; Kegler, Michelle C
2017-06-01
Although young adult women consume the majority of their total daily energy intake from home food sources, the decision-making processes that shape their home food environments have received limited attention. Further, how decision-making may be affected by the transformative experience of motherhood is unknown. In this study, we explore the factors that influence two key decision-making processes-food choices while grocery shopping and the use of non-home food sources-and whether there are differences by motherhood status. In-depth interviews were conducted with 40 women, aged 20-29, living in southwest Georgia. Thematic analysis was used to analyze qualitative data stratified by whether or not children were present in the home. Decision-making was affected by numerous factors, which differed across groups. In regard to grocery shopping, women with children more frequently discussed the influence of nutrition and the preferences of children, while women without children more frequently discussed the influence of taste and the preferences of other household members. Cost, convenience, weight control, and pre-planning meals emerged as salient in both groups. In regard to the use of non-home food sources, convenience and taste were discussed by both groups, while social factors were only discussed by women without children. The cost of eating out was the only reason cited for eating inside the home, and this factor only emerged among women with children. Motherhood may be an important contributor to the decision-making processes that shape young adult women's home food environments. Interventions may find success in framing messaging to emphasize factors identified as motivating healthy decisions, such as protecting the health of children, and practical strategies may be adapted from those already in use, such as pre-planning and budgeting for healthy meals. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Competing dopamine neurons drive oviposition choice for ethanol in Drosophila.
Azanchi, Reza; Kaun, Karla R; Heberlein, Ulrike
2013-12-24
The neural circuits that mediate behavioral choice evaluate and integrate information from the environment with internal demands and then initiate a behavioral response. Even circuits that support simple decisions remain poorly understood. In Drosophila melanogaster, oviposition on a substrate containing ethanol enhances fitness; however, little is known about the neural mechanisms mediating this important choice behavior. Here, we characterize the neural modulation of this simple choice and show that distinct subsets of dopaminergic neurons compete to either enhance or inhibit egg-laying preference for ethanol-containing food. Moreover, activity in α'β' neurons of the mushroom body and a subset of ellipsoid body ring neurons (R2) is required for this choice. We propose a model where competing dopaminergic systems modulate oviposition preference to adjust to changes in natural oviposition substrates.
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Shy herbivores forage more efficiently than bold ones regardless of information-processing overload.
Tan, Ming Kai; Chang, Chia-Chen; Tan, Hugh T W
2018-04-01
The neural constraint hypothesis is central to understanding decision-making by foraging herbivorous insects which make decisions less efficiently when they face multiple choices for numerous resource types and/or at high densities instead of a fewer choices. Previous studies have also shown the relationship between personality type and decision-making style. How personality types correlate with foraging efficiency among herbivores is however, largely untested. To answer this question, we used a widespread, polyphagous, floriphilic katydid, Phaneroptera brevis (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae) and two naturalised, Asteraceae, food plants, Bidens pilosa and Sphagneticola trilobata, as model systems. After we determined each katydid's exploration and boldness levels, we examined its foraging efficiency across different combinations of floral resource choice and density. We showed: (1) For the first time within the Tettigonioidea lineage that this katydid exhibits different personality types in exploration and boldness. (2) Contrary to our prediction, we did not find any support for the neural constraint hypothesis because more floral resource choice at a high density did not reduce foraging efficiency. (3) Surprisingly, bold katydids tend to be less efficient foragers than shy ones. Our findings have enhanced understanding of herbivore behavioural ecology and knowledge to better deal with potential pest herbivores. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Kostyra, Eliza; Żakowska-Biemans, Sylwia; Śniegocka, Katarzyna; Piotrowska, Anna
2017-06-01
The number of visually impaired and blind people is rising worldwide due to ageing of the global population, but research regarding the impact of visual impairment on the ability of a person to choose food and to prepare meals is scarce. The aim of this study was threefold: to investigate factors determining the choices of food products in people with various levels of impaired vision; to identify obstacles they face while purchasing food, preparing meals and eating out; and to determine what would help them in the areas of food shopping and meal preparation. The data was collected from 250 blind and visually impaired subjects, recruited with the support of the National Association of the Blind. The study revealed that majority of the visually impaired make food purchases at a supermarket or local grocery and they tend to favour shopping for food via the Internet. Direct sale channels like farmers markets were rarely used by the visually impaired. The most frequently mentioned factors that facilitated their food shopping decisions were the assistance of salespersons, product labelling in Braille, scanners that enable the reading of labels and a permanent place for products on the shop shelves. Meal preparation, particularly peeling, slicing and frying, posed many challenges to the visually impaired. More than half of the respondents ate meals outside the home, mainly with family or friends. The helpfulness of the staff and a menu in Braille were crucial for them to have a positive dining out experience. The results of the study provide valuable insights into the food choices and eating experiences of visually impaired people, and also suggest some practical implications to improve their independence and quality of life. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Kilanowski, Jill F
2016-01-01
Latino children demonstrate high rates of unhealthy weight, and children of Latino migrant and seasonal agricultural workers are heavier than their Latino peers. This one-group, cross-sectional, mixed-methods pilot study explored healthy-eating decision making with 12- to 14-year-olds recruited from a Midwest summer migrant education program. Demographics, decision-making, self-efficacy, and social support survey instruments were used, along with gender-specific focus groups. In the convenience sample, which included 24 participants, students felt varying degrees of uncertainty when choosing healthy foods in social situations, and 67% made poor-quality decisions. Parents offered greater support for healthy eating compared with friends. Qualitative analyses identified three themes: healthy decision making includes fruits, vegetables, and physical activity; mothers have influence over health and healthy decisions; and friends encourage unhealthy food choices. Influences on healthy-eating decision making in Latino adolescent children of migrant and seasonal agricultural workers, which were previously missing from the literature, were identified. Future research includes development of interventions to assist these adolescents with healthy-eating decision making. Copyright © 2016 National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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(Fish) Food for Thought: Authority Shifts in the Interaction between Mathematics and Reality
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Peled, Irit
2010-01-01
This theoretical paper explores the decision-making process involved in modelling and mathematizing situations during problem solving. Specifically, it focuses on the authority behind these choices (i.e., what or who determines the chosen mathematical models). We show that different types of situations involve different sources of authority,…
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Self-organization, collective decision making and resource exploitation strategies in social insects
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Nicolis, S. C.; Dussutour, A.
2008-10-01
Amplifying communications are a ubiquitous characteristic of group-living animals. This work is concerned with their role in the processes of food recruitment and resource exploitation by social insects. The collective choices made by ants faced with different food sources are analyzed using both a mean field description and a stochastic approach. Emphasis is placed on the possibility of optimizing the recruitment and exploitation strategies through an appropriate balance between individual variability, cooperative interactions and environmental constraints.
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Health and nutrition economics: diet costs are associated with diet quality.
Lo, Yuan-Ting; Chang, Yu-Hung; Lee, Meei-Shyuan; Wahlqvist, Mark L
2009-01-01
The WHO asserts that the global food price crisis threatens public health and jeopardizes the health of the most disadvantaged groups such as women, children, the elderly and low-income families. Economic factors play a crucial role and could affect personal nutrition status and health. Economic decision factors such as food price and income do influence people's food choices. Moreover, food costs are a barrier for low income-families to healthier food choices. Several studies indicate that diet costs are associated with dietary quality and also food safety. Food prices have surged over the past couple of years (2007-9) and raised serious concerns about food security around the world. Rising food prices are having severe impacts on population health and nutritional status. Therefore, people who change their diet pattern for economic reasons may develop a range of nutritionally-related disorders and diseases, from so-called over-nutrition to or with under-nutrition even within the one household. This is likely to increase with growing food insecurity. Presently, economics is not integrated with mainstream nutrition science or practice, other than in "home economics", but it can enable greater understanding of how socioeconomic status may interplay with human nutritional status and health and how these situations might be resolved. Collaborative, cross-disciplinary nutritional economics research should play a greater role in the prevention and management of food crises.
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Gambling for Gatorade: risk-sensitive decision making for fluid rewards in humans
Platt, Michael L.
2009-01-01
Determining how both humans and animals make decisions in risky situations is a central problem in economics, experimental psychology, behavioral economics, and neurobiology. Typically, humans are risk seeking for gains and risk averse for losses, while animals may display a variety of preferences under risk depending on, amongst other factors, internal state. Such differences in behavior may reflect major cognitive and cultural differences or they may reflect differences in the way risk sensitivity is probed in humans and animals. Notably, in most studies humans make one or a few choices amongst hypothetical or real monetary options, while animals make dozens of repeated choices amongst options offering primary rewards like food or drink. To address this issue, we probed risk-sensitive decision making in human participants using a paradigm modeled on animal studies, in which rewards were either small squirts of Gatorade or small amounts of real money. Possible outcomes and their probabilities were not made explicit in either case. We found that individual patterns of decision making were strikingly similar for both juice and for money, both in overall risk preferences and in trial-to-trial effects of reward outcome on choice. Comparison with decisions made by monkeys for juice in a similar task revealed highly similar gambling styles. These results unite known patterns of risk-sensitive decision making in human and nonhuman primates and suggest that factors such as the way a decision is framed or internal state may underlie observed variation in risk preferences between and within species. PMID:18719953
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Studying Food Reward and Motivation in Humans
Ziauddeen, Hisham; Subramaniam, Naresh; Cambridge, Victoria C.; Medic, Nenad; Farooqi, Ismaa Sadaf; Fletcher, Paul C.
2014-01-01
A key challenge in studying reward processing in humans is to go beyond subjective self-report measures and quantify different aspects of reward such as hedonics, motivation, and goal value in more objective ways. This is particularly relevant for the understanding of overeating and obesity as well as their potential treatments. In this paper are described a set of measures of food-related motivation using handgrip force as a motivational measure. These methods can be used to examine changes in food related motivation with metabolic (satiety) and pharmacological manipulations and can be used to evaluate interventions targeted at overeating and obesity. However to understand food-related decision making in the complex food environment it is essential to be able to ascertain the reward goal values that guide the decisions and behavioral choices that people make. These values are hidden but it is possible to ascertain them more objectively using metrics such as the willingness to pay and a method for this is described. Both these sets of methods provide quantitative measures of motivation and goal value that can be compared within and between individuals. PMID:24686284
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Studying food reward and motivation in humans.
Ziauddeen, Hisham; Subramaniam, Naresh; Cambridge, Victoria C; Medic, Nenad; Farooqi, Ismaa Sadaf; Fletcher, Paul C
2014-03-19
A key challenge in studying reward processing in humans is to go beyond subjective self-report measures and quantify different aspects of reward such as hedonics, motivation, and goal value in more objective ways. This is particularly relevant for the understanding of overeating and obesity as well as their potential treatments. In this paper are described a set of measures of food-related motivation using handgrip force as a motivational measure. These methods can be used to examine changes in food related motivation with metabolic (satiety) and pharmacological manipulations and can be used to evaluate interventions targeted at overeating and obesity. However to understand food-related decision making in the complex food environment it is essential to be able to ascertain the reward goal values that guide the decisions and behavioral choices that people make. These values are hidden but it is possible to ascertain them more objectively using metrics such as the willingness to pay and a method for this is described. Both these sets of methods provide quantitative measures of motivation and goal value that can be compared within and between individuals.
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Neuromarketing empirical approaches and food choice: A systematic review.
Stasi, A; Songa, G; Mauri, M; Ciceri, A; Diotallevi, F; Nardone, G; Russo, V
2018-06-01
Consumers' food choices are often driven by reasons of which consumers are not fully aware. Decision-making about food is influenced by a complex set of emotions, feelings, attitudes, and values that are impossible to assess simply by asking consumers their opinions. Indeed, traditional techniques, such as self-reports or interviews, mainly allow the measurement of conscious and rational reactions to a product or advertising. Recently, there has been a rapidly growing interest in the multidisciplinary field of "neuromarketing," which takes advantage of neuroscientific techniques to study consumer behavior. This discipline applies neuroscientific methods and tools that allow the measurement of consumers' emotional and spontaneous reactions in a more objective and observable way. The aim of this paper is (a) to describe neuromarketing's underlying assumptions, techniques, and the advantages of this perspective, examining the scientific literature on the use of neuromarketing in food studies; and (b) to suggest best practices to apply this novel approach in the food marketing domain, with a specific focus on non-invasive methods. Finally, although the perception of nutritional elements has already been explored, the health content of labels, the presence of additives, and the evaluation of the information conveyed by food packaging remain other possible elements of interest in future food neuromarketing research. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Ellis, Erin M.; Kiviniemi, Marc T.; Cook-Cottone, Catherine
2014-01-01
OBJECTIVE The central purpose of the current study was to examine whether eating disorder symptomatology moderates the extent to which implicitly and explicitly measured affective associations with fruits, or the feelings and emotions individuals associate with them, predict food choice. METHOD Participants (N=107) completed both implicit and explicit measures of affective associations with fruits, a self-report of eating disorder symptomatology, and their cognitive beliefs about fruits. In a subsequent snack selection task, they selected either a granola bar or fruit as a measure of their food choice behavior. RESULTS Logistic regression analyses revealed that eating disorder symptomatology moderated the relation of implicit affective associations on behavior, OR=0.27, p=.024, 95% CI (0.085, 0.84). A test of the simple effects indicated that implicit affective associations predicted snack choice at or below mean symptomatology levels [OR=2.073, p=.02, 95% CI (1.12, 3.84)], but not at high levels [OR=0.56, p=.28, 95% CI (0.18, 1.74)]. The effects of explicit measures on eating behavior were not moderated by eating disorder symptomatology (ps>.05). CONCLUSION These findings advance our understanding of both the relation of implicit affective associations on behavior, as well as the ways in which eating disorder symptomatology may impact the decision-making process, thereby perpetuating disorder-related eating behavior. These findings have implications for both health decision-making theory and practice, as well as for the study and treatment of eating disorders. PMID:24630936
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How Does the Brain Implement Adaptive Decision Making to Eat?
Walsh, B. Timothy; Kaye, Walter; Geliebter, Allan
2015-01-01
Adaptive decision making to eat is crucial for survival, but in anorexia nervosa, the brain persistently supports reduced food intake despite a growing need for energy. How the brain persists in reducing food intake, sometimes even to the point of death and despite the evolution of multiple mechanisms to ensure survival by governing adaptive eating behaviors, remains mysterious. Neural substrates belong to the reward-habit system, which could differ among the eating disorders. The present review provides an overview of neural circuitry of restrictive food choice, binge eating, and the contribution of specific serotonin receptors. One possibility is that restrictive food intake critically engages goal-directed (decision making) systems and “habit,” supporting the view that persistent caloric restriction mimics some aspects of addiction to drugs of abuse. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT An improved understanding of the neural basis of eating disorders is a timely challenge because these disorders can be deadly. Up to 70 million of people in the world suffer from eating disorders. Anorexia nervosa affects 1–4% of women in United States and is the first cause of death among adolescents in Europe. Studies relying on animal models suggest that decision making to eat (or not) can prevail over actual energy requirements due to emotional disturbances resulting in abnormal habitual behavior, mimicking dependence. These recent studies provide a foundation for developing more specific and effective interventions for these disorders. PMID:26468187
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Eating green. Consumers' willingness to adopt ecological food consumption behaviors.
Tobler, Christina; Visschers, Vivianne H M; Siegrist, Michael
2011-12-01
Food consumption is associated with various environmental impacts, and consumers' food choices therefore represent important environmental decisions. In a large-scale survey, we examined consumers' beliefs about ecological food consumption and their willingness to adopt such behaviors. Additionally, we investigated in more detail how different motives and food-related attitudes influenced consumers' willingness to reduce meat consumption and to buy seasonal fruits and vegetables. We found consumers believed avoiding excessive packaging had the strongest impact on the environment, whereas they rated purchasing organic food and reducing meat consumption as least environmentally beneficial. Similarly, respondents appeared to be most unwilling to reduce meat consumption and purchase organic food. Taste and environmental motives influenced consumers' willingness to eat seasonal fruits and vegetables, whereas preparedness to reduce meat consumption was influenced by health and ethical motives. Women and respondents who preferred natural foods were more willing to adopt ecological food consumption patterns. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Determinants of consumer behavior related to organic foods.
Shepherd, Richard; Magnusson, Maria; Sjödén, Per-Olow
2005-06-01
There have been many studies of what influences consumers in their decisions to purchase or consume organic foods, mainly concerned with fresh organic foods. These show a discrepancy between attitudes and behavior with people being positive about organic foods but often not purchasing them. This discrepancy seems to be explained by the fact that consumers do not consider "organically produced" to be an important purchase criterion, that organic foods are not perceived to surpass conventional foods regarding taste and shelf life (two qualities rated to be of great importance), and because of the perceived premium prices of organic foods. In two Swedish studies, health benefits were demonstrated to be more strongly related to attitudes and behavior toward organic foods than were perceived environmental benefits. A new European Union (EU) project will investigate the influences on both fresh and processed organic foods and investigate the role of moral, ethical, and affective influences on choice across eight EU countries.
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Bust economics: foragers choose high quality habitats in lean times
Dickman, Christopher R.
2016-01-01
In environments where food resources are spatially variable and temporarily impoverished, consumers that encounter habitat patches with different food density should focus their foraging initially where food density is highest before they move to patches where food density is lower. Increasing missed opportunity costs should drive individuals progressively to patches with lower food density as resources in the initially high food density patches deplete. To test these expectations, we assessed the foraging decisions of two species of dasyurid marsupials (dunnarts: Sminthopsis hirtipes and S. youngsoni) during a deep drought, or bust period, in the Simpson Desert of central Australia. Dunnarts were allowed access to three patches containing different food densities using an interview chamber experiment. Both species exhibited clear preference for the high density over the lower food density patches as measured in total harvested resources. Similarly, when measuring the proportion of resources harvested within the patches, we observed a marginal preference for patches with initially high densities. Models analyzing behavioral choices at the population level found no differences in behavior between the two species, but models analyzing choices at the individual level uncovered some variation. We conclude that dunnarts can distinguish between habitat patches with different densities of food and preferentially exploit the most valuable. As our observations were made during bust conditions, experiments should be repeated during boom times to assess the foraging economics of dunnarts when environmental resources are high. PMID:26839751
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Yeomans, Martin R; Brace, Aaron
2015-01-01
There is increasing evidence that individual differences in tendency to overeat relate to impulsivity, possibly by increasing reactivity to food-related cues in the environment. This study tested whether acute exposure to food cues enhanced impulsive and risky responses in women classified on tendency to overeat, indexed by scores on the three factor eating questionnaire disinhibition (TFEQ-D), restraint (TFEQ-R) and hunger scales. Ninety six healthy women completed two measures of impulsive responding (delayed discounting, DDT and a Go No-Go, GNG, task) and a measure of risky decision making (the balloon analogue risk task, BART) as well as questionnaire measures of impulsive behaviour either after looking at a series of pictures of food or visually matched controls. Impulsivity (DDT) and risk-taking (BART) were both positively associated with TFEQ-D scores, but in both cases this effect was exacerbated by prior exposure to food cues. No effects of restraint were found. TFEQ-D scores were also related to more commission errors on the GNG, while restrained women were slower on the GNG, but neither effect was modified by cue exposure. Overall these data suggest that exposure to food cues act to enhance general impulsive responding in women at risk of overeating and tentatively suggest an important interaction between tendency for impulsive decision making and food cues that may help explain a key underlying risk factor for overeating.
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Yeomans, Martin R.; Brace, Aaron
2015-01-01
There is increasing evidence that individual differences in tendency to overeat relate to impulsivity, possibly by increasing reactivity to food-related cues in the environment. This study tested whether acute exposure to food cues enhanced impulsive and risky responses in women classified on tendency to overeat, indexed by scores on the three factor eating questionnaire disinhibition (TFEQ-D), restraint (TFEQ-R) and hunger scales. Ninety six healthy women completed two measures of impulsive responding (delayed discounting, DDT and a Go No-Go, GNG, task) and a measure of risky decision making (the balloon analogue risk task, BART) as well as questionnaire measures of impulsive behaviour either after looking at a series of pictures of food or visually matched controls. Impulsivity (DDT) and risk-taking (BART) were both positively associated with TFEQ-D scores, but in both cases this effect was exacerbated by prior exposure to food cues. No effects of restraint were found. TFEQ-D scores were also related to more commission errors on the GNG, while restrained women were slower on the GNG, but neither effect was modified by cue exposure. Overall these data suggest that exposure to food cues act to enhance general impulsive responding in women at risk of overeating and tentatively suggest an important interaction between tendency for impulsive decision making and food cues that may help explain a key underlying risk factor for overeating. PMID:26378459
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Maintaining homeostasis by decision-making.
Korn, Christoph W; Bach, Dominik R
2015-05-01
Living organisms need to maintain energetic homeostasis. For many species, this implies taking actions with delayed consequences. For example, humans may have to decide between foraging for high-calorie but hard-to-get, and low-calorie but easy-to-get food, under threat of starvation. Homeostatic principles prescribe decisions that maximize the probability of sustaining appropriate energy levels across the entire foraging trajectory. Here, predictions from biological principles contrast with predictions from economic decision-making models based on maximizing the utility of the endpoint outcome of a choice. To empirically arbitrate between the predictions of biological and economic models for individual human decision-making, we devised a virtual foraging task in which players chose repeatedly between two foraging environments, lost energy by the passage of time, and gained energy probabilistically according to the statistics of the environment they chose. Reaching zero energy was framed as starvation. We used the mathematics of random walks to derive endpoint outcome distributions of the choices. This also furnished equivalent lotteries, presented in a purely economic, casino-like frame, in which starvation corresponded to winning nothing. Bayesian model comparison showed that--in both the foraging and the casino frames--participants' choices depended jointly on the probability of starvation and the expected endpoint value of the outcome, but could not be explained by economic models based on combinations of statistical moments or on rank-dependent utility. This implies that under precisely defined constraints biological principles are better suited to explain human decision-making than economic models based on endpoint utility maximization.
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Maintaining Homeostasis by Decision-Making
Korn, Christoph W.; Bach, Dominik R.
2015-01-01
Living organisms need to maintain energetic homeostasis. For many species, this implies taking actions with delayed consequences. For example, humans may have to decide between foraging for high-calorie but hard-to-get, and low-calorie but easy-to-get food, under threat of starvation. Homeostatic principles prescribe decisions that maximize the probability of sustaining appropriate energy levels across the entire foraging trajectory. Here, predictions from biological principles contrast with predictions from economic decision-making models based on maximizing the utility of the endpoint outcome of a choice. To empirically arbitrate between the predictions of biological and economic models for individual human decision-making, we devised a virtual foraging task in which players chose repeatedly between two foraging environments, lost energy by the passage of time, and gained energy probabilistically according to the statistics of the environment they chose. Reaching zero energy was framed as starvation. We used the mathematics of random walks to derive endpoint outcome distributions of the choices. This also furnished equivalent lotteries, presented in a purely economic, casino-like frame, in which starvation corresponded to winning nothing. Bayesian model comparison showed that—in both the foraging and the casino frames—participants’ choices depended jointly on the probability of starvation and the expected endpoint value of the outcome, but could not be explained by economic models based on combinations of statistical moments or on rank-dependent utility. This implies that under precisely defined constraints biological principles are better suited to explain human decision-making than economic models based on endpoint utility maximization. PMID:26024504
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Leveraging delay discounting for health: Can time delays influence food choice?
Appelhans, Bradley M; French, Simone A; Olinger, Tamara; Bogucki, Michael; Janssen, Imke; Avery-Mamer, Elizabeth F; Powell, Lisa M
2018-07-01
Delay discounting, the tendency to choose smaller immediate rewards over larger delayed rewards, is theorized to promote consumption of immediately rewarding but unhealthy foods at the expense of long-term weight maintenance and nutritional health. An untested implication of delay discounting models of decision-making is that selectively delaying access to less healthy foods may promote selection of healthier (immediately available) alternatives, even if they may be less desirable. The current study tested this hypothesis by measuring healthy versus regular vending machine snack purchasing before and during the implementation of a 25-s time delay on the delivery of regular snacks. Purchasing was also examined under a $0.25 discount on healthy snacks, a $0.25 tax on regular snacks, and the combination of both pricing interventions with the 25-s time delay. Across 32,019 vending sales from three separate vending locations, the 25-s time delay increased healthy snack purchasing from 40.1% to 42.5%, which was comparable to the impact of a $0.25 discount (43.0%). Combining the delay and the discount had a roughly additive effect (46.0%). However, the strongest effects were seen under the $0.25 tax on regular snacks (53.7%) and the combination of the delay and the tax (50.2%). Intervention effects varied substantially between vending locations. Importantly, time delays did not harm overall vending sales or revenue, which is relevant to the real-world feasibility of this intervention. More investigation is needed to better understand how the impact of time delays on food choice varies across populations, evaluate the effects of time delays on beverage vending choices, and extend this approach to food choices in contexts other than vending machines. ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02359916. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Tarabashkina, L; Quester, P; Crouch, R
2016-04-01
To investigate the role of product evaluations, nutritional and persuasion knowledge on children's food choices conducted because of limited evidence about the role of product evaluations on consumer choices in conjunction with cognitive defences. A randomised controlled 2 × 2 factorial experiment with an exposure to a food and a control (toy) advertisement conducted in a non-laboratory setting at an annual event traditionally visited by families. Children aged 7-13 years with biometric/weight data representative of the general Australian population. Height and weight (converted into body mass index z-scores) measured in addition to children's nutritional and persuasion knowledge, product evaluations, age and gender. The factors that undermine children's cognitive defences relate to taste, social appeal of foods and low nutritional and persuasion knowledge. An interplay between the above-mentioned factors was also observed, identifying four groups among young consumers, alluding to a complex and at times impulsive nature of children's decisions: (1) knowledgeable children with less positive product evaluations choosing a healthy snack; (2) knowledgeable but hedonism-oriented children seeking peer conformity choosing an advertised product; (3) knowledgeable children who chose a snack belonging to the same product category; and (4) less knowledgeable children with positive product evaluations and low nutritional knowledge choosing snacks from the advertised product category. Obese children were more likely to belong to a cluster of less knowledgeable and hedonism-oriented children. The problem of consumption of less healthy foods is complex and multiple factors need to be considered by health practitioners, social marketers and parents to address the issue of childhood obesity. Nutritional knowledge alone is not sufficient to ensure children make healthier food choices and emphasis should also be placed on persuasion knowledge education, targeting of peer norms, self-efficacy and stricter regulation of advertising aimed at children.
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Cook, Amy; Arter, Jennifer; Jacobs, Lucia F
2014-03-01
Dogs are strongly influenced by human behavior, and they readily form bonds with specific humans. Yet these lines of inquiry are not often combined. The goal of this study was to investigate whether such bonds would play a role in how dogs behave in response to human signals. Using various types of signals, we compared dogs' use of information from a familiar human (their owner) versus an unfamiliar human when choosing between two food containers. In some conditions, the owner indicated a container that gave food and a stranger indicated a container that did not; in other conditions, this was reversed. Dogs more often chose the container indicated by or nearest to their owner, even when this container never yielded a food reward. In two conditions, dogs chose at chance: a control condition in which both pointers were strangers and a condition in which the owner and stranger sat reading books and provided no social signal. This is the first study to directly compare owners to strangers in a single food-choice situation. Our results suggest that dogs make decisions by attending preferentially to social signals from humans with whom they have become familiar.
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Australian consumers are sceptical about but influenced by claims about fat on food labels.
Chan, C; Patch, C; Williams, P
2005-01-01
To explore the beliefs and attitudes of Australian consumers to claims about fat made on the labels of packaged food. Content analysis of transcripts from focus group discussions. A total of 26 female and 10 male participants aged 20-80 y, recruited by advertisement into six focus groups, stratified by age, sex and health status. Awareness of claims about fat was high in this sample of Australians and participants admitted that they influenced their purchase decisions. The most preferred form of claim was 'X% fat free'. Claims were considered most useful on foods that were high in fat. There was considerable scepticism about all nutrient claims, and consumers preferred to check claims about fat against the values in the nutrition information panel. Many claims were seen as advertising that could be misleading, deceptive or confusing. While claims about fat might prompt product trial, factors such as price, taste, naturalness, as well as other nutritional factors, also influenced purchase decisions. Some consumers believe low fat claims encourage over consumption of foods. Changes to regulations governing nutrition claims on food labels should be made to enhance their credibility and support their role in assisting consumers to make healthier food choices.
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Influences on Dietary Choices during Day versus Night Shift in Shift Workers: A Mixed Methods Study
Bonnell, Emily K.; Huggins, Catherine E.; Huggins, Chris T.; McCaffrey, Tracy A.; Palermo, Claire; Bonham, Maxine P.
2017-01-01
Shift work is associated with diet-related chronic conditions such as obesity and cardiovascular disease. This study aimed to explore factors influencing food choice and dietary intake in shift workers. A fixed mixed method study design was undertaken on a convenience sample of firefighters who continually work a rotating roster. Six focus groups (n = 41) were conducted to establish factors affecting dietary intake whilst at work. Dietary intake was assessed using repeated 24 h dietary recalls (n = 19). Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and interpreted using thematic analysis. Dietary data were entered into FoodWorks and analysed using Wilcoxon signed-rank test; p < 0.05 was considered significant. Thematic analysis highlighted four key themes influencing dietary intake: shift schedule; attitudes and decisions of co-workers; time and accessibility; and knowledge of the relationship between food and health. Participants reported consuming more discretionary foods and limited availability of healthy food choices on night shift. Energy intakes (kJ/day) did not differ between days that included a day or night shift but greater energy density (EDenergy, kJ/g/day) of the diet was observed on night shift compared with day shift. This study has identified a number of dietary-specific shift-related factors that may contribute to an increase in unhealthy behaviours in a shift-working population. Given the increased risk of developing chronic diseases, organisational change to support workers in this environment is warranted. PMID:28245625
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Influences on Dietary Choices during Day versus Night Shift in Shift Workers: A Mixed Methods Study.
Bonnell, Emily K; Huggins, Catherine E; Huggins, Chris T; McCaffrey, Tracy A; Palermo, Claire; Bonham, Maxine P
2017-02-26
Shift work is associated with diet-related chronic conditions such as obesity and cardiovascular disease. This study aimed to explore factors influencing food choice and dietary intake in shift workers. A fixed mixed method study design was undertaken on a convenience sample of firefighters who continually work a rotating roster. Six focus groups ( n = 41) were conducted to establish factors affecting dietary intake whilst at work. Dietary intake was assessed using repeated 24 h dietary recalls ( n = 19). Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and interpreted using thematic analysis. Dietary data were entered into FoodWorks and analysed using Wilcoxon signed-rank test; p < 0.05 was considered significant. Thematic analysis highlighted four key themes influencing dietary intake: shift schedule; attitudes and decisions of co-workers; time and accessibility; and knowledge of the relationship between food and health. Participants reported consuming more discretionary foods and limited availability of healthy food choices on night shift. Energy intakes (kJ/day) did not differ between days that included a day or night shift but greater energy density (ED energy , kJ/g/day) of the diet was observed on night shift compared with day shift. This study has identified a number of dietary-specific shift-related factors that may contribute to an increase in unhealthy behaviours in a shift-working population. Given the increased risk of developing chronic diseases, organisational change to support workers in this environment is warranted.
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Bursts and heavy tails in temporal and sequential dynamics of foraging decisions.
Jung, Kanghoon; Jang, Hyeran; Kralik, Jerald D; Jeong, Jaeseung
2014-08-01
A fundamental understanding of behavior requires predicting when and what an individual will choose. However, the actual temporal and sequential dynamics of successive choices made among multiple alternatives remain unclear. In the current study, we tested the hypothesis that there is a general bursting property in both the timing and sequential patterns of foraging decisions. We conducted a foraging experiment in which rats chose among four different foods over a continuous two-week time period. Regarding when choices were made, we found bursts of rapidly occurring actions, separated by time-varying inactive periods, partially based on a circadian rhythm. Regarding what was chosen, we found sequential dynamics in affective choices characterized by two key features: (a) a highly biased choice distribution; and (b) preferential attachment, in which the animals were more likely to choose what they had previously chosen. To capture the temporal dynamics, we propose a dual-state model consisting of active and inactive states. We also introduce a satiation-attainment process for bursty activity, and a non-homogeneous Poisson process for longer inactivity between bursts. For the sequential dynamics, we propose a dual-control model consisting of goal-directed and habit systems, based on outcome valuation and choice history, respectively. This study provides insights into how the bursty nature of behavior emerges from the interaction of different underlying systems, leading to heavy tails in the distribution of behavior over time and choices.
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Charbonnier, Lisette; van der Laan, Laura N; Viergever, Max A; Smeets, Paul A M
2015-01-01
We are continuously exposed to food and during the day we make many food choices. These choices play an important role in the regulation of food intake and thereby in weight management. Therefore, it is important to obtain more insight into the mechanisms that underlie these choices. While several food choice functional MRI (fMRI) studies have been conducted, the effect of energy content on neural responses during food choice has, to our knowledge, not been investigated before. Our objective was to examine brain responses during food choices between equally liked high- and low-calorie foods in the absence of hunger. During a 10-min fMRI scan 19 normal weight volunteers performed a forced-choice task. Food pairs were matched on individual liking but differed in perceived and actual caloric content (high-low). Food choice compared with non-food choice elicited stronger unilateral activation in the left insula, superior temporal sulcus, posterior cingulate gyrus and (pre)cuneus. This suggests that the food stimuli were more salient despite subject's low motivation to eat. The right superior temporal sulcus (STS) was the only region that exhibited greater activation for high versus low calorie food choices between foods matched on liking. Together with previous studies, this suggests that STS activation during food evaluation and choice may reflect the food's biological relevance independent of food preference. This novel finding warrants further research into the effects of hunger state and weight status on STS, which may provide a marker of biological relevance.
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Vayro, Caitlin; Hamilton, Kyra
2016-03-01
In Australia, fruit and vegetable consumption is lower than recommended while discretionary foods (i.e., foods high in fat, sugar, and salt) are eaten in excess. Long-haul truck drivers are a group at risk of unhealthy eating but have received limited attention in the health literature. We aimed to examine long-haul truck drivers eating decisions in order to develop theory-based and empirically-driven health messages to improve their healthy food choices. Drawing on the Theory of Planned Behavior, three-phased formative research was conducted using self-report surveys. Phase 1 (N = 30, Mage = 39.53, SDage = 10.72) identified modal salient beliefs about fruit and vegetable (FV) intake and limiting discretionary choices (DC). There were nine behavioral and seven normative beliefs elicited for both FV and DC; while nine and five control beliefs were elicited for FV and DC, respectively. Phase 2 (N = 148, Mage = 44.23, SDage = 12.08) adopted a prospective design with one week follow-up to examine the predictors of FV and DC intention and behavior. A variety of behavioral and control beliefs were predictive of FV and DC intention and behavior. Normative beliefs were predictive of FV intention and behavior and DC intention only. Phase 3 (N = 20, Mage = 46.9, SDage = 12.85) elicited the reasons why each belief is held/solutions to negative beliefs, that could be used as health messages. In total, 40 reasons/solutions were identified: 26 for FV and 14 for DC. In summary, we found that specific behavioral, normative and control beliefs influenced FV and DC eating decisions. These results have implications for truck driver's health and provide formative research to inform future interventions to improve the food choices of a unique group who are at risk of unhealthy eating behaviors. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Neural control of behavioural choice in juvenile crayfish.
Liden, William H; Phillips, Mary L; Herberholz, Jens
2010-11-22
Natural selection leads to behavioural choices that increase the animal's fitness. The neuronal mechanisms underlying behavioural choice are still elusive and empirical evidence connecting neural circuit activation to adaptive behavioural output is sparse. We exposed foraging juvenile crayfish to approaching shadows of different velocities and found that slow-moving shadows predominantly activated a pair of giant interneurons, which mediate tail-flips that thrust the animals backwards and away from the approaching threat. Tail-flips also moved the animals farther away from an expected food source, and crayfish defaulted to freezing behaviour when faced with fast-approaching shadows. Under these conditions, tail-flipping, an ineffective and costly escape strategy was suppressed in favour of freezing, a more beneficial choice. The decision to freeze also dominated in the presence of a more desirable resource; however, the increased incentive was less effective in suppressing tail-flipping when paired with slow-moving visual stimuli that reliably evoked tail-flips in most animals. Together this suggests that crayfish make value-based decisions by weighing the costs and benefits of different behavioural options, and they select adaptive behavioural output based on the activation patterns of identifiable neural circuits.
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Charbonnier, Lisette; van der Laan, Laura N.; Viergever, Max A.; Smeets, Paul A. M.
2015-01-01
We are continuously exposed to food and during the day we make many food choices. These choices play an important role in the regulation of food intake and thereby in weight management. Therefore, it is important to obtain more insight into the mechanisms that underlie these choices. While several food choice functional MRI (fMRI) studies have been conducted, the effect of energy content on neural responses during food choice has, to our knowledge, not been investigated before. Our objective was to examine brain responses during food choices between equally liked high- and low-calorie foods in the absence of hunger. During a 10-min fMRI scan 19 normal weight volunteers performed a forced-choice task. Food pairs were matched on individual liking but differed in perceived and actual caloric content (high-low). Food choice compared with non-food choice elicited stronger unilateral activation in the left insula, superior temporal sulcus, posterior cingulate gyrus and (pre)cuneus. This suggests that the food stimuli were more salient despite subject’s low motivation to eat. The right superior temporal sulcus (STS) was the only region that exhibited greater activation for high versus low calorie food choices between foods matched on liking. Together with previous studies, this suggests that STS activation during food evaluation and choice may reflect the food’s biological relevance independent of food preference. This novel finding warrants further research into the effects of hunger state and weight status on STS, which may provide a marker of biological relevance. PMID:26167916
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Gage, Heather; Egan, Bernadette; Williams, Peter; Brands, Brigitte; Györei, Eszter; López-Robles, Juan-Carlos; Campoy, Cristina; Decsi, Tamas; Koletzko, Berthold; Raats, Monique
2017-04-01
Typically, attention focuses on how nutrition affects physical health. The present study investigated the importance that parents attach to the impact of diet on mental performance when choosing food for their child. Questionnaire. Four European countries. Parents of children aged 4-10 years (n 1574): England (n 397), Germany (n 389), Hungary (n 398) and Spain (n 390). Most parents (80-85 %) considered the effect of food on four elements of mental performance (child's ability to learn, attention, behaviour, mood) to be moderately, very, extremely (v. slightly, not at all) important in food choices; over 90 % considered healthiness of food and making food appealing to their child important; 79·8 % cost; 76·8 % convenience. Belief that food affects mental performance was 57·4 % (ability to learn), 60·5 % (attention); less than 40 % of parents agreed they were aware which foods had an effect. Parents with lower general interest in healthy eating were less likely to consider the effect of food on mental performance elements as important. Respondents from Germany were more likely to rate mental performance as important (except behaviour); those in Hungary less likely. The most important influence on parents' decisions about feeding their child was their own experience, except Spain, where family/friends/health professionals were more important. Nutrition affects brain development and cognitive functioning. Low prioritisation of the effect of food on mental performance indicates potential for educating parents.
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The effect of learning climate on snack consumption and ego depletion among undergraduate students.
Magaraggia, Christian; Dimmock, James A; Jackson, Ben
2013-10-01
We explored the effect of controlled and autonomous learning choices on the consumption of a high-energy snack food, and also examined whether snack consumption during a controlled choice learning activity could 'up-regulate' subsequent performance on a self-regulation task. Participants were randomly assigned to a controlled choice learning condition in which food was provided, a controlled choice learning condition in which food was not provided, or an autonomous choice learning condition in which food was provided. Results indicated that the autonomous choice group consumed significantly less snack food than the controlled-choice-and-food group. Participants in the autonomous choice condition also performed better on the subsequent self-regulation task than the controlled-choice-and-food group, even after controlling for the amount of food consumed. Furthermore, within the controlled-choice-and-food condition, there was no association between food consumption and subsequent self-regulation task performance. Discussion focuses on the potential impact of a controlled learning climate on snack food consumption and on the degradation of self-regulation capacities. Crown Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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The Hunger Games: Using hunger to promote healthy choices in self-control conflicts.
Cheung, Tracy T L; Kroese, Floor M; Fennis, Bob M; De Ridder, Denise T D
2017-09-01
The majority of existing research and conventional wisdom would advise against shopping on an empty stomach as hunger is assumed to encourage impulsive choices that typically lead to self-control failure (i.e., favouring short-term gratifications at the expense of long-term goals). Nonetheless, through two studies the current research aims to demonstrate that hungry consumers would not always be disadvantaged when encountering a self-control conflict involving a trade-off choice between a healthy vs. a more palatable but unhealthy choice. Particularly we posit that the choice outcome of the self-control conflict is dependent on contextual cues, such that hungry consumers with the tendency to make fast decisions could benefit from following a social proof heuristic promoting the healthy options. In Study 1, we indeed observed participants' self-reported hunger to be negatively associated with state self-control, but as most participants generally experienced low levels of hunger we did not observe apparent effects of hunger on food choice (DV), and correspondingly the potential influence of the social proof heuristic in moderating the choice outcome. However, in Study 2 where hunger was manipulated, we found hungry participants making significantly less healthy choices than satiated participants, but a social proof heuristic mitigated this effect (i.e., in the presence of social proof heuristic hungry participants made just as many healthy food choices as satiated participants; and hungry participants made more healthy choices in the social proof condition than in the no heuristic condition). These findings support our approach of providing contextual cues in the environment in order to work with, rather than against, the impulsivity triggered by hunger to promote successful self-control behaviours. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Mapping dietary habits may provide clues about the factors that determine food choice.
Hackett, A; Boddy, L; Boothby, J; Dummer, T J B; Johnson, B; Stratton, G
2008-10-01
Food deserts are thought to be a barrier to making healthier food choices. This concept has been challenged. The interaction between the physical environment and children's food choice has received little attention. The present study used food intake data to generate hypotheses concerning the role of the physical environment in food choice. A cross-sectional analysis was conducted of the dietary habits of Year 5 (9-10-year-old) children from 90 of Liverpool's 118 primary schools. Individuals with the 'best' and 'worst' food choices were mapped and two areas associated with these extreme choices located. One thousand five hundred and thirty-five children completed the dietary questionnaire and supplied a full and valid postcode. Two adjacent areas with relatively large numbers of children in the 'best' and 'worst' food choice groups were chosen. Both areas had very similar socio-economic profiles. The contrast in the physical environments was striking, even on visual inspection. Food deserts as a cause of poor food choice did not stand scrutiny; the area located by the worst food choices had a plethora of shops selling food (better termed a food prairie), whereas the area located by the best food choices had no shops in evidence but did have more 'space'.
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Averting Behavior Framework for Perceived Risk of Yersinia enterocolitica Infections.
Aziz, Sonia N; Aziz, Khwaja M S
2012-01-01
The focus of this research is to present a theoretical model of averting actions that households take to avoid exposure to Yersinia enterocolitica in contaminated food. The cost of illness approach only takes into account the value of a cure, while the averting behavior approach can estimate the value of preventing the illness. The household, rather than the individual, is the unit of analysis in this model, where one household member is primarily responsible for procuring uncontaminated food for their family. Since children are particularly susceptible and live with parents who are primary decision makers for sustenance, the designated household head makes the choices that are investigated in this paper. This model uses constrained optimization to characterize activities that may offer protection from exposure to Yersinia enterocolitica contaminated food. A representative household decision maker is assumed to allocate family resources to maximize utility of an altruistic parent, an assumption used in most research involving economics of the family.
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From cookies to carrots; the effect of inhibitory control training on children's snack selections.
Porter, L; Bailey-Jones, C; Priudokaite, G; Allen, S; Wood, K; Stiles, K; Parvin, O; Javaid, M; Verbruggen, F; Lawrence, N S
2018-05-01
Children consume too much sugar and not enough fruit and vegetables, increasing their risk of adverse health outcomes. Inhibitory control training (ICT) reduces children's and adults' intake of energy-dense foods in both laboratory and real-life settings. However, no studies have yet examined whether ICT can increase healthy food choice when energy-dense options are also available. We investigated whether a food-specific Go/No-Go task could influence the food choices of children aged 4-11, as measured by a hypothetical food choice task using healthy and unhealthy food images printed on cards. Participants played either an active game (healthy foods = 100% go, unhealthy foods = 100% no-go; Studies 1 & 2), a food control game (both healthy and unhealthy foods = 50% go, 50% no-go; Studies 1 & 2) or a non-food control game (sports equipment = 100% go, technology = 100% no-go; Study 2 only) followed by the choice task. In Study 2, food card choices were also measured before training to examine change in choices. A post-training real food choice task was added to check that choices made in the card-based task were representative of choices made when faced with real healthy and unhealthy foods. Overall, the active group chose the greatest number of healthy food cards. Study 2 confirmed that this was due to increases in healthy food card choice in this group only. Active group participants chose a greater number of healthy foods in the real food choice task compared to children in the non-food control group only. The results are discussed with reference to methodological issues and the development of future healthy eating interventions. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.
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Fundamentals of health risk assessment. Use, derivation, validity and limitations of safety indices.
Putzrath, R M; Wilson, J D
1999-04-01
We investigated the way results of human health risk assessments are used, and the theory used to describe those methods, sometimes called the "NAS paradigm." Contrary to a key tenet of that theory, current methods have strictly limited utility. The characterizations now considered standard, Safety Indices such as "Acceptable Daily Intake," "Reference Dose," and so on, usefully inform only decisions that require a choice between two policy alternatives (e.g., approve a food additive or not), decided solely on the basis of a finding of safety. Risk is characterized as the quotient of one of these Safety Indices divided by an estimate of exposure: a quotient greater than one implies that the situation may be considered safe. Such decisions are very widespread, both in the U.S. federal government and elsewhere. No current method is universal; different policies lead to different practices, for example, in California's "Proposition 65," where statutory provisions specify some practices. Further, an important kind of human health risk assessment is not recognized by this theory: this kind characterizes risk as likelihood of harm, given estimates of exposure consequent to various decision choices. Likelihood estimates are necessary whenever decision makers have many possible decision choices and must weigh more than two societal values, such as in EPA's implementation of "conventional air pollutants." These estimates can not be derived using current methods; different methods are needed. Our analysis suggests changes needed in both the theory and practice of human health risk assessment, and how what is done is depicted.
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Parent and child perspectives on family out-of-home eating: a qualitative analysis.
McGuffin, Lynn E; Price, Ruth K; McCaffrey, Tracy A; Hall, Glenn; Lobo, Alan; Wallace, Julie M W; Livingstone, M Barbara E
2015-01-01
To (i) explore the factors influencing family out-of-home (OH) eating events and (ii) identify possible opportunities for food businesses to support families in making healthier OH choices. Focus group discussions were conducted with parents (six to eight participants per group) and friendship pair discussions (informal interviews with two children who are friends) were conducted with children (5-12 years) throughout the island of Ireland. Both discussions were audio-recorded and analysed using a thematic content analysis. Eight focus groups and sixteen friendship pairs were conducted in Northern Ireland and sixteen focus groups and thirty-two friendship pairs were conducted in the Republic of Ireland. Purposive sampling was used to recruit a sample of non-related parents and children that represented equal numbers of gender, age, socio-economic status and demographic backgrounds. The main, overarching theme was that families perceived OH eating to be a treat, while health was not currently a key priority for many parents and children. Children were reported to have most responsibility for their own food choice decisions in this environment, with taste and food neophobia having the greatest influences. Parents believed that if food businesses could meet parent and child priorities in addition to health influences, e.g. change cooking methods, and increase flexibility, then families would be more likely to patronise these establishments. The entire family OH eating experience needs to be considered when developing public health interventions and this research has highlighted key opportunities that caterers could employ to support healthier family OH food choices.
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Bursts and Heavy Tails in Temporal and Sequential Dynamics of Foraging Decisions
Jung, Kanghoon; Jang, Hyeran; Kralik, Jerald D.; Jeong, Jaeseung
2014-01-01
A fundamental understanding of behavior requires predicting when and what an individual will choose. However, the actual temporal and sequential dynamics of successive choices made among multiple alternatives remain unclear. In the current study, we tested the hypothesis that there is a general bursting property in both the timing and sequential patterns of foraging decisions. We conducted a foraging experiment in which rats chose among four different foods over a continuous two-week time period. Regarding when choices were made, we found bursts of rapidly occurring actions, separated by time-varying inactive periods, partially based on a circadian rhythm. Regarding what was chosen, we found sequential dynamics in affective choices characterized by two key features: (a) a highly biased choice distribution; and (b) preferential attachment, in which the animals were more likely to choose what they had previously chosen. To capture the temporal dynamics, we propose a dual-state model consisting of active and inactive states. We also introduce a satiation-attainment process for bursty activity, and a non-homogeneous Poisson process for longer inactivity between bursts. For the sequential dynamics, we propose a dual-control model consisting of goal-directed and habit systems, based on outcome valuation and choice history, respectively. This study provides insights into how the bursty nature of behavior emerges from the interaction of different underlying systems, leading to heavy tails in the distribution of behavior over time and choices. PMID:25122498
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Song, Anna V; Brown, Paul; Glantz, Stanton A
2014-02-01
In its graphic warning label regulations on cigarette packages, the Food and Drug Administration severely discounts the benefits of reduced smoking because of the lost "pleasure" smokers experience when they stop smoking; this is quantified as lost "consumer surplus." Consumer surplus is grounded in rational choice theory. However, empirical evidence from psychological cognitive science and behavioral economics demonstrates that the assumptions of rational choice are inconsistent with complex multidimensional decisions, particularly smoking. Rational choice does not account for the roles of emotions, misperceptions, optimistic bias, regret, and cognitive inefficiency that are germane to smoking, particularly because most smokers begin smoking in their youth. Continued application of a consumer surplus discount will undermine sensible policies to reduce tobacco use and other policies to promote public health.
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Interpretive front-of-pack nutrition labels. Comparing competing recommendations.
Maubach, Ninya; Hoek, Janet; Mather, Damien
2014-11-01
Many stakeholders support introducing an interpretive front-of-pack (FOP) nutrition label, but disagree over the form it should take. In late 2012, an expert working group established by the New Zealand government recommended the adoption of an untested summary rating system: a Star label. This study used a best-worst scaling choice experiment to estimate how labels featuring the new Star rating, the Multiple Traffic Light (MTL), Daily Intake Guide (DIG), and a no-FOP control affected consumers' choice behaviours and product perceptions. Nutrient-content and health claims were included in the design. We also assessed whether respondents who used more or less information during the choice tasks differed in their selection patterns. Overall, while respondents made broadly similar choices with respect to the MTL and Star labels, the MTL format had a significantly greater impact on depressing preference as a food's nutritional profile became less healthy. Health claims increased rankings of less nutritious options, though this effect was less pronounced when the products featured an MTL. Further, respondents were best able to differentiate products' healthiness with MTL labels. The proposed summary Stars system had less effect on choice patterns than an MTL label and our findings highlight the need for policy makers to ensure that decisions to introduce FOP labels are underpinned by robust research evidence. These results suggest that the proposed summary Stars system will have less effect on shifting food choice patterns than interpretive FOP nutrition label featuring traffic light ratings. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Embodied Choice: How Action Influences Perceptual Decision Making
Lepora, Nathan F.; Pezzulo, Giovanni
2015-01-01
Embodied Choice considers action performance as a proper part of the decision making process rather than merely as a means to report the decision. The central statement of embodied choice is the existence of bidirectional influences between action and decisions. This implies that for a decision expressed by an action, the action dynamics and its constraints (e.g. current trajectory and kinematics) influence the decision making process. Here we use a perceptual decision making task to compare three types of model: a serial decision-then-action model, a parallel decision-and-action model, and an embodied choice model where the action feeds back into the decision making. The embodied model incorporates two key mechanisms that together are lacking in the other models: action preparation and commitment. First, action preparation strategies alleviate delays in enacting a choice but also modify decision termination. Second, action dynamics change the prospects and create a commitment effect to the initially preferred choice. Our results show that these two mechanisms make embodied choice models better suited to combine decision and action appropriately to achieve suitably fast and accurate responses, as usually required in ecologically valid situations. Moreover, embodied choice models with these mechanisms give a better account of trajectory tracking experiments during decision making. In conclusion, the embodied choice framework offers a combined theory of decision and action that gives a clear case that embodied phenomena such as the dynamics of actions can have a causal influence on central cognition. PMID:25849349
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Embodied choice: how action influences perceptual decision making.
Lepora, Nathan F; Pezzulo, Giovanni
2015-04-01
Embodied Choice considers action performance as a proper part of the decision making process rather than merely as a means to report the decision. The central statement of embodied choice is the existence of bidirectional influences between action and decisions. This implies that for a decision expressed by an action, the action dynamics and its constraints (e.g. current trajectory and kinematics) influence the decision making process. Here we use a perceptual decision making task to compare three types of model: a serial decision-then-action model, a parallel decision-and-action model, and an embodied choice model where the action feeds back into the decision making. The embodied model incorporates two key mechanisms that together are lacking in the other models: action preparation and commitment. First, action preparation strategies alleviate delays in enacting a choice but also modify decision termination. Second, action dynamics change the prospects and create a commitment effect to the initially preferred choice. Our results show that these two mechanisms make embodied choice models better suited to combine decision and action appropriately to achieve suitably fast and accurate responses, as usually required in ecologically valid situations. Moreover, embodied choice models with these mechanisms give a better account of trajectory tracking experiments during decision making. In conclusion, the embodied choice framework offers a combined theory of decision and action that gives a clear case that embodied phenomena such as the dynamics of actions can have a causal influence on central cognition.
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Rosenblatt, Daniel H; Summerell, Patrick; Ng, Alyssa; Dixon, Helen; Murawski, Carsten; Wakefield, Melanie; Bode, Stefan
2018-01-01
Modern societies are replete with palatable food cues. A growing body of evidence suggests that food cue exposure activates conditioned appetitive physiological and psychological responses that may override current metabolic needs and existing eating goals, such as the desire to maintain a healthy diet. This conditioned response results in unhealthy dietary choices and is a contributing factor in the current obesity epidemic. Prime based obesity prevention measures such as health warnings at point-of-sale or on product packaging may have the potential to counteract the influence of the obesogenic environment at the crucial moment when people make food purchasing or consumption decisions. Existing research into the efficacy of these intervention strategies has predominantly employed self-report and population level measures, and little evidence exists to support the contention that these measures counteract food cue reactivity at the time of decision making. Using a dietary self-control priming paradigm, we demonstrated that brief exposure to food product health warnings enhanced dietary self-control. Further, we analysed electroencephalographic correlates of selective attention and food cue evoked craving (N1, P3, LPP) to show that health warning exposure reduced the automatic appetitive response towards palatable food cues. These findings contribute to existing evidence that exogenous information can successfully prime latent goals, and substantiate the notion that food product health warnings may provide a new avenue through which to curb excessive energy intake and reduce rising obesity rates.
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State-dependent choice and ecological rationality.
Nevai, Andrew L; Waite, Thomas A; Passino, Kevin M
2007-08-07
Decision makers who minimize costly errors should flexibly adjust the way they trade off competing demands, depending on their current state. We explore how state (amount of hoarded food) affects willingness to take extra predation risk to obtain larger food rewards, particularly in animals that may overemphasize safety. Assuming a sigmoid fitness function, we explore how a supplement in state influences this willingness trade danger for food energy. Above a threshold, the model predicts the supplement will weaken this willingness. Incremental increases in state in the deceleratory phase yield smaller fitness gains, so it pays to increase emphasis on safety after receiving a supplement. Below this threshold, the model makes the opposite prediction because incremental increases in state yield bigger fitness gains and so it pays to decrease emphasis on safety. We use the model to explain why hoarding gray jays (Perisoreus canadensis) were induced by an experimental subsidy to accept greater danger. This formerly puzzling finding makes sense if the jays' effective hoard was relatively small, due to theft and decomposition. We discuss adaptive state-dependent choice as a general explanation for apparently irrational behavior.
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Autonomous mechanism of internal choice estimate underlies decision inertia.
Akaishi, Rei; Umeda, Kazumasa; Nagase, Asako; Sakai, Katsuyuki
2014-01-08
Our choice is influenced by choices we made in the past, but the mechanism responsible for the choice bias remains elusive. Here we show that the history-dependent choice bias can be explained by an autonomous learning rule whereby an estimate of the likelihood of a choice to be made is updated in each trial by comparing between the actual and expected choices. We found that in perceptual decision making without performance feedback, a decision on an ambiguous stimulus is repeated on the subsequent trial more often than a decision on a salient stimulus. This inertia of decision was not accounted for by biases in motor response, sensory processing, or attention. The posterior cingulate cortex and frontal eye field represent choice prediction error and choice estimate in the learning algorithm, respectively. Interactions between the two regions during the intertrial interval are associated with decision inertia on a subsequent trial. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Nicklaus, Sophie; Boggio, Vincent; Issanchou, Sylvie
2005-07-01
The objective was to show patterns of food selection by 2- to 3-y-old children for a wide variety of foods in a self-service cafeteria and to assess the effect of individual variables (gender, BMI, mode of feeding after birth and rank in sibship). In a nursery self-service canteen, food choices at lunch made by children (n=418, 24-36 mo; 109 observations per child on average) were recorded by trained assistants who monitored portion size. An offer of eight dishes (animal products, starchy foods, combination dishes, vegetables and dairy products), excluding dessert-type foods, was proposed. Choice level was calculated for each food. Analysis of variance was used to compare choices for the various foods and to assess the effect of the individual variables. The choice of a food largely depended upon its nature: animal products, starchy foods and their combinations were widely chosen, whereas vegetables were not often selected; the choice for dairy products depended upon the type. The mode of preparation of the food influenced its choice. Segmenting products were identified; however, except for cheeses, a given child did not refuse an entire food category. Children's characteristics did not explain the choice variability. At the age of 2 to 3 y, children preferentially choose animal products and starchy foods and avoid vegetables; the high individual variability of their food choices could be related to previous food experiences.
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Cultural specificity in food choice - The case of ethnography in Japan.
Freedman, Irith
2016-01-01
Previous studies examining food choice from a cross-cultural perspective were based primarily on quantitative research using the Food Choice Questionnaire (FCQ). This study suggests ethnography as a complementary research method in cross-cultural food choice studies. While use of the FCQ resulted in findings of cultural differences in food choice processes, within a preliminary motive list, ethnography allows the exploration of new, possibly culture-specific motives for food choice. Moreover, ethnography allows a deeper understanding of the cultural background of food choice processes in a studied culture. Using Japan as a case study, this research demonstrates the use of ethnography to argue that variety is a primary motive for food choice in contemporary Japanese culture. Variety is hence regarded here as a part of a larger food culture attribute, an "adventurous palate," which can also provide a background for previous FCQ findings (Prescott, Young, O'neill, Yau, & Stevens, 2002). Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Devine, Carol M; Connors, Margaret M; Sobal, Jeffery; Bisogni, Carole A
2003-02-01
Lower status jobs, high workloads and lack of control at work have been associated with less healthful diets, but the ways through which work is connected to food choices are not well understood. This analysis was an examination of workers' experience of the relationship of their jobs to their food choices. Fifty-one multi-ethnic, urban, low- and moderate-income adults living in Upstate New York in 1995 participated in a qualitative interview study of fruit and vegetable choices and discussed employment and food choices. The workers who participated in this study described a dynamic relationship between work and food choices that they experienced in the context of their other roles and values. These workers presented a relationship that was characterized by positive and negative spillover between their jobs and their ability to fulfill family roles and promote personal health, linked by a spectrum of food choice strategies. Participants' narratives fit into three different domains: characterizations of work and their resources for food choice, strategies used to manage food choices within the constraints of work, and affect related to the negative and positive spillover of these strategies on family roles and on personal food choices. Characterizations of work as demanding and limiting or demanding and manageable differentiated participants who experienced their food choice strategies as a source of guilt and dissatisfaction (negative spillover) from those who experienced food choices as a source of pride and satisfaction (positive spillover). Ideals and values related to food choice and health were balanced against other values for family closeness and nurturing and personal achievement. Some participants found work unproblematic. These findings direct attention to a broad conceptualization of the relationship of work to food choices in which the demands and resources of the work role are viewed as they spill over into the social and temporal context of other roles and values.
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Always Gamble on an Empty Stomach: Hunger Is Associated with Advantageous Decision Making
de Ridder, Denise; Kroese, Floor; Adriaanse, Marieke; Evers, Catharine
2014-01-01
Three experimental studies examined the counterintuitive hypothesis that hunger improves strategic decision making, arguing that people in a hot state are better able to make favorable decisions involving uncertain outcomes. Studies 1 and 2 demonstrated that participants with more hunger or greater appetite made more advantageous choices in the Iowa Gambling Task compared to sated participants or participants with a smaller appetite. Study 3 revealed that hungry participants were better able to appreciate future big rewards in a delay discounting task; and that, in spite of their perception of increased rewarding value of both food and monetary objects, hungry participants were not more inclined to take risks to get the object of their desire. Together, these studies for the first time provide evidence that hot states improve decision making under uncertain conditions, challenging the conventional conception of the detrimental role of impulsivity in decision making. PMID:25340399
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Always gamble on an empty stomach: hunger is associated with advantageous decision making.
de Ridder, Denise; Kroese, Floor; Adriaanse, Marieke; Evers, Catharine
2014-01-01
Three experimental studies examined the counterintuitive hypothesis that hunger improves strategic decision making, arguing that people in a hot state are better able to make favorable decisions involving uncertain outcomes. Studies 1 and 2 demonstrated that participants with more hunger or greater appetite made more advantageous choices in the Iowa Gambling Task compared to sated participants or participants with a smaller appetite. Study 3 revealed that hungry participants were better able to appreciate future big rewards in a delay discounting task; and that, in spite of their perception of increased rewarding value of both food and monetary objects, hungry participants were not more inclined to take risks to get the object of their desire. Together, these studies for the first time provide evidence that hot states improve decision making under uncertain conditions, challenging the conventional conception of the detrimental role of impulsivity in decision making.
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Pechey, Rachel; Monsivais, Pablo
2016-07-01
Investigations of the contribution of food costs to socioeconomic inequalities in diet quality may have been limited by the use of estimated (vs. actual) food expenditures, not accounting for where individuals shop, and possible reverse mediation between food expenditures and healthiness of food choices. This study aimed to explore the extent to which food expenditure mediates socioeconomic inequalities in the healthiness of household food choices. Observational panel data on take-home food and beverage purchases, including expenditure, throughout 2010 were obtained for 24,879 UK households stratified by occupational social class. Purchases of (1) fruit and vegetables and (2) less-healthy foods/beverages indicated healthiness of choices. Supermarket choice was determined by whether households ever visited market-defined high-price and/or low-price supermarkets. Results showed that higher occupational social class was significantly associated with greater food expenditure, which was in turn associated with healthier purchasing. In mediation analyses, 63% of the socioeconomic differences in choices of less-healthy foods/beverages were mediated by expenditure, and 36% for fruit and vegetables, but these figures were reduced to 53% and 31% respectively when controlling for supermarket choice. However, reverse mediation analyses were also significant, suggesting that 10% of socioeconomic inequalities in expenditure were mediated by healthiness of choices. Findings suggest that lower food expenditure is likely to be a key contributor to less-healthy food choices among lower socioeconomic groups. However, the potential influence of cost may have been overestimated previously if studies did not account for supermarket choice or explore possible reverse mediation between expenditure and healthiness of choices. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Food choice can improve nursing home resident meal service satisfaction and nutritional status.
Crogan, Neva L; Dupler, Alice E; Short, Robert; Heaton, Grace
2013-05-01
The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility of implementing the Eat Right food delivery system and measure its impact on residents' food satisfaction, food intake, and subsequent nutritional status, including serum prealbumin levels and changes in body weight. Two eastern Washington State nursing homes (NHs) were recruited based on a similar case mix, the number of beds, and management's willingness to participate in the study. A total of 61 residents (NH A = 33, NH B = 28) participated. Intervention group residents (NH A) reported significant overall improvement in food service satisfaction and significant improvement in serum prealbumin levels after the intervention (p = 0.001). Changes in intervention group body weight improved after the intervention (p = 0.029). Use of nutritional interventions such as the multidimensional Eat Right system encourages resident decision making and facilitates overall satisfaction with care and improved health. Copyright 2013, SLACK Incorporated.
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Hutcherson, Cendri A; Plassmann, Hilke; Gross, James J; Rangel, Antonio
2012-09-26
Cognitive regulation is often used to influence behavioral outcomes. However, the computational and neurobiological mechanisms by which it affects behavior remain unknown. We studied this issue using an fMRI task in which human participants used cognitive regulation to upregulate and downregulate their cravings for foods at the time of choice. We found that activity in both ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) correlated with value. We also found evidence that two distinct regulatory mechanisms were at work: value modulation, which operates by changing the values assigned to foods in vmPFC and dlPFC at the time of choice, and behavioral control modulation, which operates by changing the relative influence of the vmPFC and dlPFC value signals on the action selection process used to make choices. In particular, during downregulation, activation decreased in the value-sensitive region of dlPFC (indicating value modulation) but not in vmPFC, and the relative contribution of the two value signals to behavior shifted toward the dlPFC (indicating behavioral control modulation). The opposite pattern was observed during upregulation: activation increased in vmPFC but not dlPFC, and the relative contribution to behavior shifted toward the vmPFC. Finally, ventrolateral PFC and posterior parietal cortex were more active during both upregulation and downregulation, and were functionally connected with vmPFC and dlPFC during cognitive regulation, which suggests that they help to implement the changes to the decision-making circuitry generated by cognitive regulation.
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Plassmann, Hilke; Gross, James J.; Rangel, Antonio
2012-01-01
Cognitive regulation is often used to influence behavioral outcomes. However, the computational and neurobiological mechanisms by which it affects behavior remain unknown. We studied this issue using an fMRI task in which human participants used cognitive regulation to upregulate and downregulate their cravings for foods at the time of choice. We found that activity in both ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) correlated with value. We also found evidence that two distinct regulatory mechanisms were at work: value modulation, which operates by changing the values assigned to foods in vmPFC and dlPFC at the time of choice, and behavioral control modulation, which operates by changing the relative influence of the vmPFC and dlPFC value signals on the action selection process used to make choices. In particular, during downregulation, activation decreased in the value-sensitive region of dlPFC (indicating value modulation) but not in vmPFC, and the relative contribution of the two value signals to behavior shifted toward the dlPFC (indicating behavioral control modulation). The opposite pattern was observed during upregulation: activation increased in vmPFC but not dlPFC, and the relative contribution to behavior shifted toward the vmPFC. Finally, ventrolateral PFC and posterior parietal cortex were more active during both upregulation and downregulation, and were functionally connected with vmPFC and dlPFC during cognitive regulation, which suggests that they help to implement the changes to the decision-making circuitry generated by cognitive regulation. PMID:23015444
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Biotechnology and Consumer Decision-Making.
Sax, Joanna K
Society is facing major challenges in climate change, health care and overall quality of life. Scientific advances to address these areas continue to grow, with overwhelming evidence that the application of highly tested forms of biotechnology is safe and effective. Despite scientific consensus in these areas, consumers appear reluctant to support their use. Research that helps to understand consumer decision-making and the public’s resistance to biotechnologies such as vaccines, fluoridated water programs and genetically engineered food, will provide great social value. This article is forward-thinking in that it suggests that important research in behavioral decision-making, specifically affect and ambiguity, can be used to help consumers make informed choices about major applications of biotechnology. This article highlights some of the most controversial examples: vaccinations, genetically engineered food, rbST treated dairy cows, fluoridated water, and embryonic stem cell research. In many of these areas, consumers perceive the risks as high, but the experts calculate the risks as low. Four major thematic approaches are proposed to create a roadmap for policymakers to consider for policy design and implementation in controversial areas of biotechnology. This article articulates future directions for studies that implement decision-making research to allow consumers to appropriately assign risk to their options and make informed decisions.
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Braving difficult choices alone: children's and adolescents' medical decision making.
Ruggeri, Azzurra; Gummerum, Michaela; Hanoch, Yaniv
2014-01-01
What role should minors play in making medical decisions? The authors examined children's and adolescents' desire to be involved in serious medical decisions and the emotional consequences associated with them. Sixty-three children and 76 adolescents were presented with a cover story about a difficult medical choice. Participants were tested in one of four conditions: (1) own informed choice; (2) informed parents' choice to amputate; (3) informed parents' choice to continue a treatment; and (4) uninformed parents' choice to amputate. In a questionnaire, participants were asked about their choices, preference for autonomy, confidence, and emotional reactions when faced with a difficult hypothetical medical choice. Children and adolescents made different choices and participants, especially adolescents, preferred to make the difficult choice themselves, rather than having a parent make it. Children expressed fewer negative emotions than adolescents. Providing information about the alternatives did not affect participants' responses. Minors, especially adolescents, want to be responsible for their own medical decisions, even when the choice is a difficult one. For the adolescents, results suggest that the decision to be made, instead of the agent making the decision, is the main element influencing their emotional responses and decision confidence. For children, results suggest that they might be less able than adolescents to project how they would feel. The results, overall, draw attention to the need to further investigate how we can better involve minors in the medical decision-making process.
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König, Laura M.; Giese, Helge; Schupp, Harald T.; Renner, Britta
2016-01-01
Studies show that implicit and explicit attitudes influence food choice. However, precursors of food choice often are investigated using tasks offering a very limited number of options despite the comparably complex environment surrounding real life food choice. In the present study, we investigated how the assortment impacts the relationship between implicit and explicit attitudes and food choice (confectionery and fruit), assuming that a more complex choice architecture is more taxing on cognitive resources. Specifically, a binary and a multiple option choice task based on the same stimulus set (fake food items) were presented to ninety-seven participants. Path modeling revealed that both explicit and implicit attitudes were associated with relative food choice (confectionery vs. fruit) in both tasks. In the binary option choice task, both explicit and implicit attitudes were significant precursors of food choice, with explicit attitudes having a greater impact. Conversely, in the multiple option choice task, the additive impact of explicit and implicit attitudes was qualified by an interaction indicating that, even if explicit and implicit attitudes toward confectionery were inconsistent, more confectionery was chosen than fruit if either was positive. This compensatory ‘one is sufficient’-effect indicates that the structure of the choice environment modulates the relationship between attitudes and choice. The study highlights that environmental constraints, such as the number of choice options, are an important boundary condition that need to be included when investigating the relationship between psychological precursors and behavior. PMID:27621719
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König, Laura M; Giese, Helge; Schupp, Harald T; Renner, Britta
2016-01-01
Studies show that implicit and explicit attitudes influence food choice. However, precursors of food choice often are investigated using tasks offering a very limited number of options despite the comparably complex environment surrounding real life food choice. In the present study, we investigated how the assortment impacts the relationship between implicit and explicit attitudes and food choice (confectionery and fruit), assuming that a more complex choice architecture is more taxing on cognitive resources. Specifically, a binary and a multiple option choice task based on the same stimulus set (fake food items) were presented to ninety-seven participants. Path modeling revealed that both explicit and implicit attitudes were associated with relative food choice (confectionery vs. fruit) in both tasks. In the binary option choice task, both explicit and implicit attitudes were significant precursors of food choice, with explicit attitudes having a greater impact. Conversely, in the multiple option choice task, the additive impact of explicit and implicit attitudes was qualified by an interaction indicating that, even if explicit and implicit attitudes toward confectionery were inconsistent, more confectionery was chosen than fruit if either was positive. This compensatory 'one is sufficient'-effect indicates that the structure of the choice environment modulates the relationship between attitudes and choice. The study highlights that environmental constraints, such as the number of choice options, are an important boundary condition that need to be included when investigating the relationship between psychological precursors and behavior.
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"It's Like Moving the Titanic:" Community Organizing to Address Food (In)Security.
Okamoto, Kristen E
2017-08-01
Health communication scholars are uniquely positioned to examine the ways in which individuals organize to address current and future exigencies related to social ills. In particular, organizations are key sites in understanding our health decisions related to food choice. From a young age, children develop habits of eating that stay with them throughout their life. More specifically, food insecurity impacts childhood nutrition. Children from low-income homes experience disproportional negative health outcomes. Appalachian Ohio is an area within the United States that experiences severe poverty. In 2013, community members in a small public school district in Appalachian Ohio formed the Appalachian Nutrition Advisory Council to address the nutritional needs of students in schools. This project stories the ways in which community members creatively organized to supplement existing structures in place designed to address school nutrition and food security.
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Yellowjackets use nest-based cues to differentially exploit higher-quality resources
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Taylor, Benjamin J.; Schalk, Dane R.; Jeanne, Robert L.
2010-12-01
While foraging, social insects encounter a dynamic array of food resources of varying quality and profitability. Because food acquisition influences colony growth and fitness, natural selection can be expected to favor colonies that allocate their overall foraging effort so as to maximize their intake of high-quality nutrients. Social wasps lack recruitment communication, but previous studies of vespine wasps have shown that olfactory cues influence foraging decisions. Odors associated with food brought into the nest by successful foragers prompt naive foragers to leave the nest and search for the source of those odors. Left unanswered, however, is the question of whether naive foragers take food quality into account in making their decisions about whether or not to search. In this study, two different concentrations of sucrose solutions, scented differently, were inserted directly into each of three Vespula germanica nests. At a feeder away from the nest, arriving foragers were given a choice between two 1.5 M sucrose solutions with the same scents as those in the nest. We show that wasps chose higher-quality resources in the field using information in the form of intranidal food-associated odor cues. By this simple mechanism, the colony can bias the allocation of its foraging effort toward higher-quality resources in the environment.
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Calegari, L P; Barbosa, J; Marodin, G A; Fettermann, D C
2018-07-01
the availability of information about food products may be an essential factor in the consumer's value perception in their purchasing decision. As the food product becomes personalized, the customization of this information becomes complex due to the possible combinations of product components. The use of smart technology in devices is one way to provide customers with customized food information. In the following research five attributes were identified in the composition of these devices: (A) portability; (B) precision; (C) diet customization; (D) food quality analysis; and (E) price. This study aims to identify the appropriate combination of possible functionalities or attributes that must be present in a device in order to detect the food composition of customized foods and their relation to market characteristics. One experiment used fractional factorial project to present the attributes in the form of scenarios following the Choice-Based Conjoint Analysis (CBCA) method. The data collection was done using survey methodology, through online questionnaire, with some 303 Brazilian respondents. So, the Logistic Regression was applied to data analysis. The moderating variables-gender, age, gluten restriction, lactose restriction and other restrictions-were also added to verify potential interactions with the primary attributes. From the results obtained, it was possible to observe higher significance for the primary attributes of diet personalization and quality food analyzes function. Our study contributes to the literature by enhancing the understanding about what the attributes should be in a technological device that has the purpose of recognizing food characteristics and is capable of generating information about customized food products. Furthermore, this device can enabler the production of mass customized food with the nutritional labels for each possible combination. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Factors influencing the food choices of Irish children and adolescents: a qualitative investigation.
Fitzgerald, Amanda; Heary, Caroline; Nixon, Elizabeth; Kelly, Colette
2010-09-01
Food choices established during childhood and adolescence tend to persist into adulthood with consequences for long-term health. Yet, to date, relatively little research has examined factors that influence the food choices of children and adolescents from their perspectives. In this article, previous research is extended by examining developmental differences between children's and adolescents' perceptions of factors influencing their food choices. Focus group discussions were conducted with 29 young people from three age groups (9-10, 13-14 and 16-18 years). An inductive thematic analysis identified three key factors as influencing food choices. These factors included intra-individual factors: the link between food preferences and awareness of healthy eating; intra-familial factors: the role of the home food environment; and extra-familial factors: eating away from the home. Findings indicate that there were developmental differences between children's and adolescents' perceptions of factors influencing food choice. Among adolescents, parental control began to diminish and adolescents exercised increased autonomy over their food choices compared with children. To develop effective nutrition interventions, it is important to gather child and adolescent input regarding factors perceived as influencing their food choices.
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Song, Anna V.; Brown, Paul
2014-01-01
In its graphic warning label regulations on cigarette packages, the Food and Drug Administration severely discounts the benefits of reduced smoking because of the lost “pleasure” smokers experience when they stop smoking; this is quantified as lost “consumer surplus.” Consumer surplus is grounded in rational choice theory. However, empirical evidence from psychological cognitive science and behavioral economics demonstrates that the assumptions of rational choice are inconsistent with complex multidimensional decisions, particularly smoking. Rational choice does not account for the roles of emotions, misperceptions, optimistic bias, regret, and cognitive inefficiency that are germane to smoking, particularly because most smokers begin smoking in their youth. Continued application of a consumer surplus discount will undermine sensible policies to reduce tobacco use and other policies to promote public health. PMID:24328661
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Using stop signals to reduce impulsive choices for palatable unhealthy foods.
Veling, Harm; Aarts, Henk; Stroebe, Wolfgang
2013-05-01
Exposure to palatable foods in the environment can trigger impulsive reactions to obtain them, which may lead to unhealthy food choices and eating behaviour. Two studies tested the fundamental question whether impulsive unhealthy food choices can be altered by means of linking unhealthy palatable foods to behavioural stop signals. Study 1 adopted a 2 (signal condition: stop signal vs. control) by 2 (appetite: low vs. high) between-subjects design. Study 2 adopted a 2 (signal condition: stop signal vs. control) between-subjects design with frequency to consume unhealthy palatable foods as a continuous factor. Participants performed a task in which behavioural stop signals were either consistently (or not) presented in close temporal proximity to unhealthy palatable snack foods. Next, participants were given the opportunity to select snacks that they would like to consume. Two studies showed that participants were less likely to select unhealthy palatable foods that had been presented near stop signals, and that they selected healthy foods instead. Importantly, this reduction in choices for palatable foods was especially observed when participants' appetite was relatively high (Study 1), or when this food was part of their habit to frequently consume this food (Study 2). These findings show that a short stop signal intervention in which palatable foods are presented in close temporal proximity of stop signals can reduce palatable food choices by modifying an impulsive determinant of eating behaviour. What is already known on this subject? Exposure to unhealthy palatable foods in the environment can lead to impulsive food choices. People's habits towards unhealthy palatable foods and their current state of appetite are important determinants of such impulsive food choices. This impulsive behaviour is hard to change. What this study add? Linking unhealthy palatable foods to behavioural stop signals reduces choices for these foods, and increases healthy food choices. This effect is particularly strong when people's food choices are driven by their current state of appetite or habits. Behavioural stop signals foster healthy eating behaviour by modifying an impulsive determinant of behaviour. © 2012 The British Psychological Society.
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Starlings uphold principles of economic rationality for delay and probability of reward.
Monteiro, Tiago; Vasconcelos, Marco; Kacelnik, Alex
2013-04-07
Rationality principles are the bedrock of normative theories of decision-making in biology and microeconomics, but whereas in microeconomics, consistent choice underlies the notion of utility; in biology, the assumption of consistent selective pressures justifies modelling decision mechanisms as if they were designed to maximize fitness. In either case, violations of consistency contradict expectations and attract theoretical interest. Reported violations of rationality in non-humans include intransitivity (i.e. circular preferences) and lack of independence of irrelevant alternatives (changes in relative preference between options when embedded in different choice sets), but the extent to which these observations truly represent breaches of rationality is debatable. We tested both principles with starlings (Sturnus vulgaris), training subjects either with five options differing in food delay (exp. 1) or with six options differing in reward probability (exp. 2), before letting them choose repeatedly one option out of several binary and trinary sets of options. The starlings conformed to economic rationality on both tests, showing strong stochastic transitivity and no violation of the independence principle. These results endorse the rational choice and optimality approaches used in behavioural ecology, and highlight the need for functional and mechanistic enquiring when apparent violations of such principles are observed.
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Starlings uphold principles of economic rationality for delay and probability of reward
Monteiro, Tiago; Vasconcelos, Marco; Kacelnik, Alex
2013-01-01
Rationality principles are the bedrock of normative theories of decision-making in biology and microeconomics, but whereas in microeconomics, consistent choice underlies the notion of utility; in biology, the assumption of consistent selective pressures justifies modelling decision mechanisms as if they were designed to maximize fitness. In either case, violations of consistency contradict expectations and attract theoretical interest. Reported violations of rationality in non-humans include intransitivity (i.e. circular preferences) and lack of independence of irrelevant alternatives (changes in relative preference between options when embedded in different choice sets), but the extent to which these observations truly represent breaches of rationality is debatable. We tested both principles with starlings (Sturnus vulgaris), training subjects either with five options differing in food delay (exp. 1) or with six options differing in reward probability (exp. 2), before letting them choose repeatedly one option out of several binary and trinary sets of options. The starlings conformed to economic rationality on both tests, showing strong stochastic transitivity and no violation of the independence principle. These results endorse the rational choice and optimality approaches used in behavioural ecology, and highlight the need for functional and mechanistic enquiring when apparent violations of such principles are observed. PMID:23390098
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Costs of colour change in fish: food intake and behavioural decisions.
Rodgers, Gwendolen M; Gladman, Nicholas W; Corless, Hannah F; Morrell, Lesley J
2013-07-15
Many animals, particularly reptiles, amphibians, fish and cephalopods, have the ability to change their body colour, for functions including thermoregulation, signalling and predator avoidance. Many fish plastically darken their body colouration in response to dark visual backgrounds, and this functions to reduce predation risk. Here, we tested the hypotheses that colour change in fish (1) carries with it an energetic cost and (2) affects subsequent shoal and habitat choice decisions. We demonstrate that guppies (Poecilia reticulata) change colour in response to dark and light visual backgrounds, and that doing so carries an energetic cost in terms of food consumption. By increasing food intake, however, guppies are able to maintain growth rates and meet the energetic costs of changing colour. Following colour change, fish preferentially choose habitats and shoals that match their own body colouration, and maximise crypsis, thus avoiding the need for further colour change but also potentially paying an opportunity cost associated with restriction to particular habitats and social associates. Thus, colour change to match the background is complemented by behavioural strategies, which should act to maximise fitness in variable environments.
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"I'm the Momma": Using photo-elicitation to understand matrilineal influence on family food choice
2010-01-01
Background Many complex and subtle aspects relating to mothers and food choice are not well understood. Mothers play a primary role in their children's food choices, but research has not specifically examined how matrilineal family members who do not reside in the same household, such as a mother's mother, aunt, or grandmother, influence the current family's food choices. Methods Seven participants were recruited from the Household Food Inventory (HFI) Study in the Bryan/College Station, Texas. All participants completed an in-depth interview, photographed food-related activities, and discussed photographs in a follow-up in-depth interview. Interviews were transcribed verbatim from audio recordings. Transcripts were analyzed using several qualitative approaches including grounded theory to identify themes and subthemes. Results Participants discussed the following themes relating to the influence of their mother or other female relation (Mom) on their families' food choices: Relationship with Mom, Just like Mom, 'Kinda' like Mom, Different than Mom, and Mom's Influence on Children's Food Choices. Overall, participants used the photographs to illustrate how they were similar or different to their mothers, or other female family member, as well as how their mothers either supported or undermined control over their children's food choices. The "Mom effect" or matrilineal influence of mothers, aunts, and grandmothers on a mother's food choices was omnipresent, even though Mom was no longer living with the participants. Conclusions We found a matrilineal influence to have a residual and persistent influence on a family's food choices. This finding may be helpful for understanding the contextual elements of food choice and explaining why it is sometimes difficult to change mothers' food habits. PMID:20565771
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Romero, Carissa A; Compton, Michael T; Yang, Yueran; Snow, Jacqueline C
2017-11-23
Laboratory studies of human dietary choice have relied on computerized two-dimensional (2D) images as stimuli, whereas in everyday life, consumers make decisions in the context of real foods that have actual caloric content and afford grasping and consumption. Surprisingly, few studies have compared whether real foods are valued more than 2D images of foods, and in the studies that have, differences in the stimuli and testing conditions could have resulted in inflated bids for the real foods. Moreover, although the caloric content of food images has been shown to influence valuation, no studies to date have investigated whether 'real food exposure effects' on valuation reflect greater sensitivity to the caloric content of real foods versus images. Here, we compared willingness-to-pay (WTP) for, and expectations about satiety after consuming, everyday snack foods that were displayed as real foods versus 2D images. Critically, our 2D images were matched closely to the real foods for size, background, illumination, and apparent distance, and trial presentation and stimulus timing were identical across conditions. We used linear mixed effects modeling to determine whether effects of display format were modulated by food preference and the caloric content of the foods. Compared to food images, observers were willing to pay 6.62% more for (Experiment 1) and believed that they would feel more satiated after consuming (Experiment 2), foods displayed as real objects. Moreover, these effects appeared to be consistent across food preference, caloric content, as well as observers' estimates of the caloric content of the foods. Together, our results confirm that consumers' perception and valuation of everyday foods is influenced by the format in which they are displayed. Our findings raise important new insights into the factors that shape dietary choice in real-world contexts and highlight potential avenues for improving public health approaches to diet and obesity. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Cassady, Diana L.
2012-01-01
Nutrition facts panels (NFPs) contain a rich assortment of nutrition information and are available on most food packages. The importance of this information is potentially even greater among older adults due to their increased risk for diet-related diseases, as well as those with goals for dietary modifications that may impact food choice. Despite past work suggesting that knowledge and motivation impact attitudes surrounding and self-reported use of NFPs, we know little about how (i.e., strategies used) and how well (i.e., level of accuracy) younger and older individuals process NFP information when evaluating healthful qualities of foods. We manipulated the content of NFPs and, using eye tracking methodology, examined strategies associated with deciding which of two NFPs, presented side-by-side, was healthier. We examined associations among strategy use and accuracy as well as age, dietary modification status, knowledge, and motivation. Results showed that, across age groups, those with dietary modification goals made relatively more comparisons between NFPs with increasing knowledge and motivation; but that strategy effectiveness (relationship to accuracy) depended on age and motivation. Results also showed that knowledge and motivation may protect against declines in accuracy in later life and that, across age and dietary modification status, knowledge mediates the relationship between motivation and decision accuracy. PMID:22524999
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Braving Difficult Choices Alone: Children's and Adolescents' Medical Decision Making
Ruggeri, Azzurra; Gummerum, Michaela; Hanoch, Yaniv
2014-01-01
Objective What role should minors play in making medical decisions? The authors examined children's and adolescents' desire to be involved in serious medical decisions and the emotional consequences associated with them. Methods Sixty-three children and 76 adolescents were presented with a cover story about a difficult medical choice. Participants were tested in one of four conditions: (1) own informed choice; (2) informed parents' choice to amputate; (3) informed parents' choice to continue a treatment; and (4) uninformed parents' choice to amputate. In a questionnaire, participants were asked about their choices, preference for autonomy, confidence, and emotional reactions when faced with a difficult hypothetical medical choice. Results Children and adolescents made different choices and participants, especially adolescents, preferred to make the difficult choice themselves, rather than having a parent make it. Children expressed fewer negative emotions than adolescents. Providing information about the alternatives did not affect participants' responses. Conclusions Minors, especially adolescents, want to be responsible for their own medical decisions, even when the choice is a difficult one. For the adolescents, results suggest that the decision to be made, instead of the agent making the decision, is the main element influencing their emotional responses and decision confidence. For children, results suggest that they might be less able than adolescents to project how they would feel. The results, overall, draw attention to the need to further investigate how we can better involve minors in the medical decision-making process. PMID:25084274
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Mueller Loose, S; Jaeger, S R
2012-12-01
Beverages are consumed at almost every meal occasion, but knowledge about the factors that influence beverage choice is less than for food choice. The aim of this research was to characterize and quantify factors that influence beverage choices at meal times. Insights into what beverages are chosen by whom, when and where can be helpful for manufacturers, dieticians/health care providers, and health policy makers. A descriptive framework - the food choice kaleidoscope (Jaeger et al., 2011) - was applied to self-reported 24h food recall data from a sample of New Zealand consumers. Participants (n=164) described 8356 meal occasions in terms of foods and beverages consumed, and the contextual characteristics of the occasion. Beverage choice was explored with random-parameter logit regressions to reveal influences linked to food items eaten, context factors and person factors. Thereby this study contributed to the food choice kaleidoscope research approach by expressing the degree of context dependency in the form of odds ratios and according significance levels. The exploration of co-occurrence of beverages with food items suggests that beverage-meal item combinations can be meal specific. Furthermore, this study integrates psychographic variables into the 'person' mirror of the food choice kaleidoscope. A measure of habit in beverage choice was obtained from the inter-participant correlation. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Behavioural social choice: a status report.
Regenwetter, Michel; Grofman, Bernard; Popova, Anna; Messner, William; Davis-Stober, Clintin P; Cavagnaro, Daniel R
2009-03-27
Behavioural social choice has been proposed as a social choice parallel to seminal developments in other decision sciences, such as behavioural decision theory, behavioural economics, behavioural finance and behavioural game theory. Behavioural paradigms compare how rational actors should make certain types of decisions with how real decision makers behave empirically. We highlight that important theoretical predictions in social choice theory change dramatically under even minute violations of standard assumptions. Empirical data violate those critical assumptions. We argue that the nature of preference distributions in electorates is ultimately an empirical question, which social choice theory has often neglected. We also emphasize important insights for research on decision making by individuals. When researchers aggregate individual choice behaviour in laboratory experiments to report summary statistics, they are implicitly applying social choice rules. Thus, they should be aware of the potential for aggregation paradoxes. We hypothesize that such problems may substantially mar the conclusions of a number of (sometimes seminal) papers in behavioural decision research.
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Bhanji, Jamil P.; Beer, Jennifer S.; Bunge, Silvia A.
2014-01-01
A decision may be difficult because complex information processing is required to evaluate choices according to deterministic decision rules and/or because it is not certain which choice will lead to the best outcome in a probabilistic context. Factors that tax decision making such as decision rule complexity and low decision certainty should be disambiguated for a more complete understanding of the decision making process. Previous studies have examined the brain regions that are modulated by decision rule complexity or by decision certainty but have not examined these factors together in the context of a single task or study. In the present functional magnetic resonance imaging study, both decision rule complexity and decision certainty were varied in comparable decision tasks. Further, the level of certainty about which choice to make (choice certainty) was varied separately from certainty about the final outcome resulting from a choice (outcome certainty). Lateral prefrontal cortex, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, and bilateral anterior insula were modulated by decision rule complexity. Anterior insula was engaged more strongly by low than high choice certainty decisions, whereas ventromedial prefrontal cortex showed the opposite pattern. These regions showed no effect of the independent manipulation of outcome certainty. The results disambiguate the influence of decision rule complexity, choice certainty, and outcome certainty on activity in diverse brain regions that have been implicated in decision making. Lateral prefrontal cortex plays a key role in implementing deterministic decision rules, ventromedial prefrontal cortex in probabilistic rules, and anterior insula in both. PMID:19781652
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Spiołek, Katarzyna; Kościołek, Aneta; Kania, Justyna; Hartman, Magdalena; Pawłowska-Góral, Katarzyna
2011-01-01
Correctly composed diet covers the demands of a healthy adult for nutrients, vitamins and minerals. Nowadays constant increase of vitamin and mineral supplements of diet intake is observed. Customers have a great choice of diet supplements on Polish market. They are diversified under the quality and quantitative accounts. The main aim of this study was to evaluate main factors of Silesian University students' choice while they are purchasing particular diet supplements. The questionnaire survey was conducted in a group of 208 students at the age of 19 to 24. 99.5% of them admitted that they have supplemented their diets with vitamin and mineral preparations until the moment of the experiment. The results indicate that main factors that influence the students' decisions on purchasing these preparations are: composition of the supplement, price and convenient dosing regimen. Respondents indicate the internet as a main source of information on the supplements being discussed in the following study.
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A Review of Factors Influencing Athletes' Food Choices.
Birkenhead, Karen L; Slater, Gary
2015-11-01
Athletes make food choices on a daily basis that can affect both health and performance. A well planned nutrition strategy that includes the careful timing and selection of appropriate foods and fluids helps to maximize training adaptations and, thus, should be an integral part of the athlete's training programme. Factors that motivate food selection include taste, convenience, nutrition knowledge and beliefs. Food choice is also influenced by physiological, social, psychological and economic factors and varies both within and between individuals and populations. This review highlights the multidimensional nature of food choice and the depth of previous research investigating eating behaviours. Despite numerous studies with general populations, little exploration has been carried out with athletes, yet the energy demands of sport typically require individuals to make more frequent and/or appropriate food choices. While factors that are important to general populations also apply to athletes, it seems likely, given the competitive demands of sport, that performance would be an important factor influencing food choice. It is unclear if athletes place the same degree of importance on these factors or how food choice is influenced by involvement in sport. There is a clear need for further research exploring the food choice motives of athletes, preferably in conjunction with research investigating dietary intake to establish if intent translates into practice.
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Ensaff, Hannah; Homer, Matt; Sahota, Pinki; Braybrook, Debbie; Coan, Susan; McLeod, Helen
2015-06-02
With growing evidence for the positive health outcomes associated with a plant-based diet, the study's purpose was to examine the potential of shifting adolescents' food choices towards plant-based foods. Using a real world setting of a school canteen, a set of small changes to the choice architecture was designed and deployed in a secondary school in Yorkshire, England. Focussing on designated food items (whole fruit, fruit salad, vegetarian daily specials, and sandwiches containing salad) the changes were implemented for six weeks. Data collected on students' food choice (218,796 transactions) enabled students' (980 students) selections to be examined. Students' food choice was compared for three periods: baseline (29 weeks); intervention (six weeks); and post-intervention (three weeks). Selection of designated food items significantly increased during the intervention and post-intervention periods, compared to baseline (baseline, 1.4%; intervention 3.0%; post-intervention, 2.2%) χ(2)(2) = 68.1, p < 0.001. Logistic regression modelling also revealed the independent effect of the intervention, with students 2.5 times as likely (p < 0.001) to select the designated food items during the intervention period, compared to baseline. The study's results point to the influence of choice architecture within secondary school settings, and its potential role in improving adolescents' daily food choices.
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A biographical study of food choice capacity: standards, circumstances, and food management skills.
Bisogni, Carole A; Jastran, Margaret; Shen, Luana; Devine, Carol M
2005-01-01
Conceptual understanding of how management of food and eating is linked to life course events and experiences. Individual qualitative interviews with adults in upstate New York. Fourteen men and 11 women with moderate to low incomes. PHENOMENON: Food choice capacity. Constant comparative method. A conceptual model of food choice capacity emerged. Food choice capacity represented participants' confidence in meeting their standards for food and eating given their food management skills and circumstances. Standards (expectations for how participants felt they should eat) were based on life course events and experiences. Food management skills (mental and physical talents to keep food costs down and prepare meals) were sources of self-esteem for many participants. Most participants had faced challenging and changing circumstances (income, employment, social support, roles, health conditions). Participants linked strong food management skills with high levels of food choice capacity, except in the case of extreme financial circumstances or the absence of strong standards. Recognizing people's experiences and perspectives in food choice is important. Characterizing food management skills as durable, adaptive resources positions them conceptually for researchers and in a way that practitioners can apply in developing programs for adults.
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Attitudes in China about Crops and Foods Developed by Biotechnology
Liu, Xiaoxia; Cheng, Jie; Zhang, Qingwen; Shelton, Anthony M.
2015-01-01
Transgenic Bt cotton has been planted in China since 1997 and, in 2009, biosafety certificates for the commercial production of Bt rice and phytase corn were issued by the Chinese government. The public attitude in China toward agricultural biotechnology and genetically modified (GM) crops and foods has received considerable attention worldwide. We investigated the attitudes of consumers, Bt cotton farmers and scientists in China regarding GM crops and foods and the factors influencing their attitudes. Data were collected using interview surveys of consumer households, farmer households and scientists. A discrete choice approach was used to elicit the purchase intentions of the respondents. Two separate probit models were developed to examine the effect of various factors on the choices of the respondents. Bt cotton farmers had a very positive attitude because Bt cotton provided them with significant economic benefits. Chinese consumers from developed regions had a higher acceptance and willingness to pay for GM foods than consumers in other regions. The positive attitude toward GM foods by the scientific community will help to promote biotechnology in China in the future. Our survey emphasized that educational efforts made by government officials, the media and scientists can facilitate the acceptance of GM technology in China. Further educational efforts will be critical for influencing consumer attitudes and decisions of government agencies in the future. More effective educational efforts by government agencies and public media concerning the scientific facts and safety of GM foods would enhance the acceptance of GM crops in China. PMID:26418161
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Attitudes in China about Crops and Foods Developed by Biotechnology.
Han, Fei; Zhou, Dingyang; Liu, Xiaoxia; Cheng, Jie; Zhang, Qingwen; Shelton, Anthony M
2015-01-01
Transgenic Bt cotton has been planted in China since 1997 and, in 2009, biosafety certificates for the commercial production of Bt rice and phytase corn were issued by the Chinese government. The public attitude in China toward agricultural biotechnology and genetically modified (GM) crops and foods has received considerable attention worldwide. We investigated the attitudes of consumers, Bt cotton farmers and scientists in China regarding GM crops and foods and the factors influencing their attitudes. Data were collected using interview surveys of consumer households, farmer households and scientists. A discrete choice approach was used to elicit the purchase intentions of the respondents. Two separate probit models were developed to examine the effect of various factors on the choices of the respondents. Bt cotton farmers had a very positive attitude because Bt cotton provided them with significant economic benefits. Chinese consumers from developed regions had a higher acceptance and willingness to pay for GM foods than consumers in other regions. The positive attitude toward GM foods by the scientific community will help to promote biotechnology in China in the future. Our survey emphasized that educational efforts made by government officials, the media and scientists can facilitate the acceptance of GM technology in China. Further educational efforts will be critical for influencing consumer attitudes and decisions of government agencies in the future. More effective educational efforts by government agencies and public media concerning the scientific facts and safety of GM foods would enhance the acceptance of GM crops in China.
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When I cut, you choose method implies intransitivity
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Makowski, Marcin; Piotrowski, Edward W.
2014-12-01
There is a common belief that humans and many animals follow transitive inference (choosing A over C on the basis of knowing that A is better than B and B is better than C). Transitivity seems to be the essence of rational choice. We present a theoretical model of a repeated game in which the players make a choice between three goods (e.g. food). The rules of the game refer to the simple procedure of fair division among two players, known as the “I cut, you choose” mechanism which has been widely discussed in the literature. In this game one of the players has to make intransitive choices in order to achieve the optimal result (for him/her and his/her co-player). The point is that an intransitive choice can be rational. Previously, an increase in the significance of intransitive strategies was achieved by referring to models of quantum games. We show that relevant intransitive strategies also appear in the classic description of decision algorithms.
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Jilcott, Stephanie B; Laraia, Barbara A; Evenson, Kelly R; Ammerman, Alice S
2009-01-01
Qualitative research on food choice has rarely focused on individuals' perceptions of the community food environment. Women remain gatekeepers of the family diet and food purchasing. Therefore we assessed midlife, Southern women's perceptions of the food environment. Related influences on food choices at work and at home were also examined. We recruited 28 low- and moderate-income, midlife (37-67 years) women from rural and urban areas of southeastern North Carolina, using typical case and snowball sampling. They responded to questions about multilevel influences on food choice in semi-structured, in-depth interviews. Women perceived differences between urban and rural food environments, with rural areas having fewer supermarkets and fast food restaurants compared to urban areas, which had fewer produce stands. Workplace food choices were affected by the social environment (co-workers), personal health concerns, and the surrounding food environment. Food chosen at home was primarily influenced by family members, health concerns, and convenient food sources. While future studies should explore findings in more representative populations, potential intervention strategies can be inferred, including emphasizing healthful aspects of the food environment. Intervention and advocacy efforts are needed to improve aspects of the food environment that make healthy choices difficult.
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Pupil-linked arousal is driven by decision uncertainty and alters serial choice bias
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Urai, Anne E.; Braun, Anke; Donner, Tobias H.
2017-03-01
While judging their sensory environments, decision-makers seem to use the uncertainty about their choices to guide adjustments of their subsequent behaviour. One possible source of these behavioural adjustments is arousal: decision uncertainty might drive the brain's arousal systems, which control global brain state and might thereby shape subsequent decision-making. Here, we measure pupil diameter, a proxy for central arousal state, in human observers performing a perceptual choice task of varying difficulty. Pupil dilation, after choice but before external feedback, reflects three hallmark signatures of decision uncertainty derived from a computational model. This increase in pupil-linked arousal boosts observers' tendency to alternate their choice on the subsequent trial. We conclude that decision uncertainty drives rapid changes in pupil-linked arousal state, which shape the serial correlation structure of ongoing choice behaviour.
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Actions speak louder: a look at congressional votes on human life issues.
Shannon, D; Mazpule, D
1991-01-01
The decision to bring a new life into the world is the most important decision a caring person can make. Many fundamental factors must be considered like: housing, income, food, clothing, etc. The terms pro-choice and pro-life are used to describe both sides of the abortion debate, a debate that is of critical importance when making that decision about new life. While most members of Congress who are pro-choice also support social programs that make raising children easier; most members who are pro-life do not support such social justice programs. It seems paradoxical that someone claiming to be pro-life would then be anti-social justice. To be truly pro-life, a person must not only support a woman's right to choose, but must also support programs and policies that help parents to raise healthy, happy, and productive children. Yet it is the very people who claim to be pro-life that fight equally as hard against choice and against social justice. They fight legal abortion, but they also fight legislation that would make abortion less necessary. This article includes charts of the voting records of all members of the 101st Congress on legislation supported by 7 pro-choice or pro-child organizations. Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), the Children's Defense Fund (CDF), the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR), the National Women's Political Caucus (NWPC), the American Public Health Association (APHA) and the League of Conservation Voters (LCV). The CDF, LCCR, and LCV do not have positions on abortion rights. The voting record of the JustLife Educational Fund are also given. In comparing the voting records, those that supported PPFA at least 75% of the time were labeled pro-choice, those that supported PPFA less than 25% of the time were called anti-choice, and those that supported it 26-74% of the time were called mixed. Once this determination is made, a comparison of their voting records for the other organizations clearly confirm that those who are anti-choice are also against supporting human life.
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Enrollment in prescription drug insurance: the interaction of numeracy and choice set size.
Szrek, Helena; Bundorf, M Kate
2014-04-01
To determine how choice set size affects decision quality among individuals of different levels of numeracy choosing prescription drug plans. Members of an Internet-enabled panel age 65 and over were randomly assigned to sets of prescription drug plans varying in size from 2 to 16 plans from which they made a hypothetical choice. They answered questions about enrollment likelihood and the costs and benefits of their choice. The measure of decision quality was enrollment likelihood among those for whom enrollment was beneficial. Enrollment likelihood by numeracy and choice set size was calculated. A model of moderated mediation was analyzed to understand the role of numeracy as a moderator of the relationship between the number of plans and the quality of the enrollment decision and the roles of the costs and benefits in mediating that relationship. More numerate adults made better decisions than less numerate adults when choosing among a small number of alternatives but not when choice sets were larger. Choice set size had little effect on decision making of less numerate adults. Differences in decision making costs between more and less numerate adults helped explain the effect of choice set size on decision quality. Interventions to improve decision making in the context of Medicare Part D may differentially affect lower and higher numeracy adults. The conflicting results on choice overload in the psychology literature may be explained in part by differences amongst individuals in how they respond to choice set size.
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Methods for Evaluating Emotions Evoked by Food Experiences: A Literature Review
Kaneko, Daisuke; Toet, Alexander; Brouwer, Anne-Marie; Kallen, Victor; van Erp, Jan B. F.
2018-01-01
Besides sensory characteristics of food, food-evoked emotion is a crucial factor in predicting consumer's food preference and therefore in developing new products. Many measures have been developed to assess food-evoked emotions. The aim of this literature review is (i) to give an exhaustive overview of measures used in current research and (ii) to categorize these methods along measurement level (physiological, behavioral, and cognitive) and emotional processing level (unconscious sensory, perceptual/early cognitive, and conscious/decision making) level. This 3 × 3 categorization may help researchers to compile a set of complementary measures (“toolbox”) for their studies. We included 101 peer-reviewed articles that evaluate consumer's emotions and were published between 1997 and 2016, providing us with 59 different measures. More than 60% of these measures are based on self-reported, subjective ratings and questionnaires (cognitive measurement level) and assess the conscious/decision-making level of emotional processing. This multitude of measures and their overrepresentation in a single category hinders the comparison of results across studies and building a complete multi-faceted picture of food-evoked emotions. We recommend (1) to use widely applied, validated measures only, (2) to refrain from using (highly correlated) measures from the same category but use measures from different categories instead, preferably covering all three emotional processing levels, and (3) to acquire and share simultaneously collected physiological, behavioral, and cognitive datasets to improve the predictive power of food choice and other models. PMID:29937744
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Evoked Emotions Predict Food Choice
Dalenberg, Jelle R.; Gutjar, Swetlana; ter Horst, Gert J.; de Graaf, Kees; Renken, Remco J.; Jager, Gerry
2014-01-01
In the current study we show that non-verbal food-evoked emotion scores significantly improve food choice prediction over merely liking scores. Previous research has shown that liking measures correlate with choice. However, liking is no strong predictor for food choice in real life environments. Therefore, the focus within recent studies shifted towards using emotion-profiling methods that successfully can discriminate between products that are equally liked. However, it is unclear how well scores from emotion-profiling methods predict actual food choice and/or consumption. To test this, we proposed to decompose emotion scores into valence and arousal scores using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and apply Multinomial Logit Models (MLM) to estimate food choice using liking, valence, and arousal as possible predictors. For this analysis, we used an existing data set comprised of liking and food-evoked emotions scores from 123 participants, who rated 7 unlabeled breakfast drinks. Liking scores were measured using a 100-mm visual analogue scale, while food-evoked emotions were measured using 2 existing emotion-profiling methods: a verbal and a non-verbal method (EsSense Profile and PrEmo, respectively). After 7 days, participants were asked to choose 1 breakfast drink from the experiment to consume during breakfast in a simulated restaurant environment. Cross validation showed that we were able to correctly predict individualized food choice (1 out of 7 products) for over 50% of the participants. This number increased to nearly 80% when looking at the top 2 candidates. Model comparisons showed that evoked emotions better predict food choice than perceived liking alone. However, the strongest predictive strength was achieved by the combination of evoked emotions and liking. Furthermore we showed that non-verbal food-evoked emotion scores more accurately predict food choice than verbal food-evoked emotions scores. PMID:25521352
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Evoked emotions predict food choice.
Dalenberg, Jelle R; Gutjar, Swetlana; Ter Horst, Gert J; de Graaf, Kees; Renken, Remco J; Jager, Gerry
2014-01-01
In the current study we show that non-verbal food-evoked emotion scores significantly improve food choice prediction over merely liking scores. Previous research has shown that liking measures correlate with choice. However, liking is no strong predictor for food choice in real life environments. Therefore, the focus within recent studies shifted towards using emotion-profiling methods that successfully can discriminate between products that are equally liked. However, it is unclear how well scores from emotion-profiling methods predict actual food choice and/or consumption. To test this, we proposed to decompose emotion scores into valence and arousal scores using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and apply Multinomial Logit Models (MLM) to estimate food choice using liking, valence, and arousal as possible predictors. For this analysis, we used an existing data set comprised of liking and food-evoked emotions scores from 123 participants, who rated 7 unlabeled breakfast drinks. Liking scores were measured using a 100-mm visual analogue scale, while food-evoked emotions were measured using 2 existing emotion-profiling methods: a verbal and a non-verbal method (EsSense Profile and PrEmo, respectively). After 7 days, participants were asked to choose 1 breakfast drink from the experiment to consume during breakfast in a simulated restaurant environment. Cross validation showed that we were able to correctly predict individualized food choice (1 out of 7 products) for over 50% of the participants. This number increased to nearly 80% when looking at the top 2 candidates. Model comparisons showed that evoked emotions better predict food choice than perceived liking alone. However, the strongest predictive strength was achieved by the combination of evoked emotions and liking. Furthermore we showed that non-verbal food-evoked emotion scores more accurately predict food choice than verbal food-evoked emotions scores.
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Chimpanzees return favors at a personal cost.
Schmelz, Martin; Grueneisen, Sebastian; Kabalak, Alihan; Jost, Jürgen; Tomasello, Michael
2017-07-11
Humans regularly provide others with resources at a personal cost to themselves. Chimpanzees engage in some cooperative behaviors in the wild as well, but their motivational underpinnings are unclear. In three experiments, chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes ) always chose between an option delivering food both to themselves and a partner and one delivering food only to themselves. In one condition, a conspecific partner had just previously taken a personal risk to make this choice available. In another condition, no assistance from the partner preceded the subject's decision. Chimpanzees made significantly more prosocial choices after receiving their partner's assistance than when no assistance was given (experiment 1) and, crucially, this was the case even when choosing the prosocial option was materially costly for the subject (experiment 2). Moreover, subjects appeared sensitive to the risk of their partner's assistance and chose prosocially more often when their partner risked losing food by helping (experiment 3). These findings demonstrate experimentally that chimpanzees are willing to incur a material cost to deliver rewards to a conspecific, but only if that conspecific previously assisted them, and particularly when this assistance was risky. Some key motivations involved in human cooperation thus may have deeper phylogenetic roots than previously suspected.
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Reslan, Summar; Saules, Karen K; Greenwald, Mark K
2012-10-01
Behavioral economic theory is a useful framework for analyzing factors influencing choice, but the majority of human behavioral economic research has focused on drug choice. The behavioral economic choice paradigm may also be valuable for understanding food-maintained behavior. Our primary objective was two-fold: (1) Validate a human laboratory model of food-appetitive behavior, and (2) Assess the contribution of individual level factors that may differentially impact food choice behavior. Two studies were conducted. In Study 1, female subjects (N=17) participated in two consecutive food choice experimental sessions, whereas in Study 2, female subjects (N=21) participated in one concurrent food choice experimental session. During consecutive choice sessions (Study 1), demand for the more palatable food (i.e., high-sugar/high-fat) was more inelastic than the less palatable (i.e., low-sugar/low-fat) option. During concurrent choice sessions, demand for the more palatable food (i.e., high-sugar/high-fat) was more inelastic for restrained vs. unrestrained eaters, and for those who were overweight vs. normal weight. Demand for both palatable and less palatable choices was more elastic for high-impulsive vs. low-impulsive subjects. These findings suggest that the behavioral economic framework can be used successfully to develop a human laboratory model of food-appetitive behavior. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Oellingrath, Inger M; Hersleth, Margrethe; Svendsen, Martin V
2013-11-01
To determine (i) the importance of parents’ motives for everyday family food choices; and (ii) the relationship between parental food choice motives and eating patterns of 12- to 13-year-old children. Cross-sectional study. A modified version of the Food Choice Questionnaire was used to determine parental motives for food choices. The children’s food and drink intake was reported by their parents using a retrospective FFQ. Eating patterns were derived using principal component analysis. The association between food choice motives and eating patterns was examined using multiple linear regression analysis. Primary schools, Telemark County, Norway. In total, 1095 children aged 12–13 years and their parents. The parental motive ‘sensory appeal’ was the most important for food choice, followed by ‘health’, ‘convenience’, ‘natural content’ and ‘weight control’. The food choice motives were associated with the eating patterns of the children, independent of background variables. The motive ‘health’ was most strongly associated with a ‘varied Norwegian’ eating pattern, representing a diverse diet and regular meals, while the motive ‘convenience’ appeared to be the most important barrier to this eating pattern. ‘Weight control’ was not associated with the ‘varied Norwegian’ eating pattern. To encourage parents to make healthy food choices for their children, health promotion activities should focus on the health benefits of a diverse diet and regular meals, rather than weight control. Recommended food products should be made more convenient and easily available for families with children.
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Vocational Choice: A Decision Making Perspective
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Sauermann, Henry
2005-01-01
We propose a model of vocational choice that can be used for analyzing and guiding the decision processes underlying career and job choices. Our model is based on research in behavioral decision making (BDM), in particular the choice goals framework developed by Bettman, Luce, and Payne (1998). The basic model involves two major processes. First,…
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Changing value through cued approach: An automatic mechanism of behavior change
Schonberg, Tom; Bakkour, Akram; Hover, Ashleigh M.; Mumford, Jeanette A.; Nagar, Lakshya; Perez, Jacob; Poldrack, Russell A.
2014-01-01
It is believed that choice behavior reveals the underlying value of goods. The subjective values of stimuli can be changed through reward-based learning mechanisms as well as by modifying the description of the decision problem, but it has yet to be shown that preferences can be manipulated by perturbing intrinsic values of individual items. Here we show that the value of food items can be modulated by the concurrent presentation of an irrelevant auditory cue to which subjects must make a simple motor response (i.e. cue-approach training). Follow-up tests show that the effects of this pairing on choice lasted at least two months after prolonged training. Eye-tracking during choice confirmed that cue-approach training increased attention to the cued items. Neuroimaging revealed the neural signature of a value change in the form of amplified preference-related activity in ventromedial prefrontal cortex. PMID:24609465
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Ensaff, Hannah; Homer, Matt; Sahota, Pinki; Braybrook, Debbie; Coan, Susan; McLeod, Helen
2015-01-01
With growing evidence for the positive health outcomes associated with a plant-based diet, the study’s purpose was to examine the potential of shifting adolescents’ food choices towards plant-based foods. Using a real world setting of a school canteen, a set of small changes to the choice architecture was designed and deployed in a secondary school in Yorkshire, England. Focussing on designated food items (whole fruit, fruit salad, vegetarian daily specials, and sandwiches containing salad) the changes were implemented for six weeks. Data collected on students’ food choice (218,796 transactions) enabled students’ (980 students) selections to be examined. Students’ food choice was compared for three periods: baseline (29 weeks); intervention (six weeks); and post-intervention (three weeks). Selection of designated food items significantly increased during the intervention and post-intervention periods, compared to baseline (baseline, 1.4%; intervention 3.0%; post-intervention, 2.2%) χ2(2) = 68.1, p < 0.001. Logistic regression modelling also revealed the independent effect of the intervention, with students 2.5 times as likely (p < 0.001) to select the designated food items during the intervention period, compared to baseline. The study’s results point to the influence of choice architecture within secondary school settings, and its potential role in improving adolescents’ daily food choices. PMID:26043039
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The Effects of the Previous Outcome on Probabilistic Choice in Rats
Marshall, Andrew T.; Kirkpatrick, Kimberly
2014-01-01
This study examined the effects of previous outcomes on subsequent choices in a probabilistic-choice task. Twenty-four rats were trained to choose between a certain outcome (1 or 3 pellets) versus an uncertain outcome (3 or 9 pellets), delivered with a probability of .1, .33, .67, and .9 in different phases. Uncertain outcome choices increased with the probability of uncertain food. Additionally, uncertain choices increased with the probability of uncertain food following both certain-choice outcomes and unrewarded uncertain choices. However, following uncertain-choice food outcomes, there was a tendency to choose the uncertain outcome in all cases, indicating that the rats continued to “gamble” after successful uncertain choices, regardless of the overall probability or magnitude of food. A subsequent manipulation, in which the probability of uncertain food varied within each session as a function of the previous uncertain outcome, examined how the previous outcome and probability of uncertain food affected choice in a dynamic environment. Uncertain-choice behavior increased with the probability of uncertain food. The rats exhibited increased sensitivity to probability changes and a greater degree of win–stay/lose–shift behavior than in the static phase. Simulations of two sequential choice models were performed to explore the possible mechanisms of reward value computations. The simulation results supported an exponentially decaying value function that updated as a function of trial (rather than time). These results emphasize the importance of analyzing global and local factors in choice behavior and suggest avenues for the future development of sequential-choice models. PMID:23205915
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Espinoza, Manuel Antonio; Manca, Andrea; Claxton, Karl; Sculpher, Mark
2018-02-01
Evidence about cost-effectiveness is increasingly being used to inform decisions about the funding of new technologies that are usually implemented as guidelines from centralized decision-making bodies. However, there is also an increasing recognition for the role of patients in determining their preferred treatment option. This paper presents a method to estimate the value of implementing a choice-based decision process using the cost-effectiveness analysis toolbox. This value is estimated for 3 alternative scenarios. First, it compares centralized decisions, based on population average cost-effectiveness, against a decision process based on patient choice. Second, it compares centralized decision based on patients' subgroups versus an individual choice-based decision process. Third, it compares a centralized process based on average cost-effectiveness against a choice-based process where patients choose according to a different measure of outcome to that used by the centralized decision maker. The methods are applied to a case study for the management of acute coronary syndrome. It is concluded that implementing a choice-based process of treatment allocation may be an option in collectively funded health systems. However, its value will depend on the specific health problem and the social values considered relevant to the health system. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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An experimental study on the effects of exposure to magazine advertising on children's food choices.
Jones, Sandra C; Kervin, Lisa
2011-08-01
The present study sought to determine the feasibility of an experimental research design to investigate the effects of exposure to magazine advertising on children's food choices. Children were randomized to read either a magazine with food advertisements or a magazine with no food advertisements. They then chose two food items from the intervention 'store' to eat after the session. Data were also collected on attitudes to advertising and snack food preferences. Finally, participants' parents were provided with a self-completion survey on food choices and other variables (n 24). Three vacation care centres in regional New South Wales, Australia. Children aged 5-12 years (n 47). Children in the experimental condition were more likely to choose advertised foods than those in the control group. Interestingly, the majority reported taste and healthiness as the most important factors in snack food choices; however, when faced with the actual food choice, they predominantly chose unhealthy foods (eighty-two unhealthy and only twelve healthy items were chosen). This was the first study to assess the effects on children of exposure to food advertising within the context of reading a child-targeted magazine. Importantly, even with the small sample size and venue limitations, we found that exposure to magazine advertising influenced food choices. Children's magazines are an under-researched and poorly regulated medium, with considerable potential to influence children's food choices. The present study shows that the methodology is feasible, and future studies could replicate this with larger samples.
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Hollands, Gareth J; Marteau, Theresa M
2016-08-01
To examine the impact of presenting images of foods paired with images of positive and negative health consequences of their consumption on food choice and attitudes. Participants (N = 711) were randomly allocated in a 2 × 3 factorial design (Food Type × Affective Valence) to 1 of 6 conditioning procedures that paired images of either energy-dense snack foods or fruit, with (a) images of negative health outcomes, (b) images of positive health outcomes, or (c) a no image control. The primary outcome was food choice assessed postintervention with a behavioral choice task. Secondary outcomes were implicit attitudes (assessed pre- and postintervention) and explicit attitudes (assessed postintervention). Presenting images of negative health outcomes led to more healthy food choices relative to control and positive image conditions, irrespective of whether they were paired with images of energy-dense snack foods or fruit. This relationship was partially mediated by changes in implicit and explicit attitudes. Images of positive health outcomes did not alter food choices. This study replicates and extends previous research showing that presenting images of negative health consequences increases healthy food choices. Because effects were elicited by manipulating affective valence irrespective of paired food type, these results appear more consistent with an explanation based on priming than on evaluative conditioning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).
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People learn other people's preferences through inverse decision-making.
Jern, Alan; Lucas, Christopher G; Kemp, Charles
2017-11-01
People are capable of learning other people's preferences by observing the choices they make. We propose that this learning relies on inverse decision-making-inverting a decision-making model to infer the preferences that led to an observed choice. In Experiment 1, participants observed 47 choices made by others and ranked them by how strongly each choice suggested that the decision maker had a preference for a specific item. An inverse decision-making model generated predictions that were in accordance with participants' inferences. Experiment 2 replicated and extended a previous study by Newtson (1974) in which participants observed pairs of choices and made judgments about which choice provided stronger evidence for a preference. Inverse decision-making again predicted the results, including a result that previous accounts could not explain. Experiment 3 used the same method as Experiment 2 and found that participants did not expect decision makers to be perfect utility-maximizers. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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A decision network account of reasoning about other people's choices
Jern, Alan; Kemp, Charles
2015-01-01
The ability to predict and reason about other people's choices is fundamental to social interaction. We propose that people reason about other people's choices using mental models that are similar to decision networks. Decision networks are extensions of Bayesian networks that incorporate the idea that choices are made in order to achieve goals. In our first experiment, we explore how people predict the choices of others. Our remaining three experiments explore how people infer the goals and knowledge of others by observing the choices that they make. We show that decision networks account for our data better than alternative computational accounts that do not incorporate the notion of goal-directed choice or that do not rely on probabilistic inference. PMID:26010559
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Food choice: the battle between package, taste and consumption situation.
Gutjar, Swetlana; de Graaf, Cees; Palascha, Aikaterini; Jager, Gerry
2014-09-01
The present study compared how intrinsic (sensory) and extrinsic (packaging) product properties influence actual food choice in combination with the concept of product appropriateness in a specific consumption context. Food choice of seven test products was measured in three breakfast sessions within a simulated cafeteria setting with subsequent product consumption. Test products were five breakfast drinks and two dessert products considered as inappropriate for breakfast. One hundred and three participants took part in a blind taste session, after which they chose one out of the seven foods to consume for breakfast. In a second session (familiar package session), the same participants based their choice on the package of the seven foods they tasted in the first session. An additional group of 65 participants took part in a third naïve package session, where they chose just on the basis of package without being previously exposed to the foods. Results showed that food choices in the naïve package session were guided by the package that labelled the products as "breakfast product". Food choices in the blind session were strongly correlated (r = 0.8) with the liking of the products. Food choice in the "familiar package session" lay between the blind and naïve package session. It is concluded that food choice in a simulated cafeteria setting is guided by extrinsic (package) as well as intrinsic (sensory) properties and both can act as a cue for product appropriateness given a specific consumption context. Depending on the salience of either intrinsic or extrinsic properties during the choice moment their impact on choice is stronger. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Baudry, Julia; Péneau, Sandrine; Allès, Benjamin; Touvier, Mathilde; Hercberg, Serge; Galan, Pilar; Amiot, Marie-Josèphe; Lairon, Denis; Méjean, Caroline; Kesse-Guyot, Emmanuelle
2017-01-24
The purpose of this study was to examine food choice motives associated with various organic and conventional dietary patterns among 22,366 participants of the NutriNet-Santé study. Dietary intakes were estimated using a food frequency questionnaire. Food choice motives were assessed using a validated 63-item-questionnaire gathered into nine food choice motive dimension scores: "absence of contaminants", "avoidance for environmental reasons", "ethics and environment", "taste", "innovation", "local and traditional production", "price", "health" and "convenience". Five consumers' clusters were identified: "standard conventional food small eaters", "unhealthy conventional food big eaters", "standard organic food small eaters", "green organic food eaters" and "hedonist moderate organic food eaters". Relationships between food choice motive dimension scores and consumers' clusters were assessed using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) models adjusted for sociodemographic factors. "Green organic food eaters" had the highest mean score for the "health" dimension, while "unhealthy conventional food big eaters" obtained the lowest mean score for the "absence of contaminants" dimension. "Standard organic food small eaters", "green organic food eaters" and "hedonist moderate organic food eaters" had comparable scores for the "taste" dimension. "Unhealthy conventional food big eaters" had the highest mean score for the "price" dimension while "green organic food eaters" had the lowest mean scores for the "innovation" and "convenience" dimensions. These results provide new insights into the food choice motives of diverse consumers' profiles including "green" and "hedonist" eaters.
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Modeling Dynamic Food Choice Processes to Understand Dietary Intervention Effects.
Marcum, Christopher Steven; Goldring, Megan R; McBride, Colleen M; Persky, Susan
2018-02-17
Meal construction is largely governed by nonconscious and habit-based processes that can be represented as a collection of in dividual, micro-level food choices that eventually give rise to a final plate. Despite this, dietary behavior intervention research rarely captures these micro-level food choice processes, instead measuring outcomes at aggregated levels. This is due in part to a dearth of analytic techniques to model these dynamic time-series events. The current article addresses this limitation by applying a generalization of the relational event framework to model micro-level food choice behavior following an educational intervention. Relational event modeling was used to model the food choices that 221 mothers made for their child following receipt of an information-based intervention. Participants were randomized to receive either (a) control information; (b) childhood obesity risk information; (c) childhood obesity risk information plus a personalized family history-based risk estimate for their child. Participants then made food choices for their child in a virtual reality-based food buffet simulation. Micro-level aspects of the built environment, such as the ordering of each food in the buffet, were influential. Other dynamic processes such as choice inertia also influenced food selection. Among participants receiving the strongest intervention condition, choice inertia decreased and the overall rate of food selection increased. Modeling food selection processes can elucidate the points at which interventions exert their influence. Researchers can leverage these findings to gain insight into nonconscious and uncontrollable aspects of food selection that influence dietary outcomes, which can ultimately improve the design of dietary interventions.
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Personal food systems of male collegiate football players: a grounded theory investigation.
Long, Doug; Perry, Christina; Unruh, Scott A; Lewis, Nancy; Stanek-Krogstrand, Kaye
2011-01-01
Factors that affect food choices include the physical and social environments, quality, quantity, perceived healthfulness, and convenience. The personal food choice process was defined as the procedures used by athletes for making food choices, including the weighing and balancing of activities of daily life, physical well-being, convenience, monetary resources, and social relationships. To develop a theoretical model explaining the personal food choice processes of collegiate football players. Qualitative study. National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II football program. Fifteen football players were purposefully sampled to represent various positions, years of athletic eligibility, and ethnic backgrounds. For text data collection, we used predetermined, open-ended questions. Data were analyzed using the constant comparison method. The athletes' words were used to label and describe their interactions and experiences with the food choice process. Member checks and an external audit were conducted by a qualitative methodologist and a nutrition specialist, and the findings were triangulated with the current literature to ensure trustworthiness of the text data. Time was the core category and yielded a cyclic graphic of a theoretical model for the food choice system. Planning hydration, macronutrient strategies, snacks, and healthful food choices emerged as themes. The athletes planned meals and snacks around their academic and athletic schedules while attempting to consume foods identified as healthful. Healthful foods were generally lower in fat but high in preferred macronutrients. High-protein foods were the players' primary goal; carbohydrate consumption was secondary. The athletes had established plans to maintain hydration. Professionals may use these findings to implement educational programs on food choices for football players.
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... turn JavaScript on. Feature: Healthy Aging Making Smart Food Choices Past Issues / Winter 2015 Table of Contents ... NIH www.nia.nih.gov/Go4Life Making Smart Food Choices To maintain a healthy weight, balance the ...
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Vilaro, Melissa J; Zhou, Wenjun; Colby, Sarah E; Byrd-Bredbenner, Carol; Riggsbee, Kristin; Olfert, Melissa D; Barnett, Tracey E; Mathews, Anne E
2017-12-01
Understanding factors that influence food choice may help improve diet quality. Factors that commonly affect adults' food choices have been described, but measures that identify and assess food choice factors specific to college students are lacking. This study developed and tested the Food Choice Priorities Survey (FCPS) among college students. Thirty-seven undergraduates participated in two focus groups ( n = 19; 11 in the male-only group, 8 in the female-only group) and interviews ( n = 18) regarding typical influences on food choice. Qualitative data informed the development of survey items with a 5-point Likert-type scale (1 = not important, 5 = extremely important). An expert panel rated FCPS items for clarity, relevance, representativeness, and coverage using a content validity form. To establish test-retest reliability, 109 first-year college students completed the 14-item FCPS at two time points, 0-48 days apart ( M = 13.99, SD = 7.44). Using Cohen's weighted κ for responses within 20 days, 11 items demonstrated moderate agreement and 3 items had substantial agreement. Factor analysis revealed a three-factor structure (9 items). The FCPS is designed for college students and provides a way to determine the factors of greatest importance regarding food choices among this population. From a public health perspective, practical applications include using the FCPS to tailor health communications and behavior change interventions to factors most salient for food choices of college students.
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Food availability/convenience and obesity.
Gordon-Larsen, Penny
2014-11-01
Neighborhood environments have received considerable attention in recent local, state, and national obesity prevention initiatives, with a particular focus on food deserts, or areas with poor access to healthy foods. Yet, there are inconsistencies in the evidence base, suggesting a nuanced association between neighborhood environment, food availability, diet behaviors, and obesity. There is heterogeneity in associations between environmental exposures and health outcomes across race/ethnicity, gender, region, and urbanicity, which results in complexity in the interpretation of findings. There are several limitations in the literature, including a predominance of cross-sectional studies, reliance on commercial business listings, lack of attention to the process by which diet resources are established and expanded within neighborhoods and the potential for individuals to selectively migrate to locate near such facilities, a predominant focus on residential neighborhoods, and lack of information about the decision-making process underlying purchasing patterns. More research is needed to address the complexity of individual-level residential decision making as well as the purposeful placement of food environment resources across social and geographic space using longitudinal data and complex statistical approaches. In addition, improvements in data quality and depth related to food access and availability are needed, including behavioral data on purchase patterns and interactions with the food environment, and greater attention to heterogeneity across subpopulations. As policy changes to the food environment move forward, it is critical that there is rigorous and scientific evaluation of environmental changes and their impact on individual-level diet choices and behaviors, and their further influence on body weight. © 2014 American Society for Nutrition.
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Mindful eating reduces impulsive food choice in adolescents and adults.
Hendrickson, Kelsie L; Rasmussen, Erin B
2017-03-01
The present study tested the extent to which age and obesity predicted impulsive choices for food and monetary outcomes and tested how a brief mindful-eating training would alter delay discounting for food and money choices compared with control groups. First, 172 adolescents (M age = 13.13 years) and 176 (M age = 23.33 years) adults completed the Food Choice Questionnaire (FCQ) and Monetary Choice Questionnaire (MCQ) as measures of food and money delay discounting, respectively. Then, participants returned to the lab and were randomly assigned to complete a brief mindful-eating training, watch a DVD on nutrition, or serve as a control. Participants completed the FCQ and MCQ again as a postmanipulation measure. Participants with high percent body fat (PBF) were more impulsive for food than those with low PBF. Adults with high PBF were also more impulsive for money compared with adults with low PBF; no PBF-related differences were found for adolescents. Participants in the mindful-eating group exhibited more self-controlled choices for food, but not for money. The control conditions did not exhibit changes. The study suggests that individuals with high PBF make more impulsive food choices relative to those with low PBF, which could increase the risk of obesity over time. It also is the first to demonstrate shifts in choice patterns for food and money using a brief mindful-eating training with adolescents. Mindful eating is a beneficial strategy to reduce impulsive food choice, at least temporarily, that may impede weight gain. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).
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Oscillatory EEG signatures of postponed somatosensory decisions.
Ludwig, Simon; Herding, Jan; Blankenburg, Felix
2018-05-02
In recent electroencephalography (EEG) studies, the vibrotactile frequency comparison task has been used to study oscillatory signatures of perceptual decision making in humans, revealing a choice-selective modulation of premotor upper beta band power shortly before decisions were reported. Importantly, these studies focused on decisions that were (1) indicated immediately after stimulus presentation, and (2) for which a direct motor mapping was provided. Here, we investigated whether the putative beta band choice signal also extends to postponed decisions, and how such a decision signal might be influenced by a response mapping that is dissociated from a specific motor command. We recorded EEG data in two separate experiments, both employing the vibrotactile frequency comparison task with delayed decision reports. In the first experiment, delayed choices were associated with a fixed motor mapping, whereas in the second experiment, choices were mapped onto a color code concealing a specific motor response until the end of the delay phase. In between stimulus presentations, as well as after the second stimulus, prefrontal beta band power indexed stimulus information held in working memory. Beta band power also encoded choices during the response delay, notably, in different cortical areas depending on the provided response mapping. In particular, when decisions were associated with a specific motor mapping, choices were represented in premotor cortices, whereas the color mapping resulted in a choice-selective modulation of beta band power in parietal cortices. Together, our findings imply that how a choice is expressed (i.e., the decision consequence) determines where in the cortical sensorimotor hierarchy an according decision signal is processed. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Yeung, Jupiter; Robert, Marie-Claude
2018-01-01
For food manufacturers, the label on a food package is a tool meant to alert consumers to the presence of specific allergens, allowing consumers to make informed decisions and not unnecessarily limit their food choices. Mandatory allergen labeling is used when the allergen is an intentionally added ingredient, whereas voluntary allergen labeling is used when the presence of the allergen is unintentional and may be in the finished product as a result of cross-contact. In a globalized economy, ensuring food safety is a growing challenge for manufacturers. When ingredients and technologies are sourced worldwide from multiple business partners, complexity rises, which can increase the chance for errors, leading to potential harm. Threshold science, Voluntary Incidental Trace Allergen Labelling (VITAL) reference doses, fit-for-purpose analytical technology, and common sense enable us to optimize allergen management for the benefit of allergic consumers. This is a good strategy because all stakeholders share the common goal of making foods safe and wholesome for all. Herein, we recommend that (1) senior management make science-based thresholds a priority for both regulatory authorities and the food industry; (2) VITAL 2.0 be adopted as a risk assessment and risk management tool for precautionary allergen labeling (PAL); (3) a standardized message for PAL, i.e., "may contain x," be used to make it easily understandable to allergic consumers so they can make informed food choices; and (4) validated fit-for-purpose allergen methods be used to meet analytical needs. This is an opportunity for us to speak with one voice and demonstrate that food safety is not a competitive issue, but a shared responsibility. This approach could significantly improve allergic consumers' lives.
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Food prices and food shopping decisions of black women.
DiSantis, Katherine I; Grier, Sonya A; Oakes, J Michael; Kumanyika, Shiriki K
2014-06-01
Identifying food pricing strategies to encourage purchases of lower-calorie food products may be particularly important for black Americans. Black children and adults have higher than average obesity prevalence and disproportionate exposure to food marketing environments in which high calorie foods are readily available and heavily promoted. The main objective of this study was to characterize effects of price on food purchases of black female household shoppers in conjunction with other key decision attributes (calorie content/healthfulness, package size, and convenience). Factorial discrete choice experiments were conducted with 65 low- and middle-/higher-income black women. The within-subject study design assessed responses to hypothetical scenarios for purchasing frozen vegetables, bread, chips, soda, fruit drinks, chicken, and cheese. Linear models were used to estimate the effects of price, calorie level (or healthfulness for bread), package size, and convenience on the propensity to purchase items. Moderating effects of demographic and personal characteristics were assessed. Compared with a price that was 35% lower, the regular price was associated with a lesser propensity to purchase foods in all categories (β = -0.33 to -0.82 points on a 1 to 5 scale). Other attributes, primarily calorie content/healthfulness, were more influential than price for four of seven foods. The moderating variable most often associated with propensity to pay the regular versus lower price was the reported use of nutrition labels. Price reductions alone may increase purchases of certain lower-calorie or more healthful foods by black female shoppers. In other cases, effects may depend on combining price changes with nutrition education or improvements in other valued attributes. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Reinstated episodic context guides sampling-based decisions for reward.
Bornstein, Aaron M; Norman, Kenneth A
2017-07-01
How does experience inform decisions? In episodic sampling, decisions are guided by a few episodic memories of past choices. This process can yield choice patterns similar to model-free reinforcement learning; however, samples can vary from trial to trial, causing decisions to vary. Here we show that context retrieved during episodic sampling can cause choice behavior to deviate sharply from the predictions of reinforcement learning. Specifically, we show that, when a given memory is sampled, choices (in the present) are influenced by the properties of other decisions made in the same context as the sampled event. This effect is mediated by fMRI measures of context retrieval on each trial, suggesting a mechanism whereby cues trigger retrieval of context, which then triggers retrieval of other decisions from that context. This result establishes a new avenue by which experience can guide choice and, as such, has broad implications for the study of decisions.
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Fischer, Sophia; Soyez, Katja; Gurtner, Sebastian
2015-05-01
Research testing the concept of decision-making styles in specific contexts such as health care-related choices is missing. Therefore, we examine the contextuality of Scott and Bruce's (1995) General Decision-Making Style Inventory with respect to patient choice situations. Scott and Bruce's scale was adapted for use as a patient decision-making style inventory. In total, 388 German patients who underwent elective joint surgery responded to a questionnaire about their provider choice. Confirmatory factor analyses within 2 independent samples assessed factorial structure, reliability, and validity of the scale. The final 4-dimensional, 13-item patient decision-making style inventory showed satisfactory psychometric properties. Data analyses supported reliability and construct validity. Besides the intuitive, dependent, and avoidant style, a new subdimension, called "comparative" decision-making style, emerged that originated from the rational dimension of the general model. This research provides evidence for the contextuality of decision-making style to specific choice situations. Using a limited set of indicators, this report proposes the patient decision-making style inventory as valid and feasible tool to assess patients' decision propensities. © The Author(s) 2015.
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Moral intensity and climate-friendly food choices.
Mäkiniemi, Jaana-Piia; Vainio, Annukka
2013-07-01
By changing individual food consumption patterns, it might be possible to reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with climate change. The aim of the current study was to examine how perceptions of the moral intensity of climate change are related to climate friendly-food choices. The participants were 350 Finnish university students in the social and behavioral sciences who completed a questionnaire during class. The results indicated that moral perceptions mainly affected the moral evaluation and intentions to make climate-friendly food choices. We suggest that the results can be used to promote climate-friendly food choices, for example, by increasing the recognition of climate change as a moral imperative and by combining environmental motives with other relevant food choice motives. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Feeding State Modulates Behavioral Choice and Processing of Prey Stimuli in the Zebrafish Tectum.
Filosa, Alessandro; Barker, Alison J; Dal Maschio, Marco; Baier, Herwig
2016-05-04
Animals use the sense of vision to scan their environment, respond to threats, and locate food sources. The neural computations underlying the selection of a particular behavior, such as escape or approach, require flexibility to balance potential costs and benefits for survival. For example, avoiding novel visual objects reduces predation risk but negatively affects foraging success. Zebrafish larvae approach small, moving objects ("prey") and avoid large, looming objects ("predators"). We found that this binary classification of objects by size is strongly influenced by feeding state. Hunger shifts behavioral decisions from avoidance to approach and recruits additional prey-responsive neurons in the tectum, the main visual processing center. Both behavior and tectal function are modulated by signals from the hypothalamic-pituitary-interrenal axis and the serotonergic system. Our study has revealed a neuroendocrine mechanism that modulates the perception of food and the willingness to take risks in foraging decisions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Impairment of decision-making in multiple sclerosis: A neuroeconomic approach.
Sepúlveda, Maria; Fernández-Diez, Begoña; Martínez-Lapiscina, Elena H; Llufriu, Sara; Sola-Valls, Nuria; Zubizarreta, Irati; Blanco, Yolanda; Saiz, Albert; Levy, Dino; Glimcher, Paul; Villoslada, Pablo
2017-11-01
To assess the decision-making impairment in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and how they relate to other cognitive domains. We performed a cross-sectional analysis in 84 patients with MS, and 21 matched healthy controls using four tasks taken from behavioral economics: (1) risk preferences, (2) choice consistency, (3) delay of gratification, and (4) rate of learning. All tasks were conducted using real-world reward outcomes (food or money) in different real-life conditions. Participants underwent cognitive examination using the Brief Repeatable Battery-Neuropsychology. Patients showed higher risk aversion (general propensity to choose the lottery was 0.51 vs 0.64, p = 0.009), a trend to choose more immediate rewards over larger but delayed rewards ( p = 0.108), and had longer reactions times ( p = 0.033). Choice consistency and learning rates were not different between groups. Progressive patients chose slower than relapsing patients. In relation to general cognitive impairments, we found correlations between impaired decision-making and impaired verbal memory ( r = 0.29, p = 0.009), visual memory ( r = -0.37, p = 0.001), and reduced processing speed ( r = -0.32, p = 0.001). Normalized gray matter volume correlated with deliberation time ( r = -0.32, p = 0.005). Patients with MS suffer significant decision-making impairments, even at the early stages of the disease, and may affect patients' quality and social life.
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Richards, Rickelle; Smith, Chery
2007-10-01
In-depth interviews were conducted with homeless children (n=56, aged 6-13 years) in an urban center in Minnesota, USA, to determine factors influencing food choice, food access, and weight status, with interview questions developed using the Social Cognitive Theory. Interview transcripts were coded and then evaluated both collectively and by weight status (<85th percentile=normal weight vs. > or = 85th percentile=overweight). Forty-five percent of children were overweight. Environmental, parental, and personal factors emerged as common themes influencing food access and choice. Despite children's personal food preferences, homelessness and the shelter environment created restrictive conditions that influenced food choice and access. Shelter rules, lack of adequate storage and cooking facilities, and limited food stores near the shelter, impacted the type and quality of food choices, ultimately affecting hunger, weight status, and perceived health.
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21 CFR 510.455 - Requirements for free-choice medicated feeds.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR
2012-04-01
... 21 Food and Drugs 6 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Requirements for free-choice medicated feeds. 510.455 Section 510.455 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN... New Animal Drugs § 510.455 Requirements for free-choice medicated feeds. (a) What is free-choice...
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21 CFR 510.455 - Requirements for free-choice medicated feeds.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR
2010-04-01
... 21 Food and Drugs 6 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Requirements for free-choice medicated feeds. 510.455 Section 510.455 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN... New Animal Drugs § 510.455 Requirements for free-choice medicated feeds. (a) What is free-choice...
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Food choice by people with intellectual disabilities at day centres: A qualitative study.
Cartwright, Luke; Reid, Marie; Hammersley, Richard; Blackburn, Chrissie; Glover, Lesley
2015-06-01
People with intellectual disabilities experience a range of health inequalities. It is important to investigate possible contributory factors that may lead to these inequalities. This qualitative study identified some difficulties for healthy eating in day centres. (1) Service users and their family carers were aware of healthy food choices but framed these as diets for weight loss rather than as everyday eating. (2) Paid carers and managers regarded the principle of service user autonomy and choice as paramount, which meant that they felt limited in their capacity to influence food choices, which they attributed to the home environment. (3) Carers used food as a treat, a reward and for social bonding with service users. (4) Service users' food choices modelled other service users' and carers' choices at the time. It is suggested that healthy eating should be made more of a priority in day care, with a view to promoting exemplarily behaviour that might influence food choice at home. © The Author(s) 2014.
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Factors associated with the inappropriate use of antimicrobials.
McIntosh, W; Dean, W
2015-04-01
Antimicrobial resistance continues to grow and antimicrobial use in food animal production and to a lesser extent in human patients is under fire. Much of the criticism has to do with the misapplication of these drugs in both settings. Research indicates that patients, food animal producers, physicians and veterinarians have all played a part in misusing antimicrobials, often because of mistaken beliefs. This paper reviews this research and introduces a theoretical perspective, the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), which broadens our understanding of the motivations for misuse. In particular this approach shows that individuals making decisions about antimicrobial use take into account social pressures from and a sense of obligation to significant others in their social networks. Our own work summarized in this paper indicates that both feedlot veterinarians and feedlot managers' antimicrobial decisions are influenced by both expectations from and obligations to a variety of actors in the feedlot network (other veterinarians, feedlot clients, consumers, pharmaceutical companies, and regulatory bodies). Generally across 4 circumstances of antimicrobial use (for acutely sick cattle, chronically-sick cattle, at-risk cattle, high-risk cattle), it is largely the perception that peers and clients expect feedlot veterinarians to use antimicrobials and feedlot veterinarians sense of obligation to these groups that have the most influence on their decisions to recommend antimicrobials. Based on these findings, the question of engaging in changing the choices made by those working with food animals must start with those who influence the decision to proscribe or use antimicrobials. As our data come from the United States and may be unique relative to other countries, these efforts should begin by ascertaining who influences these decisions. The next step is to then change the beliefs of these significant others. © 2014 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.
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Graham, Dan J; Lucas-Thompson, Rachel G; Mueller, Megan P; Jaeb, Melanie; Harnack, Lisa
2017-04-01
The present study investigated whether parent/child pairs would select more healthful foods when: (i) products were labelled with front-of-package (FOP) nutrition labels relative to packages without labels; (ii) products were labelled with colour-coded Multiple Traffic Light (MTL) FOP labels relative to monochromatic Facts up Front (FuF) FOP labels; and (iii) FOP labels were explained via in-aisle signage v. unexplained. Participants were randomly assigned to one of five conditions: (i) FuF labels with in-aisle signs explaining the labels; (ii) FuF labels, no signage; (iii) MTL labels with in-aisle signage; (iv) MTL labels, no signage; (v) control group, no labels/signage. Saturated fat, sodium, sugar and energy (calorie) content were compared across conditions. The study took place in a laboratory grocery aisle. Parent/child pairs (n 153) completed the study. Results did not support the hypothesis that MTL labels would lead to more healthful choices than FuF labels. The presence of FOP labels did little to improve the healthfulness of selected foods, with few exceptions (participants with v. without access to FOP labels selected lower-calorie cereals, participants with access to both FOP labels and in-aisle explanatory signage selected products with less saturated fat v. participants without explanatory signage). Neither MTL nor FuF FOP labels led to food choices with significantly lower saturated fat, sodium or sugar. In-aisle signs explaining the FOP labels were somewhat helpful to consumers in making more healthful dietary decisions. New FOP labelling programmes could benefit from campaigns to increase consumer awareness and understanding of the labels.
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A decision network account of reasoning about other people's choices.
Jern, Alan; Kemp, Charles
2015-09-01
The ability to predict and reason about other people's choices is fundamental to social interaction. We propose that people reason about other people's choices using mental models that are similar to decision networks. Decision networks are extensions of Bayesian networks that incorporate the idea that choices are made in order to achieve goals. In our first experiment, we explore how people predict the choices of others. Our remaining three experiments explore how people infer the goals and knowledge of others by observing the choices that they make. We show that decision networks account for our data better than alternative computational accounts that do not incorporate the notion of goal-directed choice or that do not rely on probabilistic inference. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Gordon, June A.
2005-01-01
One of the most common misunderstandings about the composition of the teaching profession, and hence, educational administration, is that it is merely a professional choice: someone chooses to be a teacher rather than a business person, a lawyer, a food service worker, a nurse, a truck driver. In reality, many decisions are made for young people…
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[Neurotransmitter mechanisms of context-dependent behavior].
D'iakonova, V E
2012-01-01
The influence of context on behavioral choice is well known. Context can refer to behavioral state of an animal and to external factors such as season, presence of other individuals or food availability. How external and internal factors influencing decision-making are translated at the cellular level? I review the recent neuroethological data that strongly suggest that context reflects in content of neuroactive substances (neurotransmitters, modulators, hormones) that present in the extraneuronal milieu, while heterochemical neuronal microenvironment in its turn impacts motor program selection.
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Kim, Jooho; Ma, Jing; Almanza, Barbara
2017-06-01
The Food and Drug Administration recommended restaurant inspection scores change to a format that incorporated three new categories of violations: priority, priority foundation, and core. It was uncertain whether interested consumers would value the more in-depth information or become more confused. The purpose of this study was to assess consumer perception of the recommended inspection system. Data were collected from an online survey. Results showed that consumers want convenient access to the information either online or on the wall of restaurants, and some consumers do want to read inspection reports and use them in making dining decisions. Choice of restaurant inspection format did appear to change consumer understanding and perceptions about some of the violations. Results also demonstrated the importance of the words used to categorize violations.
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Attention! Can choices for low value food over high value food be trained?
Zoltak, Michael J; Veling, Harm; Chen, Zhang; Holland, Rob W
2018-05-01
People choose high value food items over low value food items, because food choices are guided by the comparison of values placed upon choice alternatives. This value comparison process is also influenced by the amount of attention people allocate to different items. Recent research shows that choices for food items can be increased by training attention toward these items, with a paradigm named cued-approach training (CAT). However, previous work till now has only examined the influence of CAT on choices between two equally valued items. It has remained unclear whether CAT can increase choices for low value items when people choose between a low and high value food item. To address this question in the current study participants were cued to make rapid responses in CAT to certain low and high value items. Next, they made binary choices between low and high value items, where we systematically varied whether the low and high value items were cued or uncued. In two experiments, we found that participants overall preferred high over low value food items for real consumption. More important, their choices for low value items increased when only the low value item had been cued in CAT compared to when both low and high value items had not been cued. Exploratory analyses revealed that this effect was more pronounced for participants with a relatively small value difference between low and high value items. The present research thus suggests that CAT may be used to boost the choice and consumption of low value items via enhanced attention toward these items, as long as the value difference is not too large. Implications for facilitating choices for healthy food are discussed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Banks, Matthew L; Blough, Bruce E
2015-08-01
Preclinical and human laboratory choice procedures have been invaluable in improving our knowledge of the neurobiological mechanisms of drug reinforcement and in the drug development process for candidate medications to treat drug addiction. However, little is known about the neuropharmacological mechanisms of methamphetamine vs food choice. The aims of this study were to develop a methamphetamine vs food choice procedure and determine treatment effects with two clinically relevant compounds: the monoamine uptake inhibitor bupropion and the dopamine antagonist risperidone. Rhesus monkeys (n=6) responded under a concurrent schedule of food delivery (1-g pellets, fixed-ratio (FR) 100 schedule) and intravenous methamphetamine injections (0-0.32 mg/kg/injection, FR10 schedule) during 7-day bupropion (0.32-1.8 mg/kg/h) and risperidone (0.001-0.0056 mg/kg/h) treatment periods. For comparison, effects of removing food pellets or methamphetamine injections and FR response requirement manipulations were also examined. Under saline treatment conditions, food was preferred over no methamphetamine or small unit methamphetamine doses (0.01-0.032 mg/kg/injection). Larger methamphetamine doses resulted in greater methamphetamine preference and 0.32 mg/kg/injection methamphetamine maintained near exclusive preference. Removing food availability increased methamphetamine choice, whereas removing methamphetamine availability decreased methamphetamine choice. Methamphetamine choice was not significantly altered when the FR response requirements for food and drug were the same (FR100:FR100 or FR10:FR10). Risperidone treatment increased methamphetamine choice, whereas bupropion treatment did not alter methamphetamine choice up to doses that decreased rates of operant behavior. Overall, these negative results with bupropion and risperidone are concordant with previous human laboratory and clinical trials and support the potential validity of this preclinical methamphetamine vs food choice model.
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Personal Food Systems of Male Collegiate Football Players: A Grounded Theory Investigation
Long, Doug; Perry, Christina; Unruh, Scott A.; Lewis, Nancy; Stanek-Krogstrand, Kaye
2011-01-01
Context: Factors that affect food choices include the physical and social environments, quality, quantity, perceived healthfulness, and convenience. The personal food choice process was defined as the procedures used by athletes for making food choices, including the weighing and balancing of activities of daily life, physical well-being, convenience, monetary resources, and social relationships. Objective: To develop a theoretical model explaining the personal food choice processes of collegiate football players. Design: Qualitative study. Setting: National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II football program. Patients or Other Participants: Fifteen football players were purposefully sampled to represent various positions, years of athletic eligibility, and ethnic backgrounds. Data Collection and Analysis: For text data collection, we used predetermined, open-ended questions. Data were analyzed using the constant comparison method. The athletes' words were used to label and describe their interactions and experiences with the food choice process. Member checks and an external audit were conducted by a qualitative methodologist and a nutrition specialist, and the findings were triangulated with the current literature to ensure trustworthiness of the text data. Results: Time was the core category and yielded a cyclic graphic of a theoretical model for the food choice system. Planning hydration, macronutrient strategies, snacks, and healthful food choices emerged as themes. Conclusions: The athletes planned meals and snacks around their academic and athletic schedules while attempting to consume foods identified as healthful. Healthful foods were generally lower in fat but high in preferred macronutrients. High-protein foods were the players' primary goal; carbohydrate consumption was secondary. The athletes had established plans to maintain hydration. Professionals may use these findings to implement educational programs on food choices for football players. PMID:22488196
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Fortes, Inês; Machado, Armando; Vasconcelos, Marco
2017-11-01
In the natural environment, when an animal encounters a stimulus that signals the absence of food-a 'bad-news' stimulus-it will most likely redirect its search to another patch or prey. Because the animal does not pay the opportunity cost of waiting in the presence of a bad-news stimulus, the properties of the stimulus (e.g., its duration and probability) may have little impact in the evolution of the decision processes deployed in these circumstances. Hence, in the laboratory, when animals are forced to experience a bad-news stimulus they seem to ignore its duration, even though they pay the cost of waiting. Under certain circumstances, this insensitivity to the opportunity cost can lead to suboptimal preferences, such as a preference for an option yielding a low rather than a high rate of reinforcement. In 2 experiments, we tested Vasconcelos, Monteiro, and Kacelnik's (2015) assumption that, if given the opportunity, animals will escape the bad-news stimulus. To predict when an escape response should occur, we incorporated ideas from the prey choice model into Vasconcelos et al. (2015) model and made 2 novel predictions. Namely, both longer intertrial intervals and longer durations of signals predicting food or no food should lead to higher proportions of escape responses. The results of 2 experiments with pigeons supported these predictions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).
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Miller, Lisa M Soederberg; Cassady, Diana L
2012-08-01
Nutrition facts panels (NFPs) contain a rich assortment of nutrition information and are available on most food packages. The importance of this information is potentially even greater among older adults due to their increased risk for diet-related diseases, as well as those with goals for dietary modifications that may impact food choice. Despite past work suggesting that knowledge and motivation impact attitudes surrounding and self-reported use of NFPs, we know little about how (i.e., strategies used) and how well (i.e., level of accuracy) younger and older individuals process NFP information when evaluating healthful qualities of foods. We manipulated the content of NFPs and, using eye tracking methodology, examined strategies associated with deciding which of two NFPs, presented side-by-side, was healthier. We examined associations among strategy use and accuracy as well as age, dietary modification status, knowledge, and motivation. Results showed that, across age groups, those with dietary modification goals made relatively more comparisons between NFPs with increasing knowledge and motivation; but that strategy effectiveness (relationship to accuracy) depended on age and motivation. Results also showed that knowledge and motivation may protect against declines in accuracy in later life and that, across age and dietary modification status, knowledge mediates the relationship between motivation and decision accuracy. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Adaptive History Biases Result from Confidence-Weighted Accumulation of past Choices
2018-01-01
Perceptual decision-making is biased by previous events, including the history of preceding choices: observers tend to repeat (or alternate) their judgments of the sensory environment more often than expected by chance. Computational models postulate that these so-called choice history biases result from the accumulation of internal decision signals across trials. Here, we provide psychophysical evidence for such a mechanism and its adaptive utility. Male and female human observers performed different variants of a challenging visual motion discrimination task near psychophysical threshold. In a first experiment, we decoupled categorical perceptual choices and motor responses on a trial-by-trial basis. Choice history bias was explained by previous perceptual choices, not motor responses, highlighting the importance of internal decision signals in action-independent formats. In a second experiment, observers performed the task in stimulus environments containing different levels of autocorrelation and providing no external feedback about choice correctness. Despite performing under overall high levels of uncertainty, observers adjusted both the strength and the sign of their choice history biases to these environments. When stimulus sequences were dominated by either repetitions or alternations, the individual degree of this adjustment of history bias was about as good a predictor of individual performance as individual perceptual sensitivity. The history bias adjustment scaled with two proxies for observers' confidence about their previous choices (accuracy and reaction time). Together, our results are consistent with the idea that action-independent, confidence-modulated decision variables are accumulated across choices in a flexible manner that depends on decision-makers' model of their environment. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Decisions based on sensory input are often influenced by the history of one's preceding choices, manifesting as a bias to systematically repeat (or alternate) choices. We here provide support for the idea that such choice history biases arise from the context-dependent accumulation of a quantity referred to as the decision variable: the variable's sign dictates the choice and its magnitude the confidence about choice correctness. We show that choices are accumulated in an action-independent format and a context-dependent manner, weighted by the confidence about their correctness. This confidence-weighted accumulation of choices enables decision-makers to flexibly adjust their behavior to different sensory environments. The bias adjustment can be as important for optimizing performance as one's sensitivity to the momentary sensory input. PMID:29371318
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Adaptive History Biases Result from Confidence-weighted Accumulation of Past Choices.
Braun, Anke; Urai, Anne E; Donner, Tobias H
2018-01-25
Perceptual decision-making is biased by previous events, including the history of preceding choices: Observers tend to repeat (or alternate) their judgments of the sensory environment more often than expected by chance. Computational models postulate that these so-called choice history biases result from the accumulation of internal decision signals across trials. Here, we provide psychophysical evidence for such a mechanism and its adaptive utility. Male and female human observers performed different variants of a challenging visual motion discrimination task near psychophysical threshold. In a first experiment, we decoupled categorical perceptual choices and motor responses on a trial-by-trial basis. Choice history bias was explained by previous perceptual choices, not motor responses, highlighting the importance of internal decision signals in action-independent formats. In a second experiment, observers performed the task in stimulus environments containing different levels of auto-correlation and providing no external feedback about choice correctness. Despite performing under overall high levels of uncertainty, observers adjusted both the strength and the sign of their choice history biases to these environments. When stimulus sequences were dominated by either repetitions or alternations, the individual degree of this adjustment of history bias was about as good a predictor of individual performance as individual perceptual sensitivity. The history bias adjustment scaled with two proxies for observers' confidence about their previous choices (accuracy and reaction time). Taken together, our results are consistent with the idea that action-independent, confidence-modulated decision variables are accumulated across choices in a flexible manner that depends on decision-makers' model of their environment. Significance statement: Decisions based on sensory input are often influenced by the history of one's preceding choices, manifesting as a bias to systematically repeat (or alternate) choices. We here provide support for the idea that such choice history biases arise from the context-dependent accumulation of a quantity referred to as the decision variable: the variable's sign dictates the choice and its magnitude the confidence about choice correctness. We show that choices are accumulated in an action-independent format and a context-dependent manner, weighted by the confidence about their correctness. This confidence-weighted accumulation of choices enables decision-makers to flexibly adjust their behavior to different sensory environments. The bias adjustment can be as important for optimizing performance as one's sensitivity to the momentary sensory input. Copyright © 2018 Braun et al.
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Keith, Jill F; Stastny, Sherri; Brunt, Ardith; Agnew, Wanda
2018-06-01
American Indian and Alaskan Native individuals experience disproportionate levels of chronic health conditions such as type 2 diabetes and overweight and obesity that are influenced by dietary patterns and food choices. Understanding factors that influence healthy food choices among tribal college students can enrich education and programs that target dietary intake. To build an understanding of factors that influence healthy food choices among tribal college students at increased risk for college attrition. A nonexperimental cohort design was used for qualitative descriptive analysis. Participants (N=20) were purposively sampled, newly enrolled, academically underprepared tribal college students enrolled in a culturally relevant life skills course at an upper Midwest tribal college between September 2013 and May 2015. Participant demographic characteristics included various tribal affiliations, ages, and number of dependents. Participant responses to qualitative research questions about dietary intake, food choices, self-efficacy for healthy food choices, psychosocial determinants, and barriers to healthy food choices during telephone interviews were used as measures. Qualitative analysis included prestudy identification of researcher bias/assumptions, audiorecording and transcription, initial analysis (coding), secondary analysis (sorting and identifying meaning), and verification (comparative pattern analysis). Qualitative analysis revealed a variety of themes and subthemes about healthy food choices. Main themes related to barriers included taste, food gathering and preparation, and difficulty clarifying healthy food choices. Main themes related to strategies included taste, cultural traditions and practices, and personal motivation factors. Qualitative analysis identified barrier and strategy themes that may assist nutrition and dietetics practitioners working with tribal/indigenous communities, tribal college educators and health specialists, and tribal community health workers who target health and dietary intake of American Indian and Alaskan Native students. Copyright © 2018 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Huskinson, Sally L; Myerson, Joel; Green, Leonard; Rowlett, James K; Woolverton, William L; Freeman, Kevin B
2016-12-01
Huskinson et al. (2015) recently examined delay discounting in monkeys choosing between an immediate drug (cocaine) reinforcer and a delayed nondrug (food) reinforcer. The present experiment examined the reverse situation: choice between immediate nondrug (food) and delayed drug (cocaine) reinforcers. Whereas the former choice situation exemplifies drug abuse from a delay-discounting perspective, our interest in the latter choice situation is derived from the observation that drug abusers, who characteristically are associated with impulsive choice, typically must devote considerable time to procuring drugs, often at the expense of immediate nondrug alternatives. Accordingly, we analyzed 3 male rhesus monkeys' choices between immediate food and delayed cocaine (0.1 and 0.2 mg/kg/injection) using a hyperbolic model that allowed us to compare discounting rates between qualitatively different reinforcers. Choice of immediate food increased with food amount, and choice functions generally shifted leftward as delay to cocaine increased, indicating a decrease in the subjective value of cocaine. Compared with our previous delay-discounting experiment with immediate cocaine versus delayed food, both doses of delayed cocaine were discounted at a shallow rate. The present results demonstrate that rhesus monkeys will tolerate relatively long delays in an immediate-food versus delayed-drug situation, suggesting that in intertemporal choices between cocaine and food, the subjective value of cocaine is less affected by the delay until reinforcement than is the subjective value of delayed food. More generally, the present findings suggest that although drug abusers may choose impulsively when immediate drug reinforcement is available, they exercise self-control in the acquisition of a highly preferred, delayed drug reinforcer. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).
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Separate neural mechanisms underlie choices and strategic preferences in risky decision making.
Venkatraman, Vinod; Payne, John W; Bettman, James R; Luce, Mary Frances; Huettel, Scott A
2009-05-28
Adaptive decision making in real-world contexts often relies on strategic simplifications of decision problems. Yet, the neural mechanisms that shape these strategies and their implementation remain largely unknown. Using an economic decision-making task, we dissociate brain regions that predict specific choices from those predicting an individual's preferred strategy. Choices that maximized gains or minimized losses were predicted by functional magnetic resonance imaging activation in ventromedial prefrontal cortex or anterior insula, respectively. However, choices that followed a simplifying strategy (i.e., attending to overall probability of winning) were associated with activation in parietal and lateral prefrontal cortices. Dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, through differential functional connectivity with parietal and insular cortex, predicted individual variability in strategic preferences. Finally, we demonstrate that robust decision strategies follow from neural sensitivity to rewards. We conclude that decision making reflects more than compensatory interaction of choice-related regions; in addition, specific brain systems potentiate choices depending on strategies, traits, and context.
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Separate neural mechanisms underlie choices and strategic preferences in risky decision making
Venkatraman, Vinod; Payne, John W.; Bettman, James R.; Luce, Mary Frances; Huettel, Scott A.
2011-01-01
Adaptive decision making in real-world contexts often relies on strategic simplifications of decision problems. Yet, the neural mechanisms that shape these strategies and their implementation remain largely unknown. Using a novel economic decision-making task, we dissociate brain regions that predict specific choices from those predicting an individual’s preferred strategy. Choices that maximized gains or minimized losses were predicted by fMRI activation in ventromedial prefrontal cortex or anterior insula, respectively. However, choices that followed a simplifying strategy (i.e., attending to overall probability of winning) were associated with activation in parietal and lateral prefrontal cortices. Dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, through differential functional connectivity with parietal and insular cortex, predicted individual variability in strategic preferences. Finally, we demonstrate that robust decision strategies follow from neural sensitivity to rewards. We conclude that decision making reflects more than compensatory interaction of choice-related regions; in addition, specific brain systems potentiate choices depending upon strategies, traits, and context. PMID:19477159
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Wahl, Deborah R; Villinger, Karoline; König, Laura M; Ziesemer, Katrin; Schupp, Harald T; Renner, Britta
2017-12-06
Research suggests that "healthy" food choices such as eating fruits and vegetables have not only physical but also mental health benefits and might be a long-term investment in future well-being. This view contrasts with the belief that high-caloric foods taste better, make us happy, and alleviate a negative mood. To provide a more comprehensive assessment of food choice and well-being, we investigated in-the-moment eating happiness by assessing complete, real life dietary behaviour across eight days using smartphone-based ecological momentary assessment. Three main findings emerged: First, of 14 different main food categories, vegetables consumption contributed the largest share to eating happiness measured across eight days. Second, sweets on average provided comparable induced eating happiness to "healthy" food choices such as fruits or vegetables. Third, dinner elicited comparable eating happiness to snacking. These findings are discussed within the "food as health" and "food as well-being" perspectives on eating behaviour.
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The construct of food involvement in behavioral research: scale development and validation.
Bell, Rick; Marshall, David W
2003-06-01
The construct of involvement has been found to influence brand loyalty, product information search processing, responses to advertising communications, diffusion of innovations, and ultimately, product choice decisions. Traditionally, involvement has been defined as being a characteristic of either a product or of an individual. In the present research, we make an assumption that an individual's 'food involvement' is a somewhat stable characteristic and we hypothesized that involvement with foods would vary between individuals, that individuals who are more highly involved with food would be better able to discriminate between a set of food samples than would less food involved individuals, and that this discrimination would operate both in affective and perceptive relative judgments. Using standard scale construction techniques, we developed a measure of the characteristic of food involvement, based on activities relating to food acquisition, preparation, cooking, eating and disposal. After several iterations, a final 12-item measure was found to have good test-retest reliability and internal consistency within two subscales. A behavioral validation study demonstrated that measures of food involvement were associated with discrimination and hedonic ratings for a range of foods in a laboratory setting. These findings suggest that food involvement, as measured by the Food Involvement Scale, may be an important mediator to consider when undertaking research with food and food habits.
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Stakeholder interactions and the development of functional foods.
McConnon, Aine; Cade, Janet; Pearman, Alan
2002-06-01
This paper investigates the roles of the individual stakeholders involved in the development of functional foods and the implications of their actions for public perception of this new food concept. At a time when consumer awareness of the link between diet and health is strong, a new food concept incorporating of a wide spectrum of foods has captured the imagination of the food industry and consumers alike. Functional foods provide a new category of foods that appear to be offering the public the opportunity to achieve a healthy lifestyle with minimal effort. Public perception may determine whether this new food concept is to become the next successful breakthrough in nutritional science or just another marketing gimmick devised by food manufacturers. The paper also addresses issues that arise directly as a result of the emergence of functional foods, such as appropriate legislation in connection to health claims in order to ensure consumer protection and also the lack of clarity in relation to definitions of what constitutes a functional food. The paper concludes that functional foods can only reach their maximum potential if the food industry, government and health professionals work together to improve communication between themselves and consumers and also to educate consumers, thereby allowing them to make informed decisions about dietary choices.
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Food choice and food consumption frequency for Uruguayan consumers.
Ares, Gastón; Gámbaro, Adriana
2008-05-01
The aims of the present work were to study motives underlying Uruguayan consumers' food choice behaviour and to study the consumption frequency of some selected food items. A modification of the Food Choice Questionnaire and a food frequency questionnaire was administered to a group of 200 Uruguayan consumers. Feeling good and safety, sensory appeal and health and nutrient content were rated as the most important factors, while familiarity was rated as the least important. Using hierarchical cluster analysis, three clusters with different choice patterns were identified. Frequency of consumption of fruits, vegetables, milk and dairy products, and whole cereals, increased as the importance attributed to health and nutrition increased; consumption of fatty foods decreased.
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Multivariate representation of food preferences in the human brain.
Pogoda, Luca; Holzer, Matthias; Mormann, Florian; Weber, Bernd
2016-12-01
One major goal in decision neuroscience is to investigate the neuronal mechanisms being responsible for the computation of product preferences. The aim of the present fMRI study was to investigate whether similar patterns of brain activity, reflecting category dependent and category independent preference signals, can be observed in case of different food product categories (i.e. chocolate bars and salty snacks). To that end we used a multivariate searchlight approach in which a linear support vector machine (l-SVM) was trained to distinguish preferred from non-preferred chocolate bars and subsequently tested its predictive power in case of chocolate bars (within category prediction) and salty snacks (across category prediction). Preferences were measured by a binary forced choice decision paradigm before the fMRI task. In the scanner, subjects saw only one product per trial which they had to rate after presentation. Consistent with previous multi voxel pattern analysis (MVPA) studies, we found category dependent preference signals in the ventral parts of medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), but also in dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC). Category independent preference signals were observed in the dorsal parts of mPFC, dACC, and dlPFC. While the first two results have also been reported in a closely related study, the activation in dlPFC is new in this context. We propose that the dlPFC activity does not reflect the products' value computation per se, but rather a modulatory signal which is computed in anticipation of the forthcoming product rating after stimulus presentation. Furthermore we postulate that this kind of dlPFC activation emerges only if the anticipated choices fall into the domain of primary rewards, such as foods. Thus, in contrast to previous studies which investigated preference decoding for stimuli from utterly different categories, the present study revealed some food domain specific aspects of preference processing in the human brain. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Framing Options as Choice or Opportunity: Does the Frame Influence Decisions?
Abhyankar, Purva; Summers, Barbara A; Velikova, Galina; Bekker, Hilary L
2014-07-01
Health professionals must enable patients to make informed decisions about health care choices through unbiased presentation of all options. This study examined whether presenting the decision as "opportunity" rather than "choice" biased individuals' preferences in the context of trial participation for cancer treatment. Self-selecting healthy women (N = 124) were randomly assigned to the following decision frames: opportunity to take part in the trial (opt-in), opportunity to be removed from the trial (opt-out), and choice to have standard treatment or take part in the trial (choice). The computer-based task required women to make a hypothetical choice about a real-world cancer treatment trial. The software presented the framed scenario, recorded initial preference, presented comprehensive and balanced information, traced participants' use of information during decision making, and recorded final decision. A posttask paper questionnaire assessed perceived risk, attitudes, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and satisfaction with decision. Framing influenced women's immediate preferences. Opportunity frames, whether opt-in or opt-out, introduced a bias as they discouraged women from choosing standard treatment. Using the choice frame avoided this bias. The opt-out opportunity frame also affected women's perceived social norm; women felt that others endorsed the trial option. The framing bias was not present once participants had had the opportunity to view detailed information on the options within a patient decision aid format. There were no group differences in information acquisition and final decisions. Sixteen percent changed their initial preference after receiving full information. A "choice" frame, where all treatment options are explicit, is less likely to bias preferences. Presentation of full information in parallel, option-by-attribute format is likely to "de-bias" the decision frame. Tailoring of information to initial preferences would be ill-advised as preferences may change following detailed information. © The Author(s) 2014.
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Chong, Shiau Y; Chittleborough, Catherine R; Gregory, Tess; Lynch, John W; Mittinty, Murthy N; Smithers, Lisa G
2017-06-01
Associations of parental feeding techniques with adiposity are mixed and largely rely on cross-sectional studies. We examined associations between parental food-choice control and using food to soothe at 3.5 years on adiposity at 7 and 15 years. Participants were from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (n = 7312). Food-choice control was assessed using the item 'how much choice do you allow him/her in deciding what foods he eats at meals?'. Use of food to soothe was reported by mothers on the item 'how often do you use sweets or other foods to stop his/her crying or fussing?'. BMI at 7 and 15 years was converted to sex- and age-adjusted z-scores. Fat mass was assessed at 15 years using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. In fully-adjusted models, children given the least choice had 0.08 lower BMI z-score at age 7 years and 0.12 lower BMI z-score,1.46 kg lower fat mass at 15 years than children with the most choices. There was no evidence of an association between using food to soothe and adiposity. Contrary to some studies, higher parental control over food choice was associated with lower adiposity, but use of food to soothe was not associated with adiposity at ages 7 and 15. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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The attentional drift-diffusion model extends to simple purchasing decisions.
Krajbich, Ian; Lu, Dingchao; Camerer, Colin; Rangel, Antonio
2012-01-01
How do we make simple purchasing decisions (e.g., whether or not to buy a product at a given price)? Previous work has shown that the attentional drift-diffusion model (aDDM) can provide accurate quantitative descriptions of the psychometric data for binary and trinary value-based choices, and of how the choice process is guided by visual attention. Here we extend the aDDM to the case of purchasing decisions, and test it using an eye-tracking experiment. We find that the model also provides a reasonably accurate quantitative description of the relationship between choice, reaction time, and visual fixations using parameters that are very similar to those that best fit the previous data. The only critical difference is that the choice biases induced by the fixations are about half as big in purchasing decisions as in binary choices. This suggests that a similar computational process is used to make binary choices, trinary choices, and simple purchasing decisions.
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The Attentional Drift-Diffusion Model Extends to Simple Purchasing Decisions
Krajbich, Ian; Lu, Dingchao; Camerer, Colin; Rangel, Antonio
2012-01-01
How do we make simple purchasing decisions (e.g., whether or not to buy a product at a given price)? Previous work has shown that the attentional drift-diffusion model (aDDM) can provide accurate quantitative descriptions of the psychometric data for binary and trinary value-based choices, and of how the choice process is guided by visual attention. Here we extend the aDDM to the case of purchasing decisions, and test it using an eye-tracking experiment. We find that the model also provides a reasonably accurate quantitative description of the relationship between choice, reaction time, and visual fixations using parameters that are very similar to those that best fit the previous data. The only critical difference is that the choice biases induced by the fixations are about half as big in purchasing decisions as in binary choices. This suggests that a similar computational process is used to make binary choices, trinary choices, and simple purchasing decisions. PMID:22707945
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Piloting an online grocery store simulation to assess children's food choices.
Heard, Amy M; Harris, Jennifer L; Liu, Sai; Schwartz, Marlene B; Li, Xun
2016-01-01
Public health interventions must address poor diet among U.S. children, but research is needed to better understand factors influencing children's food choices. Using an online grocery store simulation, this research piloted a novel method to assess children's snack selection in a controlled but naturalistic laboratory setting, evaluate predictors of choice, and experimentally test whether promotions on food packages altered choices. Children (7-12 years, N = 61) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: promotions on healthy products; promotions on unhealthy products; and no promotions (control). They selected from a variety of healthy and unhealthy foods and beverages and rated all products on healthfulness and taste. Promotions on food packaging did not affect snack selection in this study, but findings supported our other hypothesis that perceived taste would be the strongest predictor of food choice. Children accurately rated product healthfulness, but these ratings did not predict healthy snack choices or taste ratings for healthy or unhealthy snacks. These results suggest that interventions to improve children's food choices should focus on increasing availability of healthy options and identifying opportunities to enhance children's liking of healthy options. However, nutrition education alone is unlikely to improve children's diets. Further testing is required, but the simulated online grocery store method shows potential for measuring children's food choices. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Lindeman, M; Stark, K
1999-08-01
The clustering of four food choice motives (health, weight concern, pleasure and ideological reasons) and the relationship between personality and the food choice motives were analysed among young and middle-aged women in two studies. The personality variables included personal strivings, magical beliefs about food, awareness and internalization of thinness pressures, appearance and weight dissatisfaction, depression, self-esteem and symptoms of eating disorders. Study 1 was done with 171 young and middle-aged women. In Study 2, with data provided by 118 senior high-school girls, one cluster of girls who did not regard any of the food choice motives as important was found, otherwise the food choice clusters were fairly similar in both studies. They were labelled as health fosterers, gourmets, ideological eaters, health dieters and distressed dieters. Only the second dieter group, distressed dieters, showed low psychological well-being and symptoms of disordered eating. The results also indicated that ideological food choice motives (i.e. expression of one's identity via food) were best predicted by vegetarianism, magical beliefs about food and health, and personal strivings for ecological welfare and for understanding self and the world. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.
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Ali, Habiba I; Jarrar, Amjad H; Abo-El-Enen, Mostafa; Al Shamsi, Mariam; Al Ashqar, Huda
2015-05-28
Increasing the healthfulness of campus food environments is an important step in promoting healthful food choices among college students. This study explored university students' suggestions on promoting healthful food choices from campus vending machines. It also examined factors influencing students' food choices from vending machines. Peer-led semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with 43 undergraduate students (33 females and 10 males) recruited from students enrolled in an introductory nutrition course in a large national university in the United Arab Emirates. Interviews were audiotaped, transcribed, and coded to generate themes using N-Vivo software. Accessibility, peer influence, and busy schedules were the main factors influencing students' food choices from campus vending machines. Participants expressed the need to improve the nutritional quality of the food items sold in the campus vending machines. Recommendations for students' nutrition educational activities included placing nutrition tips on or beside the vending machines and using active learning methods, such as competitions on nutrition knowledge. The results of this study have useful applications in improving the campus food environment and nutrition education opportunities at the university to assist students in making healthful food choices.
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Development of a safety decision-making scenario to measure worker safety in agriculture.
Mosher, G A; Keren, N; Freeman, S A; Hurburgh, C R
2014-04-01
Human factors play an important role in the management of occupational safety, especially in high-hazard workplaces such as commercial grain-handling facilities. Employee decision-making patterns represent an essential component of the safety system within a work environment. This research describes the process used to create a safety decision-making scenario to measure the process that grain-handling employees used to make choices in a safety-related work task. A sample of 160 employees completed safety decision-making simulations based on a hypothetical but realistic scenario in a grain-handling environment. Their choices and the information they used to make their choices were recorded. Although the employees emphasized safety information in their decision-making process, not all of their choices were safe choices. Factors influencing their choices are discussed, and implications for industry, management, and workers are shared.
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Forage selection by Royle's pika (Ochotona roylei) in the western Himalaya, India.
Bhattacharyya, Sabuj; Adhikari, Bhupendra S; Rawat, Gopal S
2013-10-01
Forage selection decisions of herbivores are often complex and dynamic; they are modulated by multiple cues, such as quality, accessibility and abundance of forage plants. To advance the understanding of plant-herbivore interactions, we explored foraging behavior of the alpine lagomorph Royle's pika (Ochotona roylei) in Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary, India. Pika bite counts on food plants were recorded through focal sampling in three permanently marked plots. Food plant abundance was recorded by traditional quadrat procedures; forage selection was estimated with Jacob's selection index. Multiple food-choice experiments were conducted to determine whether forage selection criteria would change with variation in food plant composition. We also analyzed leaf morphology and nutrient content in both major food plants and abundantly available non-food plants. Linear regression models were used to test competing hypotheses in order to identify factors governing forage selection. Royle's pika fed primarily on 17 plant species and each forage selection decision was positively modulated by leaf area and negatively modulated by contents of avoided substances (neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, acid detergent lignin and tannin) in food plants. Furthermore, significance of the interaction term "leaf size × avoided substance" indicates that plants with large leaves were selected only when they had low avoided substance content. The forage selection criteria did not differ between field and laboratory experiments. The parameter estimates of best fit models indicate that the influence of leaf size or amount of avoided substance on pika forage selection was modulated by the magnitude of predation risk. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.
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DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Bjornstad, David J.; Wolfe, Amy K.
Framing remediation decision making as negotiation: (1) social choice, not technology choice; (2) prompts decision makers to identify interested and affected parties, anticipate objections, effectively address and ameliorate objections, and avoid unacceptable decisions.
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Bevelander, Kirsten E; Anschütz, Doeschka J; Engels, Rutger C M E
2012-09-28
The present experimental study was the first to investigate the impact of a remote (non-existent) peer on children's food choice of familiar v. unfamiliar low- and high-energy-dense food products. In a computer task, children (n 316; 50·3 % boys; mean age 7·13 (SD 0·75) years) were asked to choose between pictures of familiar and unfamiliar foods in four different choice blocks using the following pairs: (1) familiar v. unfamiliar low-energy-dense foods (fruits and vegetables), (2) familiar v. unfamiliar high-energy-dense foods (high sugar, salt and/or fat content), (3) familiar low-energy-dense v. unfamiliar high-energy-dense foods and (4) unfamiliar low-energy-dense v. familiar high-energy-dense foods. Participants who were not in the control group were exposed to the food choices (either always the familiar or always the unfamiliar food product) of a same-sex and same-age fictitious peer who was supposedly completing the same task at another school. The present study provided insights into children's choices between (un)familiar low- and high-energy-dense foods in an everyday situation. The findings revealed that the use of fictitious peers increased children's willingness to try unfamiliar foods, although children tended to choose high-energy-dense foods over low-energy-dense foods. Intervention programmes that use peer influence to focus on improving children's choice of healthy foods should take into account children's strong aversion to unfamiliar low-energy-dense foods as well as their general preference for familiar and unfamiliar high-energy-dense foods.
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Choice Set Size and Decision-Making: The Case of Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plans
Bundorf, M. Kate; Szrek, Helena
2013-01-01
Background The impact of choice on consumer decision-making is controversial in U.S. health policy. Objective Our objective was to determine how choice set size influences decision-making among Medicare beneficiaries choosing prescription drug plans. Methods We randomly assigned members of an internet-enabled panel age 65 and over to sets of prescription drug plans of varying sizes (2, 5, 10, and 16) and asked them to choose a plan. Respondents answered questions about the plan they chose, the choice set, and the decision process. We used ordered probit models to estimate the effect of choice set size on the study outcomes. Results Both the benefits of choice, measured by whether the chosen plan is close to the ideal plan, and the costs, measured by whether the respondent found decision-making difficult, increased with choice set size. Choice set size was not associated with the probability of enrolling in any plan. Conclusions Medicare beneficiaries face a tension between not wanting to choose from too many options and feeling happier with an outcome when they have more alternatives. Interventions that reduce cognitive costs when choice sets are large may make this program more attractive to beneficiaries. PMID:20228281
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Brown, Jean K; Byers, Tim; Doyle, Colleen; Coumeya, Kerry S; Demark-Wahnefried, Wendy; Kushi, Lawrence H; McTieman, Anne; Rock, Cheryl L; Aziz, Noreen; Bloch, Abby S; Eldridge, Barbara; Hamilton, Kathryn; Katzin, Carolyn; Koonce, Amy; Main, Julie; Mobley, Connie; Morra, Marion E; Pierce, Margaret S; Sawyer, Kimberly Andrews
2003-01-01
Cancer survivors are often highly motivated to seek information about food choices, physical activity, dietary supplement use, and complementary nutritional therapies to improve their treatment outcomes, quality of life, and survival. To address these concerns, the American Cancer Society (ACS) convened a group of experts in nutrition, physical activity, and cancer to evaluate the scientific evidence and best clinical practices related to optimal nutrition and physical activity after the diagnosis of cancer. This report summarizes their findings and is intended to present health care providers with the best possible information on which to help cancer survivors and their families make informed choices related to nutrition and physical activity. The report discusses nutrition and physical activity issues during the phases of cancer treatment and recovery, living after recovery from treatment, and living with advanced cancer; selected nutritional and physical activity issues such as body weight, food choices, and complementary and alternative nutritional options; and selected issues related to breast, colorectal, lung, prostate, head and neck, and upper gastrointestinal cancers. In addition, handouts containing commonly asked questions and answers and a resource list are provided for survivors and families. Tables that grade the scientific evidence for benefit versus harm related to nutrition and physical activity for breast, colorectal, lung, and prostate cancers are also included for this growing body of knowledge to provide guidance for informed decision making and to identify areas for future research.
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Lee, Amanda J; Kane, Sarah; Ramsey, Rebecca; Good, Elizabeth; Dick, Mathew
2016-04-12
Price and affordability of foods are important determinants of health. Targeted food pricing policies may help improve population diets. However, methods producing comparable data to inform relevant policy decisions are lacking in Australia and globally. The objective was to develop and pilot standardised methods to assess the price, relative price and affordability of healthy (recommended) and current (unhealthy) diets and test impacts of a potential policy change. Methods followed the optimal approach proposed by INFORMAS using recent Australian dietary intake data and guidelines. Draft healthy and current (unhealthy) diet baskets were developed for five household structures. Food prices were collected in stores in a high and low SES location in Brisbane, Australia. Diet prices were calculated and compared with household incomes, and with potential changes to the Australian Taxation System. Wilcoxen-signed rank tests were used to compare differences in price. The draft tools and protocols were deemed acceptable at household level, but methods could be refined. All households spend more on current (unhealthy) diets than required to purchase healthy (recommended) diets, with the majority (53-64 %) of the food budget being spent on 'discretionary' choices, including take-away foods and alcohol. A healthy diet presently costs between 20-31 % of disposable income of low income households, but would become unaffordable for these families under proposed changes to expand the GST to apply to all foods in Australia. Results confirmed that diet pricing methods providing meaningful, comparable data to inform potential fiscal and health policy actions can be developed, but draft tools should be refined. Results suggest that healthy diets can be more affordable than current (unhealthy) diets in Australia, but other factors may be as important as price in determining food choices.
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A behavioural and neural evaluation of prospective decision-making under risk
Symmonds, Mkael; Bossaerts, Peter; Dolan, Raymond J.
2010-01-01
Making the best choice when faced with a chain of decisions requires a person to judge both anticipated outcomes and future actions. Although economic decision-making models account for both risk and reward in single choice contexts there is a dearth of similar knowledge about sequential choice. Classical utility-based models assume that decision-makers select and follow an optimal pre-determined strategy, irrespective of the particular order in which options are presented. An alternative model involves continuously re-evaluating decision utilities, without prescribing a specific future set of choices. Here, using behavioral and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data, we studied human subjects in a sequential choice task and use these data to compare alternative decision models of valuation and strategy selection. We provide evidence that subjects adopt a model of re-evaluating decision utilities, where available strategies are continuously updated and combined in assessing action values. We validate this model by using simultaneously-acquired fMRI data to show that sequential choice evokes a pattern of neural response consistent with a tracking of anticipated distribution of future reward, as expected in such a model. Thus, brain activity evoked at each decision point reflects the expected mean, variance and skewness of possible payoffs, consistent with the idea that sequential choice evokes a prospective evaluation of both available strategies and possible outcomes. PMID:20980595
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A behavioral and neural evaluation of prospective decision-making under risk.
Symmonds, Mkael; Bossaerts, Peter; Dolan, Raymond J
2010-10-27
Making the best choice when faced with a chain of decisions requires a person to judge both anticipated outcomes and future actions. Although economic decision-making models account for both risk and reward in single-choice contexts, there is a dearth of similar knowledge about sequential choice. Classical utility-based models assume that decision-makers select and follow an optimal predetermined strategy, regardless of the particular order in which options are presented. An alternative model involves continuously reevaluating decision utilities, without prescribing a specific future set of choices. Here, using behavioral and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data, we studied human subjects in a sequential choice task and use these data to compare alternative decision models of valuation and strategy selection. We provide evidence that subjects adopt a model of reevaluating decision utilities, in which available strategies are continuously updated and combined in assessing action values. We validate this model by using simultaneously acquired fMRI data to show that sequential choice evokes a pattern of neural response consistent with a tracking of anticipated distribution of future reward, as expected in such a model. Thus, brain activity evoked at each decision point reflects the expected mean, variance, and skewness of possible payoffs, consistent with the idea that sequential choice evokes a prospective evaluation of both available strategies and possible outcomes.
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Models of Affective Decision Making: How Do Feelings Predict Choice?
Charpentier, Caroline J; De Neve, Jan-Emmanuel; Li, Xinyi; Roiser, Jonathan P; Sharot, Tali
2016-06-01
Intuitively, how you feel about potential outcomes will determine your decisions. Indeed, an implicit assumption in one of the most influential theories in psychology, prospect theory, is that feelings govern choice. Surprisingly, however, very little is known about the rules by which feelings are transformed into decisions. Here, we specified a computational model that used feelings to predict choices. We found that this model predicted choice better than existing value-based models, showing a unique contribution of feelings to decisions, over and above value. Similar to the value function in prospect theory, our feeling function showed diminished sensitivity to outcomes as value increased. However, loss aversion in choice was explained by an asymmetry in how feelings about losses and gains were weighted when making a decision, not by an asymmetry in the feelings themselves. The results provide new insights into how feelings are utilized to reach a decision. © The Author(s) 2016.
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Halamish, Vered; Borovoi, Leah; Liberman, Nira
2017-02-01
Evaluating alternatives and comparing them to each other are integral to decision-making. In addition, however, decision makers may adopt a view that goes beyond choice and make inferences about the entire set of alternatives, about the dimensions that are relevant in similar decisions, and about the range of values on a specific dimension. We examined some antecedents and consequences of adopting a beyond-choice view of decision situations. Based on Construal Level Theory we suggest that a beyond-choice view entails high (vs. low) level of construal of the decision situation and hence is more likely to occur for decisions that are more psychologically distant. We further suggest that a consequence of a beyond-choice view might be a later difficulty to remember which attribute belongs to which alternative. To examine these predictions we conducted an experiment in which participants evaluated decision scenarios that were described as being relevant for the distant (vs. the near) future. One day later they answered a decision-related source recognition test in which they were asked to remember which attribute belongs to which alternative. As predicted, people had more source-memory errors in the distant than in the near future condition. These results suggest that a beyond-choice view of decision situations is an important consequence of psychological distance (vs. proximity). Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Food choice motives and bread liking of consumers embracing hedonistic and traditional values.
Pohjanheimo, Terhi; Paasovaara, Rami; Luomala, Harri; Sandell, Mari
2010-02-01
This study addresses the effect of personal values on consumers' food choice motives and on the liking of bread. A total of 224 consumers participated in the study in three groups: traditional and hedonistic consumers, who presented opposite value types according to the Schwartz value theory, and a control group. Three different rye breads were evaluated for liking and their sensory profiles were determined. The consumer groups' values, food choice motives measured with the Food Choice Questionnaire and a Concern scale, and liking of the breads differed significantly according to the analysis of variance and a partial least squares regression analysis. For hedonistic consumers, rye bread characterized by a soft and porous texture influenced liking positively, and food choice motives "mood" and "price" correlated positively with their values. Traditional consumers were more positive toward different types of rye bread, and food choice motives "natural content", "familiarity" and "health concern" were more important to them than to hedonists. Overall, this study demonstrated that values are connected to food choice motives and, to some extent liking and, thus, values can be utilized both in product development and in advertising. 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Pula, Kacy; Parks, Craig D; Ross, Carolyn F
2014-07-01
The authors tested the robustness of the Food Choice Questionnaire (FCQ) with a U.S. sample and examined the relationship between individual differences in regulatory focus and everyday food choice motives. Although a popular measure in cross-culture research, the FCQ has seen limited use with U.S. samples, and its psychometric properties have not been tested in this population. American participants (n = 408) completed the Regulatory Focus Questionnaire and a measure of food choice motives. The data did not support the nine-factor FCQ structure. An ad hoc revised measure of food choice motives showed complete measurement invariance (loadings, intercepts, and residuals) across regulatory focus. Regarding everyday food choices, participants with a prevention focus placed greater importance on mood, convenience, and familiarity than participants with a promotion focus. There were no significant differences regarding the importance of health, environmental protection, impression management, natural content, price, and sensory appeal. Several food choice motives were positively correlated. Compared with the promotion-focused participants, the prevention-focused participants more strongly associated the importance of sensory appeal with the importance of natural content and the importance of price. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Hartmann, Christina; Dohle, Simone; Siegrist, Michael
2015-01-01
This study focuses on body weight motivation based on self-determination theory. The impact of body weight motivation on longitudinal changes in food choices, recreational physical activity and body mass index was explored. A sample of adults (N = 2917, 47% men), randomly selected from the telephone book, completed a questionnaire in two consecutive years (2012, 2013), self-reporting food choices, recreational physical activity and body weight motivation. Types of body weight motivation at T1 (autonomous regulation, introjected regulation, and external regulation) were tested with regard to their predictive potential for changes in food choices, recreational physical activity and body mass index (BMI). Autonomous motivation predicted improvements in food choices and long-term adherence to vigorous recreational physical activity in both genders. Introjected motivation predicted long-term adherence to vigorous recreational physical activity only in women. External motivation predicted negative changes in food choices; however, the type of body weight motivation had no impact on BMI in overweight adults in the long term. Autonomous goal-setting regarding body weight seems to be substantial for healthy food choices and adherence to recreational physical activity.
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Patient or physician preferences for decision analysis: the prenatal genetic testing decision.
Heckerling, P S; Verp, M S; Albert, N
1999-01-01
The choice between amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling for prenatal genetic testing involves tradeoffs of the benefits and risks of the tests. Decision analysis is a method of explicitly weighing such tradeoffs. The authors examined the relationship between prenatal test choices made by patients and the choices prescribed by decision-analytic models based on their preferences, and separate models based on the preferences of their physicians. Preferences were assessed using written scenarios describing prenatal testing outcomes, and were recorded on linear rating scales. After adjustment for sociodemographic and obstetric confounders, test choice was significantly associated with the choice of decision models based on patient preferences (odds ratio 4.44; Cl, 2.53 to 7.78), but not with the choice of models based on the preferences of the physicians (odds ratio 1.60; Cl, 0.79 to 3.26). Agreement between decision analyses based on patient preferences and on physician preferences was little better than chance (kappa = 0.085+/-0.063). These results were robust both to changes in the decision-analytic probabilities and to changes in the model structure itself to simulate non-expected utility decision rules. The authors conclude that patient but not physician preferences, incorporated in decision models, correspond to the choice of amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling made by the patient. Nevertheless, because patient preferences were assessed after referral for genetic testing, prospective preference-assessment studies will be necessary to confirm this association.
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Decisions reduce sensitivity to subsequent information.
Bronfman, Zohar Z; Brezis, Noam; Moran, Rani; Tsetsos, Konstantinos; Donner, Tobias; Usher, Marius
2015-07-07
Behavioural studies over half a century indicate that making categorical choices alters beliefs about the state of the world. People seem biased to confirm previous choices, and to suppress contradicting information. These choice-dependent biases imply a fundamental bound of human rationality. However, it remains unclear whether these effects extend to lower level decisions, and only little is known about the computational mechanisms underlying them. Building on the framework of sequential-sampling models of decision-making, we developed novel psychophysical protocols that enable us to dissect quantitatively how choices affect the way decision-makers accumulate additional noisy evidence. We find robust choice-induced biases in the accumulation of abstract numerical (experiment 1) and low-level perceptual (experiment 2) evidence. These biases deteriorate estimations of the mean value of the numerical sequence (experiment 1) and reduce the likelihood to revise decisions (experiment 2). Computational modelling reveals that choices trigger a reduction of sensitivity to subsequent evidence via multiplicative gain modulation, rather than shifting the decision variable towards the chosen alternative in an additive fashion. Our results thus show that categorical choices alter the evidence accumulation mechanism itself, rather than just its outcome, rendering the decision-maker less sensitive to new information. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.
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Baudry, Julia; Péneau, Sandrine; Allès, Benjamin; Touvier, Mathilde; Hercberg, Serge; Galan, Pilar; Amiot, Marie-Josèphe; Lairon, Denis; Méjean, Caroline; Kesse-Guyot, Emmanuelle
2017-01-01
The purpose of this study was to examine food choice motives associated with various organic and conventional dietary patterns among 22,366 participants of the NutriNet-Santé study. Dietary intakes were estimated using a food frequency questionnaire. Food choice motives were assessed using a validated 63-item-questionnaire gathered into nine food choice motive dimension scores: “absence of contaminants”, “avoidance for environmental reasons”, “ethics and environment”, “taste”, “innovation”, “local and traditional production”, “price”, “health” and “convenience”. Five consumers’ clusters were identified: “standard conventional food small eaters”, “unhealthy conventional food big eaters”, “standard organic food small eaters”, “green organic food eaters” and “hedonist moderate organic food eaters”. Relationships between food choice motive dimension scores and consumers’ clusters were assessed using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) models adjusted for sociodemographic factors. “Green organic food eaters” had the highest mean score for the “health” dimension, while “unhealthy conventional food big eaters” obtained the lowest mean score for the “absence of contaminants” dimension. “Standard organic food small eaters”, “green organic food eaters” and “hedonist moderate organic food eaters” had comparable scores for the “taste” dimension. “Unhealthy conventional food big eaters” had the highest mean score for the “price” dimension while “green organic food eaters” had the lowest mean scores for the “innovation” and “convenience” dimensions. These results provide new insights into the food choice motives of diverse consumers’ profiles including “green” and “hedonist” eaters. PMID:28125035
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... Aid and Injury Prevention Crisis Situations Pets and Animals myhealthfinder Food and Nutrition Healthy Food Choices Weight ... Aid and Injury Prevention Crisis Situations Pets and Animals myhealthfinder Food and Nutrition Healthy Food Choices Weight ...
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... Aid and Injury Prevention Crisis Situations Pets and Animals myhealthfinder Food and Nutrition Healthy Food Choices Weight ... Aid and Injury Prevention Crisis Situations Pets and Animals myhealthfinder Food and Nutrition Healthy Food Choices Weight ...
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... Aid and Injury Prevention Crisis Situations Pets and Animals myhealthfinder Food and Nutrition Healthy Food Choices Weight ... Aid and Injury Prevention Crisis Situations Pets and Animals myhealthfinder Food and Nutrition Healthy Food Choices Weight ...
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Hall, Jean A.; MacLeay, Jennifer; Yerramilli, Maha; Obare, Edward; Yerramilli, Murthy; Schiefelbein, Heidi; Paetau-Robinson, Inke; Jewell, Dennis E.
2016-01-01
A prospective study was conducted in client-owned geriatric cats to evaluate the short- term effects of a test food on serum symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA) and creatinine (Cr) concentrations. Test food contained functional lipids (fish oil), antioxidants (vitamins C and E), L-carnitine, botanicals (vegetables), highly bioavailable protein, and amino acid supplements. Cats (n = 80) were fed either test food or owner’s-choice foods (non-nutritionally controlled cohort). Cats were included based on age (≥ 9 years), indoor only, neutered, and free of chronic disease. At baseline, all cats had serum Cr concentrations within the reference interval. Renal function biomarkers and urinalysis results at baseline and after consuming test food or owner’s-choice foods for 3 and 6 months were evaluated. Cats consuming test food showed significant decreases in serum Cr and BUN concentrations across time. Overall, cats consuming owner’s-choice foods showed significant increases in serum SDMA concentrations at 3 and 6 months compared with baseline (P ≤ 0.05), whereas in cats consuming test food serum SDMA concentrations did not change. At baseline or during the 6-month feeding trial, 23 (28.8%) cats had increased serum SDMA, but normal serum Cr consistent with IRIS Stage 1 chronic kidney disease. This included 6 cats fed test food and 17 cats fed owner’s-choice foods. In the 6 cats fed test food, serum SDMA decreased in 3 cats and remained stable in 1 cat, whereas in the 17 cats fed owner’s-choice foods, serum SDMA increased in 13 cats and decreased or remained stable in 4 cats. The increase in serum SDMA concentration was significant (P = 0.02) only for cats fed owner’s-choice foods. These results suggest that nonazotemic cats with elevated serum SDMA (early renal insufficiency) when fed a food designed to promote healthy aging are more likely to demonstrate stable renal function compared with cats fed owner’s-choice foods. Cats fed owner’s-choice foods were more likely to demonstrate progressive renal insufficiency. PMID:27078852
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Neural correlates of value, risk, and risk aversion contributing to decision making under risk.
Christopoulos, George I; Tobler, Philippe N; Bossaerts, Peter; Dolan, Raymond J; Schultz, Wolfram
2009-10-07
Decision making under risk is central to human behavior. Economic decision theory suggests that value, risk, and risk aversion influence choice behavior. Although previous studies identified neural correlates of decision parameters, the contribution of these correlates to actual choices is unknown. In two different experiments, participants chose between risky and safe options. We identified discrete blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) correlates of value and risk in the ventral striatum and anterior cingulate, respectively. Notably, increasing inferior frontal gyrus activity to low risk and safe options correlated with higher risk aversion. Importantly, the combination of these BOLD responses effectively decoded the behavioral choice. Striatal value and cingulate risk responses increased the probability of a risky choice, whereas inferior frontal gyrus responses showed the inverse relationship. These findings suggest that the BOLD correlates of decision factors are appropriate for an ideal observer to detect behavioral choices. More generally, these biological data contribute to the validity of the theoretical decision parameters for actual decisions under risk.
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Lowe, Michael; Ringler, Christine; Haws, Kelly
2018-04-01
Billions of dollars are spent annually with the aim of enticing consumers to purchase food. Yet despite the prevalence of such advertising, little is known about how the actual sensation of this advertising media affects consumer behavior, including consequential choices regarding food. This paper explores the effect of acoustic pitch in food advertising, demonstrating in two studies, including a field study in a live retail environment, how the perception of pitch in advertising can impact food desirability and decisions regarding serving size. In study 1, a field study, pitch affects actual serving sizes and purchase behavior in a live, self-serve retail setting, with low pitch leading to larger serving sizes. Study 2 demonstrates how low pitch increases desire for a food product among hungry consumers, and that this effect is mediated by perceptions of size and how filling consumers believe the product will be. We discuss these results in the context of cross-modal correspondence and mental imagery. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Role of mathematical models in assessment of risk and in attempts to define management strategy.
Flamm, W G; Winbush, J S
1984-06-01
Risk assessment of food-borne carcinogens is becoming a common practice at FDA. Actual risk is not being estimated, only the upper limit of risk. The risk assessment process involves a large number of steps and assumptions, many of which affect the numerical value estimated. The mathematical model which is to be applied is only one of the factors which affect these numerical values. To fulfill the policy objective of using the "worst plausible case" in estimating the upper limit of risk, recognition needs to be given to a proper balancing of assumptions and decisions. Interaction between risk assessors and risk managers should avoid making or giving the appearance of making specific technical decisions such as the choice of the mathematical model. The importance of this emerging field is too great to jeopardize it by inappropriately mixing scientific judgments with policy judgments. The risk manager should understand fully the points and range of uncertainty involved in arriving at the estimates of risk which must necessarily affect the choice of the policy or regulatory options available.
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Affective biasing of choices in gambling task decision making.
Hinson, John M; Whitney, Paul; Holben, Heather; Wirick, Aaron K
2006-09-01
The proponents of the somatic marker hypothesis presume that rational decision making is guided by emotional reactions that are developed from prior experience. Supporting evidence for the hypothesis comes almost exclusively from the short-term affective reactions that are learned during the course of a hypothetical decision-making task--the gambling task (GT). We examined GT performance and affective reactions to choices when those choices were biased by words that had preexisting affective value. In one experiment, affectively valued words directly signaled good and bad choices. A congruent relation between affective value of word and choice outcome improved GT performance, whereas an incongruent relation greatly interfered with performance. In another experiment, affectively valued words were maintained as a working memory (WM) load between GT choices. A WM load with affectively positive words somewhat improved GT performance, whereas affectively negative words interfered with performance. Somatic markers-indicated by differential anticipatory skin conductance response (SCR) amplitude for good and bad choices-appeared at a point in the GT session when choice performance was superior. However, differential SCR developed during the session after good choice performance was already established. These results indicate that preexisting affective biases can influence GT decision making. In addition, the somatic markers that are regular accompaniments of GT decision making appeared to be temporally lagging indicators of choice performance.
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Dummel, Sebastian; Rummel, Jan
2016-11-01
Take-the-best (TTB) is a decision strategy according to which attributes about choice options are sequentially processed in descending order of validity, and attribute processing is stopped once an attribute discriminates between options. Consequently, TTB-decisions rely on only one, the best discriminating, attribute, and lower-valid attributes need not be processed because they are TTB-irrelevant. Recent research suggests, however, that when attribute information is visually present during decision-making, TTB-irrelevant attributes are processed and integrated into decisions nonetheless. To examine whether TTB-irrelevant attributes are retrieved and integrated when decisions are made memory-based, we tested whether the consistency of a TTB-irrelevant attribute affects TTB-users' decision behaviour in a memory-based decision task. Participants first learned attribute configurations of several options. Afterwards, they made several decisions between two of the options, and we manipulated conflict between the second-best attribute and the TTB-decision. We assessed participants' decision confidence and the proportion of TTB-inconsistent choices. According to TTB, TTB-irrelevant attributes should not affect confidence and choices, because these attributes should not be retrieved. Results showed, however, that TTB-users were less confident and made more TTB-inconsistent choices when TTB-irrelevant information was in conflict with the TTB-decision than when it was not, suggesting that TTB-users retrieved and integrated TTB-irrelevant information.
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Barriers to climate-friendly food choices among young adults in Finland.
Mäkiniemi, Jaana-Piia; Vainio, Annukka
2014-03-01
The aim of the study was to examine how young adults in Finland perceive barriers to climate-friendly food choices and how these barriers are associated with their choices. The participants were 350 university students of the social and behavioral sciences who completed a questionnaire during class. The study found that the barriers the participants perceived as being the most relevant were different from those that were associated with the omission of climate-friendly food choices. High prices were perceived as the most relevant barrier, but were only weakly associated with the participants' food choices. Instead, habit and disbelief in the effects of food consumption on the climate were found to be the barriers that had the greatest association with climate-friendly choices. Moreover, women considered high prices and poor supply more important compared to men, whereas men considered disbelief and habit more important. In addition, vegetarians perceived fewer barriers than those who followed other diets. The findings increase our understanding of young adults' perceptions of barriers to climate-friendly food choices, as well as their effects. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Ares, Gastón; Gámbaro, Adriana
2007-07-01
The aims of the present study were to study the effect of different carriers and enrichments on the perceived healthiness and willingness to try functional foods; and to evaluate the effect of age, gender and motives underlying food choice. Participants had to evaluate different functional food concepts and had to answer a food choice questionnaire. Results showed that carrier products had the largest effect on consumers' perception of healthiness and willingness to try of the evaluated functional foods concepts. The highest positive relative utilities were achieved when the enrichment was a functional ingredient inherent in the product. Furthermore, gender, age and motives underlying food choice affected the preference patterns for the evaluated functional foods concepts, but it depended on the carrier and enrichment considered, suggesting that functional foods might not be accepted by all the consumers and that they could be tailored for certain groups.
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Factors influencing food choice in an Australian Aboriginal community.
Brimblecombe, Julie; Maypilama, Elaine; Colles, Susan; Scarlett, Maria; Dhurrkay, Joanne Garnggulkpuy; Ritchie, Jan; O'Dea, Kerin
2014-03-01
We explored with Aboriginal adults living in a remote Australian community the social context of food choice and factors perceived to shape food choice. An ethnographic approach of prolonged community engagement over 3 years was augmented by interviews. Our findings revealed that knowledge, health, and resources supporting food choice were considered "out of balance," and this imbalance was seen to manifest in a Western-imposed diet lacking variety and overrelying on familiar staples. Participants felt ill-equipped to emulate the traditional pattern of knowledge transfer through passing food-related wisdom to younger generations. The traditional food system was considered key to providing the framework for learning about the contemporary food environment. Practitioners seeking to improve diet and health outcomes for this population should attend to past and present contexts of food in nutrition education, support the educative role of caregivers, address the high cost of food, and support access to traditional foods.
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Kamphuis, Carlijn B. M.; Jansen, Tessa; Mackenbach, Johan P.; van Lenthe, Frank J.
2015-01-01
Objective Unhealthy food choices follow a socioeconomic gradient that may partly be explained by one’s ‘cultural capital’, as defined by Bourdieu. We aim 1) to carry out a systematic review to identify existing quantitative measures of cultural capital, 2) to develop a questionnaire to measure cultural capital for food choices, and 3) to empirically test associations of socioeconomic position with cultural capital and food choices, and of cultural capital with food choices. Design We systematically searched large databases for the key-word ‘cultural capital’ in title or abstract. Indicators of objectivised cultural capital and family institutionalised cultural capital, as identified by the review, were translated to food choice relevant indicators. For incorporated cultural capital, we used existing questionnaires that measured the concepts underlying the variety of indicators as identified by the review, i.e. participation, skills, knowledge, values. The questionnaire was empirically tested in a postal survey completed by 2,953 adults participating in the GLOBE cohort study, The Netherlands, in 2011. Results The review yielded 113 studies that fulfilled our inclusion criteria. Several indicators of family institutionalised (e.g. parents’ education completed) and objectivised cultural capital (e.g. possession of books, art) were consistently used. Incorporated cultural capital was measured with a large variety of indicators (e.g. cultural participation, skills). Based on this, we developed a questionnaire to measure cultural capital in relation to food choices. An empirical test of the questionnaire showed acceptable overall internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha of .654; 56 items), and positive associations between socioeconomic position and cultural capital, and between cultural capital and healthy food choices. Conclusions Cultural capital may be a promising determinant for (socioeconomic inequalities in) food choices. PMID:26244763
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Kamphuis, Carlijn B M; Jansen, Tessa; Mackenbach, Johan P; van Lenthe, Frank J
2015-01-01
Unhealthy food choices follow a socioeconomic gradient that may partly be explained by one's 'cultural capital', as defined by Bourdieu. We aim 1) to carry out a systematic review to identify existing quantitative measures of cultural capital, 2) to develop a questionnaire to measure cultural capital for food choices, and 3) to empirically test associations of socioeconomic position with cultural capital and food choices, and of cultural capital with food choices. We systematically searched large databases for the key-word 'cultural capital' in title or abstract. Indicators of objectivised cultural capital and family institutionalised cultural capital, as identified by the review, were translated to food choice relevant indicators. For incorporated cultural capital, we used existing questionnaires that measured the concepts underlying the variety of indicators as identified by the review, i.e. participation, skills, knowledge, values. The questionnaire was empirically tested in a postal survey completed by 2,953 adults participating in the GLOBE cohort study, The Netherlands, in 2011. The review yielded 113 studies that fulfilled our inclusion criteria. Several indicators of family institutionalised (e.g. parents' education completed) and objectivised cultural capital (e.g. possession of books, art) were consistently used. Incorporated cultural capital was measured with a large variety of indicators (e.g. cultural participation, skills). Based on this, we developed a questionnaire to measure cultural capital in relation to food choices. An empirical test of the questionnaire showed acceptable overall internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha of .654; 56 items), and positive associations between socioeconomic position and cultural capital, and between cultural capital and healthy food choices. Cultural capital may be a promising determinant for (socioeconomic inequalities in) food choices.
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Gender Differences in Food Choice: Effects of Superior Temporal Sulcus Stimulation.
Manippa, Valerio; Padulo, Caterina; van der Laan, Laura N; Brancucci, Alfredo
2017-01-01
The easy availability of food has caused a shift from eating for survival to hedonic eating. Women, compared to men, have shown to respond differently to food cues in the environment on a behavioral and a neural level, in particular to energy rich (compared to low energy) foods. It has been demonstrated that the right posterior superior temporal sulcus (STS) is the only region exhibiting greater activation for high vs. low calorie food choices. In order to test for a possible causal role of STS in food choice, we applied high frequency transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) on STS assuming a different response pattern between males and females. Our participants (18 females, 17 males) performed a forced choice task between food pairs matched for individual liking but differed in calorie, during the left STS, right STS stimulation and sham condition. Male participants showed a general preference for low calorie (LC) foods compared to females. In addition, we observed in males, but not in females, an increase of high calorie (HC) food choice during right STS tRNS compared to sham condition and left STS tRNS. Finally, we found an increase of missed choices during right STS stimulation compared to sham condition and left STS stimulation. In conclusion, thanks to tRNS evidence, we both confirm the involvement and suggest a causal role of right posterior STS in feeding behavior. Moreover, we suggest that gender differences exist in STS mechanisms underlying food choice.
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Gender Differences in Food Choice: Effects of Superior Temporal Sulcus Stimulation
Manippa, Valerio; Padulo, Caterina; van der Laan, Laura N.; Brancucci, Alfredo
2017-01-01
The easy availability of food has caused a shift from eating for survival to hedonic eating. Women, compared to men, have shown to respond differently to food cues in the environment on a behavioral and a neural level, in particular to energy rich (compared to low energy) foods. It has been demonstrated that the right posterior superior temporal sulcus (STS) is the only region exhibiting greater activation for high vs. low calorie food choices. In order to test for a possible causal role of STS in food choice, we applied high frequency transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) on STS assuming a different response pattern between males and females. Our participants (18 females, 17 males) performed a forced choice task between food pairs matched for individual liking but differed in calorie, during the left STS, right STS stimulation and sham condition. Male participants showed a general preference for low calorie (LC) foods compared to females. In addition, we observed in males, but not in females, an increase of high calorie (HC) food choice during right STS tRNS compared to sham condition and left STS tRNS. Finally, we found an increase of missed choices during right STS stimulation compared to sham condition and left STS stimulation. In conclusion, thanks to tRNS evidence, we both confirm the involvement and suggest a causal role of right posterior STS in feeding behavior. Moreover, we suggest that gender differences exist in STS mechanisms underlying food choice. PMID:29270120
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Measurement of ethical food choice motives.
Lindeman, M; Väänänen, M
2000-02-01
The two studies describe the development of three complementary scales to the Food Choice Questionnaire developed by Steptoe, Pollard & Wardle (1995). The new items address various ethical food choice motives and were derived from previous studies on vegetarianism and ethical food choice. The items were factor analysed in Study 1 (N=281) and the factor solution was confirmed in Study 2 (N=125), in which simple validity criteria were also included. Furthermore, test-retest reliability was assessed with a separate sample of subjects (N=36). The results indicated that the three new scales, Ecological Welfare (including subscales for Animal Welfare and Environment Protection), Political Values and Religion, are reliable and valid instruments for a brief screening of ethical food choice reasons. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.
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de Wijk, René A.; Maaskant, Anna J.; Polet, Ilse A.; Holthuysen, Nancy T. E.; van Kleef, Ellen; Vingerhoeds, Monique H.
2016-01-01
Even though whole grain foods have various health benefits, consumers have been found not to eat enough of them. Nudging interventions are built on the premise that food purchases and consumption are strongly influenced by the environment in which decisions are made. Little research has been conducted to examine the influence of a small and inexpensive nudging intervention on bread choices in a real-life supermarket context. An in-store experiment was conducted in two six-week periods in two supermarkets to investigate the effects of accessibility on consumers’ purchase of healthier whole grain and other types of bread. In the high accessibility condition, healthier bread was placed in a more convenient location for the shopper on the left side of the shelves where it was encountered first. In the low accessibility condition, it was placed on the right side. There were consistent significant differences in sales between supermarkets, types of bread, day of the week, but not between low and high accessibility. Additional research is needed to better understand the effects of convenience and accessibility on bread choices. PMID:27010704
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Moxley, Robert L; Jicha, Karl A; Thompson, Gretchen H
2011-01-01
This study investigates the influence of family solidarity, community structure, information access, social capital, and socioeconomic status on the extent of nutrition and health knowledge (NHK) among primary household meal planners. In turn, we pose the question: does this knowledge influence dietary decision making? Data are taken from a survey determining socioeconomic impacts of vitamin A fortified peanut butter on Philippine households. Questions on the relationships of nutrition to health were selected to construct a knowledge index on which household respondents could be ranked. We then tested hypotheses regarding what types of individual, family-level, and community structural characteristics would predict performance on this index. The results indicate that the strongest predictors of NHK come from sociological theory related to family solidarity and community centrality, in addition to information accessibility and household income. Our findings also indicate that NHK influences dietary choices with regard to the purchase of a vitamin fortified staple food product, which is essential when addressing nutritional deficiency problems in developing countries.
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de Wijk, René A; Maaskant, Anna J; Polet, Ilse A; Holthuysen, Nancy T E; van Kleef, Ellen; Vingerhoeds, Monique H
2016-01-01
Even though whole grain foods have various health benefits, consumers have been found not to eat enough of them. Nudging interventions are built on the premise that food purchases and consumption are strongly influenced by the environment in which decisions are made. Little research has been conducted to examine the influence of a small and inexpensive nudging intervention on bread choices in a real-life supermarket context. An in-store experiment was conducted in two six-week periods in two supermarkets to investigate the effects of accessibility on consumers' purchase of healthier whole grain and other types of bread. In the high accessibility condition, healthier bread was placed in a more convenient location for the shopper on the left side of the shelves where it was encountered first. In the low accessibility condition, it was placed on the right side. There were consistent significant differences in sales between supermarkets, types of bread, day of the week, but not between low and high accessibility. Additional research is needed to better understand the effects of convenience and accessibility on bread choices.
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From neighborhood design and food options to residents' weight status.
Cerin, Ester; Frank, Lawrence D; Sallis, James F; Saelens, Brian E; Conway, Terry L; Chapman, James E; Glanz, Karen
2011-06-01
This study examined associations of accessibility, availability, price, and quality of food choices and neighborhood urban design with weight status and utilitarian walking. To account for self-selection bias, data on adult residents of a middle-to-high-income neighborhood were used. Participants kept a 2-day activity/travel diary and self-reported socio-demographics, height, and weight. Geographic Information Systems data were used to objectively quantify walking-related aspects of urban design, and number of and distance to food outlets within respondents' 1km residential buffers. Food outlets were audited for availability, price, and quality of healthful food choices. Number of convenience stores and in-store healthful food choices were positively related to walking for errands which, in turn, was predictive of lower risk of being overweight/obese. Negative associations with overweight/obesity unexplained by walking were found for number of grocery stores and healthful food choices in sit-down restaurants. Aspects of urban form and food environment were associated with walking for eating purposes which, however, was not predictive of overweight/obesity. Access to diverse destinations, food outlets and healthful food choices may promote pedestrian activity and contribute to better weight regulation. Accessibility and availability of healthful food choices may lower the risk of overweight/obesity by providing opportunities for healthier dietary patterns. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Understanding the motives for food choice in Western Balkan Countries.
Milošević, Jasna; Žeželj, Iris; Gorton, Matthew; Barjolle, Dominique
2012-02-01
Substantial empirical evidence exists regarding the importance of different factors underlying food choice in Western Europe. However, research results on eating habits and food choice in the Western Balkan Countries (WBCs) remain scarce. A Food Choice Questionnaire (FCQ), an instrument that measures the reported importance of nine factors underlying food choice, was administered to a representative sample of 3085 adult respondents in six WBCs. The most important factors reported are sensory appeal, purchase convenience, and health and natural content; the least important are ethical concern and familiarity. The ranking of food choice motives across WBCs was strikingly similar. Factor analysis revealed eight factors compared to nine in the original FCQ model: health and natural content scales loaded onto one factor as did familiarity and ethical concern; the convenience scale items generated two factors, one related to purchase convenience and the other to preparation convenience. Groups of consumers with similar motivational profiles were identified using cluster analysis. Each cluster has distinct food purchasing behavior and socio-economic characteristics, for which appropriate public health communication messages can be drawn. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Factors influencing children's food choice.
Koivisto Hursti, U K
1999-04-01
Although food habits are not stable and unchanging during a person's lifetime, a base for healthy food habits can be created in early childhood. Children's food habits can be assumed to be influenced by their parents' food habits and choices. The aim of this article is to review factors influencing food choice in children as well as in adults. The results demonstrate that the development of children's food habits is influenced by a multitude of factors. Parents play an important role in the formation of food habits and preferences of young children. They can influence their children's food choice by making specific foods available, by acting as models for their children and by their behaviour in specific situations. Children tend to be afraid of new foods and do not readily accept them. However, experience is known to enhance preference, and earlier experiences of a particular food are the major determinants of the development of children's food acceptance patterns. Thus, parents should be encouraged to make healthy foods easily available to the child and serve these foods in positive mealtime situations in order to help their child to develop healthy food habits.
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Factors influencing children's food choice.
Hursti, Ulla-Kaisa Koivisto
1999-01-01
Although food habits arc not stable and unchanging during a person's lifetime, a base for healthy food habits can be created in early childhood. Children's food habits can be assumed to be influenced by their parents' food habits and choices. The aim of this article is to review factors influencing food choice in children as well as in adults. The results demonstrate that the development of children's food habits is influenced by a multitude of factors. Parents play an important role in the formation of food habits and preferences of young children. They can influence their children's food choice by making specific foods available, by acting as models for their children and by their behaviour in specific situations. Children tend to be afraid of new foods and do not readily accept them. However, experience is known to enhance preference, and earlier experiences of a particular food are the major determinants of the development of children's food acceptance patterns. Thus, parents should be encouraged to make healthy foods easily available to the child and serve these foods in positive mealtime situations in order to help their child to develop healthy food habits.
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The perception of food quality. Profiling Italian consumers.
Mascarello, Giulia; Pinto, Anna; Parise, Nicoletta; Crovato, Stefania; Ravarotto, Licia
2015-06-01
This study aims to analyse the elements which, according to Italian consumers, contribute most to defining the quality of a food product. A sample of 1000 consumers, in charge of purchases for the household, was interviewed by telephone. The data analysis has made it possible to categorise Italian consumers into two main groups: on the one hand those who mainly use criteria associated with organoleptic elements, and, on the other, those who make their choice based on place and methods of production. Both categories were studied with a view to identifying their distinctive socio-demographic and behavioural features. Geographical provenance, age, propensity to read the label on products, scientific knowledge and self-assessment of knowledge on food safety-related issues emerged as the main differences between the two groups. The perception of quality appears to affect purchase decisions and dietary patterns. The description of the consumer groups who use the same elements to define quality provided a useful insight into consumer choices and potential risk-exposure behaviours. The study of these aspects is therefore relevant for the purpose of designing effective and targeted communication actions, not only for companies but also for public institutions in charge of safeguarding public health. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Sun, Yu-Hua Christine
2008-07-01
This study addresses how various health concerns might influence not only consumers' food choice motives but also consumers' subsequent attitudes toward healthy eating. This study expects that those consumers with greater health concerns would have different food choice motives and better attitudes toward healthy eating. A self-completion questionnaire was used to gather information. Participants, a random sample of 500 undergraduate students from a national university in Taipei, Taiwan, provided a total of 456 usable questionnaires, representing a valid response rate of 91%. The average age of the respondents at the time of the survey was 21 years and 63% of respondents were females. The relationship between health concern and healthy eating attitudes was confirmed. The relationship between health concern of developing diseases and attitudes toward healthy eating was fully mediated by food choice motives. However, the relationship between calorie consumption health concern and healthy eating attitudes was only partially mediated by food choice motives. Implications of these findings are discussed.
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Ares, Gastón; Machín, Leandro; Girona, Alejandra; Curutchet, María Rosa; Giménez, Ana
2017-05-18
Interventions aimed at changing dietary patterns should be designed based on the main motives underlying the food choices of specific target populations. The aim of the present study was to identify motives underlying food choice and barriers to healthy eating among consumers in two socioeconomic levels in Uruguay. Eleven focus groups were carried out with a total of 76 participants. Six of the groups involved low income participants and the others were conducted with middle income participants. Discussions were held around frequently consumed products, motives underlying food choices and barriers to healthy eating. Results confirmed the strong influence of income level on motives underlying food choice and barriers to the adoption of healthy eating. Low income participants described their choices as mainly driven by economic factors and satiety, whereas convenience was the main determinant of food selection for middle income participants. Implications for the design of public policies targeted at each group are discussed.
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Decision making in recurrent neuronal circuits.
Wang, Xiao-Jing
2008-10-23
Decision making has recently emerged as a central theme in neurophysiological studies of cognition, and experimental and computational work has led to the proposal of a cortical circuit mechanism of elemental decision computations. This mechanism depends on slow recurrent synaptic excitation balanced by fast feedback inhibition, which not only instantiates attractor states for forming categorical choices but also long transients for gradually accumulating evidence in favor of or against alternative options. Such a circuit endowed with reward-dependent synaptic plasticity is able to produce adaptive choice behavior. While decision threshold is a core concept for reaction time tasks, it can be dissociated from a general decision rule. Moreover, perceptual decisions and value-based economic choices are described within a unified framework in which probabilistic choices result from irregular neuronal activity as well as iterative interactions of a decision maker with an uncertain environment or other unpredictable decision makers in a social group.
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... Pets and Animals myhealthfinder Food and Nutrition Healthy Food Choices Weight Loss and Diet Plans Nutrients and Nutritional ... Pets and Animals myhealthfinder Food and Nutrition Healthy Food Choices Weight Loss and Diet Plans Nutrients and Nutritional ...
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Heat Exhaustion and Heatstroke
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Kahma, Nina; Niva, Mari; Helakorpi, Satu; Jallinoja, Piia
2016-01-01
In recent years studies on cultural consumption have experienced a Bourdieusian renaissance. This is indicated by a growing body of research analysing distinctions in different areas of culture, and numerous studies on the homology thesis applying the concepts of distinction, field and capital. Concurrently, however, it has been argued that instead of distinctive tastes, distinction and class status are increasingly manifested by cultural omnivorousness. For a good part studies focussing on distinction in food have analysed eating out and stylization through restaurant preferences, rather than everyday food choices. In this article we investigate everyday food choices from the perspective of distinction and omnivorousness. Our analysis draws on cross-sectional quantitative data collected in 2012 among 15-64-year-old Finns (N = 2601). The article maps out the relationship between food choice frequencies, dispositions and social background with Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA). The results show that the consumption of fruit and vegetables, ready-meals and convenience foods were among the most divisive food choices. The first structuring dimension juxtaposed processed, fatty and sugared foods with unprocessed foods and fresh ingredients. This dimension was associated with healthiness and weight control as dispositions. On the second structuring dimension there were differences in the valuation of taste, pleasure and sociability, and a contrast between moderate and restrictive choices. Particularly the first dimension was associated with educational, occupational, and gender differences. Distinction within everyday food choices was manifested in the use of healthy and unprocessed foods and 'moderate hedonism' in contrast to more restrictive tastes. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Gender and Race Are Significant Determinants of Students' Food Choices on a College Campus
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Boek, Stacey; Bianco-Simeral, Stephanie; Chan, Kenny; Goto, Keiko
2012-01-01
Objective: To examine the roles of gender and race in students' determinants of food choices on a college campus. Methods: A total of 405 college students participated in a survey entitled "Campus Food: You Tell Us!" Chi-square and logistic regression were used to examine associations between demographics and food choice determinants. Results:…
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Factors influencing food choices of food-allergic consumers: findings from focus groups.
Sommer, I; Mackenzie, H; Venter, C; Dean, T
2012-10-01
Up to 35% of the population modify their diet for adverse reactions to food. This study described the food choice behaviour of diagnosed food-allergic (DFA), self-reported food-allergic or intolerant (SFA) and nonfood-allergic (NFA) consumers, and explored differences between them. Six focus groups with adults (n = 44) were conducted. Data analysis was performed using thematic content analysis. Compared to NFA participants, DFA consumers were deprived of satisfaction and pleasure from foods, experienced difficulties finding safe foods and had to be organized with eating. SFA participants faced similar problems, but to a lesser degree; their food choices were strongly influenced by emotional factors or health awareness. Food-allergic consumers' food choices are influenced by a number of factors that differ to those of NFA consumers. It is therefore important to offer people with food allergies or intolerances advice that goes beyond how to avoid allergens. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S.
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DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Garikapati, Venu; Astroza, Sebastian; Pendyala, Ram M.
Travel model systems often adopt a single decision structure that links several activity-travel choices together. The single decision structure is then used to predict activity-travel choices, with those downstream in the decision-making chain influenced by those upstream in the sequence. The adoption of a singular sequential causal structure to depict relationships among activity-travel choices in travel demand model systems ignores the possibility that some choices are made jointly as a bundle as well as the possible presence of structural heterogeneity in the population with respect to decision-making processes. As different segments in the population may adopt and follow different causalmore » decision-making mechanisms when making selected choices jointly, it would be of value to develop simultaneous equations model systems relating multiple endogenous choice variables that are able to identify population subgroups following alternative causal decision structures. Because the segments are not known a priori, they are considered latent and determined endogenously within a joint modeling framework proposed in this paper. The methodology is applied to a national mobility survey data set to identify population segments that follow different causal structures relating residential location choice, vehicle ownership, and car-share and mobility service usage. It is found that the model revealing three distinct latent segments best describes the data, confirming the efficacy of the modeling approach and the existence of structural heterogeneity in decision-making in the population. Future versions of activity-travel model systems should strive to incorporate such structural heterogeneity to better reflect varying decision processes across population subgroups.« less
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Trendel, Olivier; Werle, Carolina O C
2016-09-01
Eating behaviors largely result from automatic processes. Yet, in existing research, automatic or implicit attitudes toward food often fail to predict eating behaviors. Applying findings in cognitive neuroscience research, we propose and find that a central reason why implicit attitudes toward food are not good predictors of eating behaviors is that implicit attitudes are driven by two distinct constructs that often have diverging evaluative consequences: the automatic affective reactions to food (e.g., tastiness; the affective basis of implicit attitudes) and the automatic cognitive reactions to food (e.g., healthiness; the cognitive basis of implicit attitudes). More importantly, we find that the affective and cognitive bases of implicit attitudes directly and uniquely influence actual food choices under different conditions. While the affective basis of implicit attitude is the main driver of food choices, it is the only driver when cognitive resources during choice are limited. The cognitive basis of implicit attitudes uniquely influences food choices when cognitive resources during choice are plentiful but only for participants low in impulsivity. Researchers interested in automatic processes in eating behaviors could thus benefit by distinguishing between the affective and cognitive bases of implicit attitudes. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Adult fruit fly attraction to larvae biases experience and mediates social learning.
Durisko, Zachary; Anderson, Blake; Dukas, Reuven
2014-04-01
We investigated whether adult fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) use cues of larvae as social information in their food patch choice decisions. Adult male and female fruit flies showed attraction to odours emanating from foraging larvae, and females preferred to lay eggs on food patches occupied by larvae over similar unoccupied patches. Females learned and subsequently preferred to lay eggs at patches with novel flavours previously associated with feeding larvae over patches with novel flavours previously associated with no larvae. However, when we controlled for the duration of exposure to each flavoured patch, females no longer preferred the flavour previously associated with feeding larvae. This suggests that social learning in this context is indirect, as a result of strong social attraction biasing experience.
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1981-11-01
that a decision entity acted as though it were making rational choices among a set of alternatives, as a not unreason- able paradigm of human behavior...Gottinger l / , which, like Kramer’s approach, consider the item of rationality in decision making for social decision rules as representable by finite...1974] in the consideration of whether or not a decisive choice function that is regular rational in the sense of Richter [19711 when defined on subsets
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Johnson, Amy R; Banks, Matthew L; Blough, Bruce E; Lile, Joshua A; Nicholson, Katherine L; Negus, S Stevens
2016-08-01
Homologous cocaine self-administration procedures in laboratory animals and humans may facilitate translational research for medications development to treat cocaine dependence. This study, therefore, sought to establish choice between cocaine and an alternative reinforcer in rhesus monkeys responding under a procedure back-translated from previous human studies and homologous to a human laboratory procedure described in a companion paper. Four rhesus monkeys with chronic indwelling intravenous catheters had access to cocaine injections (0, 0.043, 0.14, or 0.43mg/kg/injection) and food (0, 1, 3, or 10 1g banana-flavored food pellets). During daily 5h sessions, a single cocaine dose and a single food-reinforcer magnitude were available in 10 30-min trials. During the initial "sample" trial, the available cocaine and food reinforcer were delivered non-contingently. During each of the subsequent nine "choice" trials, responding could produce either the cocaine or food reinforcer under an independent concurrent progressive-ratio schedule. Preference was governed by the cocaine dose and food-reinforcer magnitude, and increasing cocaine doses produced dose-dependent increases in cocaine choice at all food-reinforcer magnitudes. Effects of the candidate medication lisdexamfetamine (0.32-3.2mg/kg/day) were then examined on choice between 0.14mg/kg/injection cocaine and 10 pellets. Under baseline conditions, this reinforcer pair maintained an average of approximately 6 cocaine and 3 food choices. Lisdexamfetamine dose-dependently decreased cocaine choice in all monkeys, but food choice was not significantly altered. These results support utility of this procedure in rhesus monkeys as one component of a platform for translational research on medications development to treat cocaine use disorder. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Banks, Matthew L; Blough, Bruce E; Negus, S Stevens
2013-02-01
Behavioral and pharmacotherapeutic approaches constitute two prominent strategies for treating cocaine dependence. This study investigated interactions between behavioral and pharmacological strategies in a preclinical model of cocaine vs food choice. Six rhesus monkeys, implanted with a chronic indwelling double-lumen venous catheter, initially responded under a concurrent schedule of food delivery (1-g pellets, fixed-ratio (FR) 100 schedule) and cocaine injections (0-0.1 mg/kg/injection, FR 10 schedule) during continuous 7-day treatment periods with saline or the agonist medication phenmetrazine (0.032-0.1 mg/kg/h). Subsequently, the FR response requirement for cocaine or food was varied (food, FR 100; cocaine, FR 1-100; cocaine, FR 10; food, FR 10-300), and effects of phenmetrazine on cocaine vs food choice were redetermined. Decreases in the cocaine FR or increases in the food FR resulted in leftward shifts in the cocaine choice dose-effect curve, whereas increases in the cocaine FR or decreases in the food FR resulted in rightward shifts in the cocaine choice dose-effect curve. The efficacy of phenmetrazine to decrease cocaine choice varied systematically as a function of the prevailing response requirements, such that phenmetrazine efficacy was greatest when cocaine choice was maintained by relatively low unit cocaine doses. These results suggest that efficacy of pharmacotherapies to modulate cocaine use can be influenced by behavioral contingencies of cocaine availability. Agonist medications may be most effective under contingencies that engender choice of relatively low cocaine doses.
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Appearance Matters: Neural Correlates of Food Choice and Packaging Aesthetics
Van der Laan, Laura N.; De Ridder, Denise T. D.; Viergever, Max A.; Smeets, Paul A. M.
2012-01-01
Neuro-imaging holds great potential for predicting choice behavior from brain responses. In this study we used both traditional mass-univariate and state-of-the-art multivariate pattern analysis to establish which brain regions respond to preferred packages and to what extent neural activation patterns can predict realistic low-involvement consumer choices. More specifically, this was assessed in the context of package-induced binary food choices. Mass-univariate analyses showed that several regions, among which the bilateral striatum, were more strongly activated in response to preferred food packages. Food choices could be predicted with an accuracy of up to 61.2% by activation patterns in brain regions previously found to be involved in healthy food choices (superior frontal gyrus) and visual processing (middle occipital gyrus). In conclusion, this study shows that mass-univariate analysis can detect small package-induced differences in product preference and that MVPA can successfully predict realistic low-involvement consumer choices from functional MRI data. PMID:22848586
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... Pets and Animals myhealthfinder Food and Nutrition Healthy Food Choices Weight Loss and Diet Plans Nutrients and Nutritional ... Pets and Animals myhealthfinder Food and Nutrition Healthy Food Choices Weight Loss and Diet Plans Nutrients and Nutritional ...
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Schwienteck, Kathryn L.; Banks, Matthew L.
2015-01-01
Background Methamphetamine addiction is a significant public health problem for which no Food and Drug Administration-approved pharmacotherapies exist. Preclinical drug vs. food choice procedures have been predictive of clinical medication efficacy in the treatment of opioid and cocaine addiction. Whether preclinical choice procedures are predictive of candidate medication effects for other abused drugs, such as methamphetamine, remains unclear. The present study aim was to determine continuous 7-day treatment effects with the monoamine releaser d-amphetamine and the monoamine uptake inhibitor methylphenidate on methamphetamine vs. food choice.In addition, 7-day cocaine treatment effects were also examined. Methods Behavior was maintained under a concurrent schedule of food delivery (1-g pellets, fixed-ratio 100 schedule) and methamphetamine injections (0-0.32 mg/kg/injection, fixed-ratio 10 schedule) in male rhesus monkeys (n=4). Methamphetamine choice dose-effect functions were determined daily before and during 7-day periods of continuous intravenous treatment with d-amphetamine (0.01-0.1 mg/kg/h), methylphenidate (0.032-0.32 mg/kg/h), or cocaine (0.1-0.32 mg/kg/h). Results During saline treatment, increasing methamphetamine doses resulted in a corresponding increase in methamphetamine vs. food choice. Continuous 7-day treatments with d-amphetamine, methylphenidate or cocaine did not significantly attenuate methamphetamine vs. food choice up to doses that decreased rates of operant responding. However, 0.1 mg/kg/h d-amphetamine did eliminate methamphetamine choice in two monkeys. Conclusions The present subchronic treatment resultssupport the utility of preclinical methamphetamine choice to evaluate candidate medications for methamphetamine addiction. Furthermore, these results confirm and extend previous results demonstrating differential pharmacological mechanisms between cocaine choice and methamphetamine choice. PMID:26361713
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Schwienteck, Kathryn L; Banks, Matthew L
2015-10-01
Methamphetamine addiction is a significant public health problem for which no Food and Drug Administration-approved pharmacotherapies exist. Preclinical drug vs. food choice procedures have been predictive of clinical medication efficacy in the treatment of opioid and cocaine addiction. Whether preclinical choice procedures are predictive of candidate medication effects for other abused drugs, such as methamphetamine, remains unclear. The present study aim was to determine continuous 7-day treatment effects with the monoamine releaser d-amphetamine and the monoamine uptake inhibitor methylphenidate on methamphetamine vs. food choice. In addition, 7-day cocaine treatment effects were also examined. Behavior was maintained under a concurrent schedule of food delivery (1-g pellets, fixed-ratio 100 schedule) and methamphetamine injections (0-0.32mg/kg/injection, fixed-ratio 10 schedule) in male rhesus monkeys (n=4). Methamphetamine choice dose-effect functions were determined daily before and during 7-day periods of continuous intravenous treatment with d-amphetamine (0.01-0.1mg/kg/h), methylphenidate (0.032-0.32mg/kg/h), or cocaine (0.1-0.32mg/kg/h). During saline treatment, increasing methamphetamine doses resulted in a corresponding increase in methamphetamine vs. food choice. Continuous 7-day treatments with d-amphetamine, methylphenidate or cocaine did not significantly attenuate methamphetamine vs. food choice up to doses that decreased rates of operant responding. However, 0.1mg/kg/h d-amphetamine did eliminate methamphetamine choice in two monkeys. The present subchronic treatment results support the utility of preclinical methamphetamine choice to evaluate candidate medications for methamphetamine addiction. Furthermore, these results confirm and extend previous results demonstrating differential pharmacological mechanisms between cocaine choice and methamphetamine choice. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Parslow, Breanna
2014-01-01
The purpose of this study is to determine factors influencing Korean parents' and students' university application choice decisions in three international schools in the Republic of Korea (South). Institutional and individual factors that influenced Korean students' university application choice decisions and their parents' university application…
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Analysis of strength-of-preference measures in dichotomous choice models
Donald F. Dennis; Peter Newman; Robert Manning
2008-01-01
Choice models are becoming increasingly useful for soliciting and analyzing multiple objective decisions faced by recreation managers and others interested in decisions involving natural resources. Choice models are used to estimate relative values for multiple aspects of natural resource management, not individually but within the context of other relevant decision...
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Developmental telomere attrition predicts impulsive decision-making in adult starlings
Bateson, Melissa; Brilot, Ben O.; Gillespie, Robert; Monaghan, Pat; Nettle, Daniel
2015-01-01
Animals in a poor biological state face reduced life expectancy, and as a consequence should make decisions that prioritize immediate survival and reproduction over long-term benefits. We tested the prediction that if, as has been suggested, developmental telomere attrition is a biomarker of state and future life expectancy, then individuals who have undergone greater developmental telomere attrition should display greater choice impulsivity as adults. We measured impulsive decision-making in a cohort of European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) in which we had previously manipulated developmental telomere attrition by cross-fostering sibling chicks into broods of different sizes. We show that as predicted by state-dependent optimality models, individuals who had sustained greater developmental telomere attrition and who had shorter current telomeres made more impulsive foraging decisions as adults, valuing smaller, sooner food rewards more highly than birds with less attrition and longer telomeres. Our findings shed light on the biological embedding of early adversity and support a functional explanation for its consequences that could be applicable to other species, including humans. PMID:25473012
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Duménil, Claire; Woud, David; Pinto, Francesco; Alkema, Jeroen T; Jansen, Ilse; Van Der Geest, Anne M; Roessingh, Sanne; Billeter, Jean-Christophe
2016-03-01
Individuals can make choices based on information learned from others, a phenomenon called social learning. How observers differentiate between which individual they should or should not learn from is, however, poorly understood. Here, we showed that Drosophila melanogaster females can influence the choice of egg-laying site of other females through pheromonal marking. Mated females mark territories of high quality food by ejecting surplus male sperm containing the aggregation pheromone cis-11-vaccenyl acetate (cVA) and, in addition, deposit several sex- and species-specific cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) pheromones. These pheromonal cues affect the choices of other females, which respond by preferentially laying eggs on the marked food. This system benefits both senders and responders, as communal egg laying increases offspring survival. Virgin females, however, do not elicit a change in the egg-laying decision of mated females, even when food has been supplemented with ejected sperm from mated females, thus indicating the necessity for additional cues. Genetic ablation of either a female's CHC pheromones or those of their mate results in loss of ability of mated females to attract other females. We conclude that mated females use a pheromonal marking system, comprising cVA acquired from male ejaculate with sex- and species-specific CHCs produced by both mates, to indicate egg-laying sites. This system ensures information reliability because mated, but not virgin, females have both the ability to generate the pheromone blend that attracts other flies to those sites and a direct interest in egg-laying site quality.
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Cost-effectiveness of a Nutrition Education Curriculum Intervention in Elementary Schools.
Graziose, Matthew M; Koch, Pamela A; Wang, Y Claire; Lee Gray, Heewon; Contento, Isobel R
2017-09-01
To estimate the long-term cost-effectiveness of an obesity prevention nutrition education curriculum (Food, Health, & Choices) as delivered to all New York City fifth-grade public school students over 1 year. This study is a standard cost-effectiveness analysis from a societal perspective, with a 3% discount rate and a no-intervention comparator, as recommended by the US Panel on Cost-effectiveness in Health and Medicine. Costs of implementation, administration, and future obesity-related medical costs were included. Effectiveness was based on a cluster-randomized, controlled trial in 20 public schools during the 2012-2013 school year and linked to published estimates of childhood-to-adulthood body mass index trajectories using a decision analytic model. The Food, Health, & Choices intervention was estimated to cost $8,537,900 and result in 289 fewer males and 350 fewer females becoming obese (0.8% of New York City fifth-grade public school students), saving 1,599 quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) and $8,098,600 in direct medical costs. Food, Health, & Choices is predicted to be cost-effective at $275/QALY (95% confidence interval, -$2,576/QALY to $2,084/QALY) with estimates up to $6,029/QALY in sensitivity analyses. This cost-effectiveness model suggests that a nutrition education curriculum in public schools is effective and cost-effective in reducing childhood obesity, consistent with the authors' hypothesis and previous literature. Future research should assess the feasibility and sustainability of scale-up. Copyright © 2016 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Restrictive Food Intake As A Choice – A Paradigm for Study
Steinglass, Joanna; Foerde, Karin; Kostro, Katrina; Shohamy, Daphna; Timothy Walsh, B.
2014-01-01
Objective: Inadequate intake and preference for low-calorie foods are salient behavioral features of Anorexia Nervosa (AN). The neurocognitive mechanisms underlying pathological food choice have not been characterized. This study aimed to develop a new paradigm for experimentally modeling maladaptive food choice in AN. Method: Individuals with AN (n=22) and healthy controls (HC, n=20) participated in a computer-based Food Choice Task, adapted for individuals with eating disorders. Participants first rated 43 food images (including high-fat and low-fat items) for Healthiness and Tastiness; an item rated neutral on both blocks was then selected as the Reference item. On each of 42 subsequent trials participants were asked to choose between the food item presented and the Reference item. Results: The AN group was less likely to choose high-fat foods relative to HC, as evidenced both in multilevel logistic regression (z=2.59, p=0.009) and ANOVA (F(1,39)=7.80, p=0.008) analyses. Health ratings influenced choice significantly more in AN relative to HC (z=2.7, p=0.006), and were more related to Taste among AN (χ2=4.10, p=0.04). Additionally, Taste ratings declined with duration of illness(r=−0.50, p=0.02). Conclusions: The Food Choice Task captures the preference for low-fat foods among individuals with AN. The findings suggest that the experience of tastiness changes over time and may contribute to perpetuation of illness. By providing an experimental quantitative measure of food restriction, this task opens the door to new experimental investigations into the cognitive, affective and neural factors contributing to maladaptive food choices characteristic of AN. PMID:25130380
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Restrictive food intake as a choice--a paradigm for study.
Steinglass, Joanna; Foerde, Karin; Kostro, Katrina; Shohamy, Daphna; Walsh, B Timothy
2015-01-01
Inadequate intake and preference for low-calorie foods are salient behavioral features of Anorexia Nervosa (AN). The neurocognitive mechanisms underlying pathological food choice have not been characterized. This study aimed to develop a new paradigm for experimentally modeling maladaptive food choice in AN. Individuals with AN (n = 22) and healthy controls (HC, n = 20) participated in a computer-based Food Choice Task, adapted for individuals with eating disorders. Participants first rated 43 food images (including high-fat and low-fat items) for Healthiness and Tastiness; an item rated neutral on both blocks was then selected as the Reference item. On each of 42 subsequent trials participants were asked to choose between the food item presented and the Reference item. The AN group was less likely to choose high-fat foods relative to HC, as evidenced both in multilevel logistic regression (z = 2.59, p = .009) and ANOVA (F(1,39) = 7.80, p = .008) analyses. Health ratings influenced choice significantly more in AN relative to HC (z = 2.7, p = .006), and were more related to Taste among AN (χ(2) = 4.10, p = .04). Additionally, taste ratings declined with duration of illness (r = -.50, p = .02). The Food Choice Task captures the preference for low-fat foods among individuals with AN. The findings suggest that the experience of tastiness changes over time and may contribute to perpetuation of illness. By providing an experimental quantitative measure of food restriction, this task opens the door to new experimental investigations into the cognitive, affective, and neural factors contributing to maladaptive food choices characteristic of AN. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Ratcliff, Roger; Starns, Jeffrey J.
2014-01-01
Confidence in judgments is a fundamental aspect of decision making, and tasks that collect confidence judgments are an instantiation of multiple-choice decision making. We present a model for confidence judgments in recognition memory tasks that uses a multiple-choice diffusion decision process with separate accumulators of evidence for the different confidence choices. The accumulator that first reaches its decision boundary determines which choice is made. Five algorithms for accumulating evidence were compared, and one of them produced proportions of responses for each of the choices and full response time distributions for each choice that closely matched empirical data. With this algorithm, an increase in the evidence in one accumulator is accompanied by a decrease in the others so that the total amount of evidence in the system is constant. Application of the model to the data from an earlier experiment (Ratcliff, McKoon, & Tindall, 1994) uncovered a relationship between the shapes of z-transformed receiver operating characteristics and the behavior of response time distributions. Both are explained in the model by the behavior of the decision boundaries. For generality, we also applied the decision model to a 3-choice motion discrimination task and found it accounted for data better than a competing class of models. The confidence model presents a coherent account of confidence judgments and response time that cannot be explained with currently popular signal detection theory analyses or dual-process models of recognition. PMID:23915088
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Langhout, Regina Day; Kohfeldt, Danielle M; Ellison, Erin Rose
2011-12-01
The current study examines 16 Latina/o fifth grade children's desires for a decision-making structure within a youth participatory action research (yPAR) program. When given the choices of consensus, majority rule, authoritarian rule, delegation, and random choice models, children chose random choice. Procedural, distributive and emotional justice were heavily weighted in their reasoning around fairness and decision making. Many thought random choice offered the best alternative because it flattened power hierarchies so that each child would, at some point, have the power to make a decision. Additionally, children argued that the neutrality of random choice allowed them to sidestep interpersonal tensions. Implications include how social identities inform definitions of fairness and how yPAR programs should work with youth around how they will make decisions.
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Banks, Matthew L; Blough, Bruce E
2015-01-01
Preclinical and human laboratory choice procedures have been invaluable in improving our knowledge of the neurobiological mechanisms of drug reinforcement and in the drug development process for candidate medications to treat drug addiction. However, little is known about the neuropharmacological mechanisms of methamphetamine vs food choice. The aims of this study were to develop a methamphetamine vs food choice procedure and determine treatment effects with two clinically relevant compounds: the monoamine uptake inhibitor bupropion and the dopamine antagonist risperidone. Rhesus monkeys (n=6) responded under a concurrent schedule of food delivery (1-g pellets, fixed-ratio (FR) 100 schedule) and intravenous methamphetamine injections (0–0.32 mg/kg/injection, FR10 schedule) during 7-day bupropion (0.32–1.8 mg/kg/h) and risperidone (0.001–0.0056 mg/kg/h) treatment periods. For comparison, effects of removing food pellets or methamphetamine injections and FR response requirement manipulations were also examined. Under saline treatment conditions, food was preferred over no methamphetamine or small unit methamphetamine doses (0.01–0.032 mg/kg/injection). Larger methamphetamine doses resulted in greater methamphetamine preference and 0.32 mg/kg/injection methamphetamine maintained near exclusive preference. Removing food availability increased methamphetamine choice, whereas removing methamphetamine availability decreased methamphetamine choice. Methamphetamine choice was not significantly altered when the FR response requirements for food and drug were the same (FR100:FR100 or FR10:FR10). Risperidone treatment increased methamphetamine choice, whereas bupropion treatment did not alter methamphetamine choice up to doses that decreased rates of operant behavior. Overall, these negative results with bupropion and risperidone are concordant with previous human laboratory and clinical trials and support the potential validity of this preclinical methamphetamine vs food choice model. PMID:25742872
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Dolan, James G; Veazie, Peter J
2015-12-01
Growing recognition of the importance of involving patients in preference-driven healthcare decisions has highlighted the need to develop practical strategies to implement patient-centered shared decision-making. The use of tabular balance sheets to support clinical decision-making is well established. More recent evidence suggests that graphic, interactive decision dashboards can help people derive deeper a understanding of information within a specific decision context. We therefore conducted a non-randomized trial comparing the effects of adding an interactive dashboard to a static tabular balance sheet on patient decision-making. The study population consisted of members of the ResearchMatch registry who volunteered to participate in a study of medical decision-making. Two separate surveys were conducted: one in the control group and one in the intervention group. All participants were instructed to imagine they were newly diagnosed with a chronic illness and were asked to choose between three hypothetical drug treatments, which varied with regard to effectiveness, side effects, and out-of-pocket cost. Both groups made an initial treatment choice after reviewing a balance sheet. After a brief "washout" period, members of the control group made a second treatment choice after reviewing the balance sheet again, while intervention group members made a second treatment choice after reviewing an interactive decision dashboard containing the same information. After both choices, participants rated their degree of confidence in their choice on a 1 to 10 scale. Members of the dashboard intervention group were more likely to change their choice of preferred drug (10.2 versus 7.5%; p = 0.054) and had a larger increase in decision confidence than the control group (0.67 versus 0.075; p < 0.03). There were no statistically significant between-group differences in decisional conflict or decision aid acceptability. These findings suggest that clinical decision dashboards may be an effective point-of-care decision-support tool. Further research to explore this possibility is warranted.
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Discrepancies between Judgment and Choice of Action in Moral Dilemmas
Tassy, Sébastien; Oullier, Olivier; Mancini, Julien; Wicker, Bruno
2013-01-01
Everyone has experienced the potential discrepancy between what one judges as morally acceptable and what one actually does when a choice between alternative behaviors is to be made. The present study explores empirically whether judgment and choice of action differ when people make decisions on dilemmas involving moral issues. Two hundred and forty participants evaluated 24 moral and non-moral dilemmas either by judging (“Is it acceptable to…”) or reporting the choice of action they would make (“Would you do…”). We also investigated the influence of varying the number of people benefiting from the decision and the closeness of relationship of the decision maker with the potential victim on these two types of decision. Variations in the number of beneficiaries from the decision did not influence judgment nor choice of action. By contrast, closeness of relationship with the victim had a greater influence on the choice of action than on judgment. This differentiation between evaluative judgments and choices of action argues in favor of each of them being supported by (at least partially) different psychological processes. PMID:23720645
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Food consumption when travelling abroad: Young Chinese sojourners' food consumption in the UK.
Yen, Dorothy Ai-Wan; Cappellini, Benedetta; Wang, Cheng Lu; Nguyen, Bang
2018-02-01
This qualitative study investigates the everyday food choices of 21 Chinese sojourners living in two different localities in the UK. Findings from a thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews reveal how participants adopt a food consumption pattern, negotiating between ordinary and extraordinary food choices, including home-made Chinese food, Chinese restaurant food, global brands, British food, to "foods of the world". Their zooming in and out of different food consumption choices reflects the transformative identity of the sojourners, between their student role during the week and becoming tourists at the weekends, meshing work and tourism during their sojourning in the UK. Theoretically this paper extends the limited understanding of sojourners, showing how their complex food choices reflect their swift transformative identity. Findings also illustrate how consumption patterns adopted by sojourners living in rural areas differ from the ones living in an urban setting. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.
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Nutrition labeling reduces valuations of food through multiple health and taste channels.
Fisher, Geoffrey
2018-01-01
One popularized technique to promote healthy dietary choice involves posting calorie or other nutritional information at the time individuals make a consumption decision. While the evidence on the effectiveness of such interventions is mixed, relatively little work has focused on the underlying mechanisms of how such labels alter behavior. In the research reported here, we asked 87 hungry laboratory subjects to make bids over foods with or without nutrition labels present. We found that the presence of a nutrition label reduced bids by an average of 25 cents. Furthermore, we found this reduction was driven by differences in perceptions and the importance individuals placed on health features of the foods, but also by differences in the importance individuals placed on more visceral taste features. These results help explain the various methods in which nutritional information postings or other policy tools can nudge individuals to consume healthier options. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Counting calories: resident perspectives on calorie labeling in New York City.
Gordon, Cynthia; Hayes, Roger
2012-01-01
The present study investigates consumer responses to New York City's 2008 calorie labeling regulation in 2 lower-income neighborhoods of New York City. Focus groups were conducted, and 34 fast-food consumers participated. Group summaries and descriptive and analytic depictions of group responses and interactions were developed based on a thorough examination of the notes and tapes. Findings included that there is support for the regulation, as well as skepticism regarding the potency of calorie posting as a behavior change tool. In addition, there were strong beliefs about both parental responsibility for children's eating habits as well as the role of poverty, hunger, and lack of education in food selection. Calorie labeling is one avenue for educating consumers about nutrition; however, given competing factors in food choice decisions as well as the realities of hunger and poverty, more proactive measures are needed. Published by Elsevier Inc.
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Framing effects in group investment decision making: role of group polarization.
Cheng, Pi-Yueh; Chiou, Wen-Bin
2008-02-01
Prospect theory proposes that framing effects result in a preference for risk-averse choices in gain situations and risk-seeking choices in loss situations. However, in group polarization situations, groups show a pronounced tendency to shift toward more extreme positions than those they initially held. Whether framing effects in group decision making are more prominent as a result of the group-polarization effect was examined. Purposive sampling of 120 college students (57 men, 63 women; M age = 20.1 yr., SD = 0.9) allowed assessment of relative preference between cautious and risky choices in individual and group decisions. Findings indicated that both group polarization and framing effects occur in investment decisions. More importantly, group decisions in a gain situation appear to be more cautious, i.e., risk averse, than individual decisions, whereas group decisions in the loss situation appear to be more risky than individual decisions. Thus, group decision making may expand framing effects when it comes to investment choices through group polarization.
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Goal-directed visual attention drives health goal priming: An eye-tracking experiment.
van der Laan, Laura N; Papies, Esther K; Hooge, Ignace T C; Smeets, Paul A M
2017-01-01
Several lab and field experiments have shown that goal priming interventions can be highly effective in promoting healthy food choices. Less is known, however, about the mechanisms by which goal priming affects food choice. This experiment tested the hypothesis that goal priming affects food choices through changes in visual attention. Specifically, it was hypothesized that priming with the dieting goal steers attention toward goal-relevant, low energy food products, which, in turn, increases the likelihood of choosing these products. In this eye-tracking experiment, 125 participants chose between high and low energy food products in a realistic online supermarket task while their eye movements were recorded with an eye-tracker. One group was primed with a health and dieting goal, a second group was exposed to a control prime, and a third group was exposed to no prime at all. The health goal prime increased low energy food choices and decreased high energy food choices. Furthermore, the health goal prime resulted in proportionally longer total dwell times on low energy food products, and this effect mediated the goal priming effect on choices. The findings suggest that the effect of priming on consumer choice may originate from an increase in attention for prime-congruent items. This study supports the effectiveness of health goal priming interventions in promoting healthy eating and opens up directions for research on other behavioral interventions that steer attention toward healthy foods. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).
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Orsini, Caitlin A; Trotta, Rose T; Bizon, Jennifer L; Setlow, Barry
2015-01-28
Several neuropsychiatric disorders are associated with abnormal decision-making involving risk of punishment, but the neural basis of this association remains poorly understood. Altered activity in brain systems including the basolateral amygdala (BLA) and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) can accompany these same disorders, and these structures are implicated in some forms of decision-making. The current study investigated the role of the BLA and OFC in decision-making under risk of explicit punishment. Rats were trained in the risky decision-making task (RDT), in which they chose between two levers, one that delivered a small safe reward, and the other that delivered a large reward accompanied by varying risks of footshock punishment. Following training, they received sham or neurotoxic lesions of BLA or OFC, followed by RDT retesting. BLA lesions increased choice of the large risky reward (greater risk-taking) compared to both prelesion performance and sham controls. When reward magnitudes were equated, both BLA lesion and control groups shifted their choice to the safe (no shock) reward lever, indicating that the lesions did not impair punishment sensitivity. In contrast to BLA lesions, OFC lesions significantly decreased risk-taking compared with sham controls, but did not impair discrimination between different reward magnitudes or alter baseline levels of anxiety. Finally, neither lesion significantly affected food-motivated lever pressing under various fixed ratio schedules, indicating that lesion-induced alterations in risk-taking were not secondary to changes in appetitive motivation. Together, these findings indicate distinct roles for the BLA and OFC in decision-making under risk of explicit punishment. Copyright © 2015 the authors 0270-6474/15/351368-12$15.00/0.
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Perry, B D; Grace, D C
2015-12-01
Many societies are spoiled for choice when they purchase meat and other livestock products, and around the globe food choice has grown dramatically in the last two decades. What is more, besides the cost and obvious health concerns influencing commodity section, an increasing proportion of choices is made to contribute to the achievement of certain ideals, such as natural resource management, climate change mitigation, animal welfare concerns and personal lifestyle. At the same time, human health considerations are becoming more important for consumption choices as richer societies, and increasingly the urban poor in low- and middle-income countries, face an unprecedented epidemic of over-consumption and associated diet-related non-communicable diseases. Animal source foods are considered significant contributors to this trend. This paper reviews this complicated arena, and explores the range of considerations that influence consumers' preferences for meat and other animal source foods. This paper also argues that deeper drivers of consumption behaviour of many foods may act in opposition to the articulated preferences for choices around animal source food consumption. We review how the returns to different causes are being valued, how emerging metrics are helping to manage and influence consumption behaviours, and draw conclusions regarding options which influence food choice.
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Long-haul truck drivers want healthful meal options at truck-stop restaurants.
Whitfield Jacobson, Pamela J; Prawitz, Aimee D; Lukaszuk, Judith M
2007-12-01
Long-haul truckers are confined, by parking regulations and other constraints, to dining at truck-stop restaurants. Objectives were to (a) compare truckers' anthropometrics with recommended guidelines; and (b) assess eating/exercise habits, importance of healthful food choices, and attitudes about restaurants' provision of healthful options. Hypotheses were: (a) overweight/obese drivers will place less importance on healthful food choices than will drivers of optimal weight; (b) importance of healthful food choices and attitudes about their provision will be positively correlated. Questionnaires included Food Choices Index, Nutrition Attitude Survey, and demographic information; bioelectrical impedance assessed weight, body fat, and body mass index. Subjects (n=92) were truckers at a Midwestern truck-stop restaurant; 79 were overweight, 52 were obese. Mean rating of importance of healthful choices was above average. There was no difference in importance of healthful food choices for overweight/obese and optimal weight drivers, t(89)=-1.312; P=0.19. Drivers placing more importance on healthful food choices had more positive attitudes about restaurants' provision of such options, r(90)=0.74, P<0.001. Overall, drivers indicated they would choose healthful foods if available and appetizing. Registered dietitian-directed wellness programs that include education, support, and cooperation of truck-stop restaurants are critical to reduce obesity and risk of disease in this population.
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Work conditions and the food choice coping strategies of employed parents.
Devine, Carol M; Farrell, Tracy J; Blake, Christine E; Jastran, Margaret; Wethington, Elaine; Bisogni, Carole A
2009-01-01
How work conditions relate to parents' food choice coping strategies. Pilot telephone survey. City in the northeastern United States (US). Black, white, and Hispanic employed mothers (25) and fathers (25) randomly recruited from low-/moderate-income zip codes; 78% of those reached and eligible participated. Sociodemographic characteristics; work conditions (hours, shift, job schedule, security, satisfaction, food access); food choice coping strategies (22 behavioral items for managing food in response to work and family demands (ie, food prepared at/away from home, missing meals, individualizing meals, speeding up, planning). Two-tailed chi-square and Fisher exact tests (P < or = .05, unless noted). Half or more of respondents often/sometimes used 12 of 22 food choice coping strategies. Long hours and nonstandard hours and schedules were positively associated among fathers with take-out meals, missed family meals, prepared entrees, and eating while working; and among mothers with restaurant meals, missed breakfast, and prepared entrees. Job security, satisfaction, and food access were also associated with gender-specific strategies. Structural work conditions among parents such as job hours, schedule, satisfaction, and food access are associated with food choice coping strategies with importance for dietary quality. Findings have implications for worksite interventions but need examination in a larger sample.
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Janssen, Lieneke K; Duif, Iris; van Loon, Ilke; Wegman, Joost; de Vries, Jeanne H M; Cools, Roshan; Aarts, Esther
2017-02-01
Loss of lateral prefrontal cortex (lPFC)-mediated attentional control may explain the automatic tendency to eat in the face of food. Here, we investigate the neurocognitive mechanism underlying attentional bias to food words and its association with obesity using a food Stroop task. We tested 76 healthy human subjects with a wide body mass index (BMI) range (19-35kg/m 2 ) using fMRI. As a measure of obesity we calculated individual obesity scores based on BMI, waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio using principal component analyses. To investigate the automatic tendency to overeat directly, the same subjects performed a separate behavioral outcome devaluation task measuring the degree of goal-directed versus automatic food choices. We observed that increased obesity scores were associated with diminished lPFC responses during food attentional bias. This was accompanied by decreased goal-directed control of food choices following outcome devaluation. Together these findings suggest that deficient control of both food-directed attention and choice may contribute to obesity, particularly given our obesogenic environment with food cues everywhere, and the choice to ignore or indulge despite satiety. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Getting the Most from Your OTC Medicine
... Pets and Animals myhealthfinder Food and Nutrition Healthy Food Choices Weight Loss and Diet Plans Nutrients and Nutritional ... Pets and Animals myhealthfinder Food and Nutrition Healthy Food Choices Weight Loss and Diet Plans Nutrients and Nutritional ...
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Hoefling, Atilla; Strack, Fritz
2010-06-01
The present work was to examine the influence of food deprivation on food choice. For this purpose hungry versus satiated subjects were presented with a series of choices between two snacks in a complete block design of pairwise comparisons. Snacks systematically varied with respect to subjects' idiosyncratic taste preferences (preferred versus un-preferred snack), portion size (large portion versus very small portion), and availability in terms of time (immediately available versus available only after a substantial time delay). Food choices were analyzed with a conjoint analysis which corroborated the assumption that food deprivation decreases the relative importance of taste preference and increases the importance of immediate availability of food. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Forman, Evan M; Shaw, Jena A; Goldstein, Stephanie P; Butryn, Meghan L; Martin, Lindsay M; Meiran, Nachshon; Crosby, Ross D; Manasse, Stephanie M
2016-08-01
Obesity is largely attributable to excess caloric intake, in particular from "junk" foods, including salty snack foods. Evidence suggests that neurobiological preferences to consume highly hedonic foods translate (via implicit processes) into poor eating choices, unless overturned by inhibitory mechanisms or interrupted by explicit processes. The primary aim of the current study was to test the independent and combinatory effects of a computerized inhibitory control training (ICT) and a mindful decision-making training (MDT) designed to facilitate de-automatization. We randomized 119 habitual salty snack food eaters to one of four short, training conditions: MDT, ICT, both MDT and ICT, or neither (i.e., psychoeducation). For 7 days prior to the intervention and 7 days following the intervention, participants reported on their salty snack food consumption 2 times per day, on 3 portions of their days, using a smartphone-based ecological momentary assessment system. Susceptibility to emotional eating cues was measured at baseline. Results indicated that the effect of MDT was consistent across levels of trait emotional eating, whereas the benefit of ICT was apparent only at lower levels of emotional eating. No synergistic effect of MDT and ICT was detected. These results provide qualified support for the efficacy of both types of training for decreasing hedonically-motivated eating. Moderation effects suggest that those who eat snack foods for reasons unconnected to affective experiences (i.e., lower in emotional eating) may derive benefit from a combination of ICT and MDT. Future research should investigate the additive benefit of de-automization training to standard weight loss interventions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Sweis, Brian M; Thomas, Mark J; Redish, A David
2018-06-01
Regret can be defined as the subjective experience of recognizing that one has made a mistake and that a better alternative could have been selected. The experience of regret is thought to carry negative utility. This typically takes two distinct forms: augmenting immediate postregret valuations to make up for losses, and augmenting long-term changes in decision-making strategies to avoid future instances of regret altogether. While the short-term changes in valuation have been studied in human psychology, economics, neuroscience, and even recently in nonhuman-primate and rodent neurophysiology, the latter long-term process has received far less attention, with no reports of regret avoidance in nonhuman decision-making paradigms. We trained 31 mice in a novel variant of the Restaurant Row economic decision-making task, in which mice make decisions of whether to spend time from a limited budget to achieve food rewards of varying costs (delays). Importantly, we tested mice longitudinally for 70 consecutive days, during which the task provided their only source of food. Thus, decision strategies were interdependent across both trials and days. We separated principal commitment decisions from secondary reevaluation decisions across space and time and found evidence for regret-like behaviors following change-of-mind decisions that corrected prior economically disadvantageous choices. Immediately following change-of-mind events, subsequent decisions appeared to make up for lost effort by altering willingness to wait, decision speed, and pellet consumption speed, consistent with past reports of regret in rodents. As mice were exposed to an increasingly reward-scarce environment, we found they adapted and refined distinct economic decision-making strategies over the course of weeks to maximize reinforcement rate. However, we also found that even without changes in reinforcement rate, mice transitioned from an early strategy rooted in foraging to a strategy rooted in deliberation and planning that prevented future regret-inducing change-of-mind episodes from occurring. These data suggest that mice are learning to avoid future regret, independent of and separate from reinforcement rate maximization.
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Adolescents’ Food Choice and the Place of Plant-Based Foods
Ensaff, Hannah; Coan, Susan; Sahota, Pinki; Braybrook, Debbie; Akter, Humaira; McLeod, Helen
2015-01-01
A diet dominated by plant foods, with limited amounts of refined processed foods and animal products conveys substantial health benefits. This study sought to explore adolescents’ attitudes and perceptions towards plant-based foods. Semi-structured focus group interviews were conducted with adolescents (age 14–15 years) (n = 29) attending an inner city school in Yorkshire, UK. Using a grounded theory methodology, data analysis provided four main categories and related concepts revolving around adolescents’ perspectives on plant-based foods: food choice parameters; perceived drivers and benefits of plant-based foods; environmental food cues; barriers to plant-based food choice. In the emergent grounded theory, a clear disconnect between plant-based foods and the parameters that adolescents use to make food choices, is highlighted. Further, key barriers to adolescents adopting a plant-based diet are differentiated and considered with respect to practice and policy. The analysis offers a framework to remodel and re-present plant-based foods. In this way, it is proposed that a closer connection is possible, with consequent shifts in adolescents’ dietary behaviour towards a more plant-based diet and associated health benefits. PMID:26066012
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Adolescents' Food Choice and the Place of Plant-Based Foods.
Ensaff, Hannah; Coan, Susan; Sahota, Pinki; Braybrook, Debbie; Akter, Humaira; McLeod, Helen
2015-06-09
A diet dominated by plant foods, with limited amounts of refined processed foods and animal products conveys substantial health benefits. This study sought to explore adolescents' attitudes and perceptions towards plant-based foods. Semi-structured focus group interviews were conducted with adolescents (age 14-15 years) (n = 29) attending an inner city school in Yorkshire, UK. Using a grounded theory methodology, data analysis provided four main categories and related concepts revolving around adolescents' perspectives on plant-based foods: food choice parameters; perceived drivers and benefits of plant-based foods; environmental food cues; barriers to plant-based food choice. In the emergent grounded theory, a clear disconnect between plant-based foods and the parameters that adolescents use to make food choices, is highlighted. Further, key barriers to adolescents adopting a plant-based diet are differentiated and considered with respect to practice and policy. The analysis offers a framework to remodel and re-present plant-based foods. In this way, it is proposed that a closer connection is possible, with consequent shifts in adolescents' dietary behaviour towards a more plant-based diet and associated health benefits.
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Choosing front-of-package food labelling nutritional criteria: how smart were 'Smart Choices'?
Roberto, Christina A; Bragg, Marie A; Livingston, Kara A; Harris, Jennifer L; Thompson, Jackie M; Seamans, Marissa J; Brownell, Kelly D
2012-02-01
The 'Smart Choices' programme was an industry-driven, front-of-package (FOP) nutritional labelling system introduced in the USA in August 2009, ostensibly to help consumers select healthier options during food shopping. Its nutritional criteria were developed by members of the food industry in collaboration with nutrition and public health experts and government officials. The aim of the present study was to test the extent to which products labelled as 'Smart Choices' could be classified as healthy choices on the basis of the Nutrient Profile Model (NPM), a non-industry-developed, validated nutritional standard. A total of 100 packaged products that qualified for a 'Smart Choices' designation were sampled from eight food and beverage categories. All products were evaluated using the NPM method. In all, 64 % of the products deemed 'Smart Choices' did not meet the NPM standard for a healthy product. Within each 'Smart Choices' category, 0 % of condiments, 8·70 % of fats and oils, 15·63 % of cereals and 31·58 % of snacks and sweets met NPM thresholds. All sampled soups, beverages, desserts and grains deemed 'Smart Choices' were considered healthy according to the NPM standard. The 'Smart Choices' programme is an example of industries' attempts at self-regulation. More than 60 % of foods that received the 'Smart Choices' label did not meet standard nutritional criteria for a 'healthy' food choice, suggesting that industries' involvement in designing labelling systems should be scrutinized. The NPM system may be a good option as the basis for establishing FOP labelling criteria, although more comparisons with other systems are needed.
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The Influence of Brand Equity Characters on Children's Food Preferences and Choices.
McGale, Lauren Sophie; Halford, Jason Christian Grovenor; Harrold, Joanne Alison; Boyland, Emma Jane
2016-10-01
To assess the influence of brand equity characters displayed on food packaging on children's food preferences and choices, 2 studies were conducted. Brand equity characters are developed specifically to represent a particular brand or product. Despite existing literature suggesting that promotional characters influence children's food choices, to date, no research has assessed the influence of brand equity characters specifically. We recruited 209 children 4-8 years of age from schools and childcare centers in the UK. In a mixed-measures design, the children were asked to rate their taste preferences and preferred snack choice for 3 matched food pairs, presented either with or without a brand equity character displayed on packaging. Study 1 addressed congruent food-character associations and study 2 addressed incongruent associations. Participants were also asked to rate their recognition and liking of characters used. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests and χ(2) analyses were used where appropriate. Children were significantly more likely to show a preference for foods with a brand equity character displayed on the packaging compared with a matched food without a brand equity character, for both congruent and incongruent food-character associations. The presence of a brand equity character also significantly influenced the children's within-pair preferences, within-pair choices, and overall snack choice (congruent associations only). Displaying brand equity characters promotes unhealthy food choices in children. The findings are consistent with those of studies exploring other types of promotional characters. In the context of a childhood obesity epidemic, the use of brand equity characters in the promotion of foods high in fat, salt, and sugar to children should be restricted. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Influence of ethnocentrism and neo-phobia on ethnic food consumption in Spain.
Camarena, Dena M; Sanjuán, Ana I; Philippidis, George
2011-08-01
Over the last decade, a strong upsurge in Spanish immigration has fostered a thriving ethnic food market. To examine indigenous consumer predilections toward ethnic foods, a carefully designed choice experiment is employed, with particular focus on ethnocentricity and food neo-phobia traits on potential purchase decisions. Employing a two level nested logit model, consumers choose to accept/reject ethnic foods, with a positive response met by a further series of different ethnic cuisine and consumption scenario alternatives. Bivariate tests reveal that higher ethnocentric and neo-phobic segments possess common socio-demographic characteristics, whilst neo-phobia plays a significantly stronger role in determining the probability of rejection. Further tests reveal culturally similar Mexican food as the preferred ethnic food across all consumption scenarios. Moreover, the 'restaurant' is the favoured format of consumption, whilst there is evidence of a strong association between specific ethnic food types and consumption formats. The implications of our research suggest that in the short to medium turn, price is a strong strategic variable, whilst marketing strategies must successfully isolate and exploit specific 'ethnic food/consumption scenario' mixes. Finally, stronger messages emphasizing quality and convenience factors are seen as key to bolstering the underrepresented 'home preparation' ethnic food market in Spain. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Dissecting the Signaling Mechanisms Underlying Recognition and Preference of Food Odors
Harris, Gareth; Shen, Yu; Ha, Heonick; Donato, Alessandra; Wallis, Samuel; Zhang, Xiaodong
2014-01-01
Food is critical for survival. Many animals, including the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, use sensorimotor systems to detect and locate preferred food sources. However, the signaling mechanisms underlying food-choice behaviors are poorly understood. Here, we characterize the molecular signaling that regulates recognition and preference between different food odors in C. elegans. We show that the major olfactory sensory neurons, AWB and AWC, play essential roles in this behavior. A canonical Gα-protein, together with guanylate cyclases and cGMP-gated channels, is needed for the recognition of food odors. The food-odor-evoked signal is transmitted via glutamatergic neurotransmission from AWC and through AMPA and kainate-like glutamate receptor subunits. In contrast, peptidergic signaling is required to generate preference between different food odors while being dispensable for the recognition of the odors. We show that this regulation is achieved by the neuropeptide NLP-9 produced in AWB, which acts with its putative receptor NPR-18, and by the neuropeptide NLP-1 produced in AWC. In addition, another set of sensory neurons inhibits food-odor preference. These mechanistic logics, together with a previously mapped neural circuit underlying food-odor preference, provide a functional network linking sensory response, transduction, and downstream receptors to process complex olfactory information and generate the appropriate behavioral decision essential for survival. PMID:25009271
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Prada, Marília; Rodrigues, David; Garrido, Margarida V
2016-08-01
Organic claims can influence how a product is perceived in dimensions that are unrelated with the food production method (e.g., organic food is perceived as more healthful and less caloric than conventional food). Such claims can also bias how the consumers of organic food are perceived and how other people judge their behavior. Schuldt and Schwarz (2010) have shown that individuals evaluating a target with a weight-loss goal are more lenient in judging the target forgoing exercise when the target had an organic (vs. conventional) dessert. This impact of organic claims on leniency judgments has been interpreted either as a halo or a licensing effect. In the current research we aim to replicate and extend Schuldt and Schwarz's (2010) results by examining the mechanisms that are more likely to explain the observed leniency judgments. In Experiment 1, we observed that leniency towards a target that has consumed an organic meal is only observed when the target intentionally chooses such organic meal (vs. choice determined by the situation). These findings suggest that the impact of organic claims on leniency judgments is not merely based on a halo effect. Instead, a licensing account emerges as the most probable mechanism. In Experiment 2, we further found that stronger (vs. weaker) motives for forgoing exercise influenced leniency judgments to the same extent as having had an organic meal. Understanding the mechanisms that shape consumers' decisions may have important implications to prevent bias in their judgments about food and exercise. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Cognitive biases in binge eating disorder: the hijacking of decision making.
Voon, Valerie
2015-12-01
Binge eating disorder (BED) is the most common of eating disorders and is characterized by excessive, out-of-control, rapid food intake. This review focuses on cognitive impairments in BED, which represent an endophenotype that mediates brain function and behavior. Here we focus on reviewing impulsivity, compulsivity, attentional biases to food cues, and executive function. Behavioral regulation in BED appears to be influenced by the context of motivationally salient food cues and the degree of obesity. Deficits in delay discounting and risk taking under ambiguity are impaired in obesity irrespective of BED status. However, in BED subjects with milder obesity, greater risk seeking under explicit probabilistic risk is observed to monetary rewards, whereas this shifts to risk aversion and enhanced delay discounting in more severe obesity. Relative to non-BED obese subjects, BED is characterized by enhanced behavioral inflexibility or compulsivity across multiple domains, with subjects selecting the same choices despite change in relevance (set shifting), being no longer rewarding (habit formation), or irrespective of outcome (perseveration). The context of food cues was associated with multiple attentional and early and late inhibitory impairments and enhanced memory bias, although BED patients also have generalized cognitive interference in working memory. These findings may help explain the phenotype of binge eating. Motivationally salient food cues provoke attentional and memory biases along with impairing response inhibitory processes. Those with BED are also more susceptible to cognitive interference and have impaired decisional impulsivity, with the tendency to inflexibly stick with the same choices irrespective of changes in context. These findings suggest critical cognitive domains that may guide therapeutic interventions.
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Peschel, Anne O; Grebitus, Carola; Steiner, Bodo; Veeman, Michele
2016-11-01
This paper examines consumers' knowledge and lifestyle profiles and preferences regarding two environmentally labeled food staples, potatoes and ground beef. Data from online choice experiments conducted in Canada and Germany are analyzed through latent class choice modeling to identify the influence of consumer knowledge (subjective and objective knowledge as well as usage experience) on environmentally sustainable choices. We find that irrespective of product or country under investigation, high subjective and objective knowledge levels drive environmentally sustainable food choices. Subjective knowledge was found to be more important in this context. Usage experience had relatively little impact on environmentally sustainable choices. Our results suggest that about 20% of consumers in both countries are ready to adopt footprint labels in their food choices. Another 10-20% could be targeted by enhancing subjective knowledge, for example through targeted marketing campaigns. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Valenti, Greta; Libby, Lisa K
2017-09-01
After people make choices, they can frame the choice event in terms of what they chose, or in terms of what they did not choose. The current research proposes psychological distance as one factor influencing this framing and suggests implications. Three experiments manipulated dimensions of distance to demonstrate people's greater tendency to frame choice events in terms of chosen options at greater psychological distances. Additional findings demonstrate that these effects occur regardless of whether the decision turned out well or poorly. In a final experiment, framing a decision in terms of choosing (versus not choosing) a task made people more likely to believe their choice reflected their liking for the chosen task, which led to more favorable expectations for it. The discussion focuses on possible implications of these findings for understanding prior work on self-other differences in decision making, motivations for past decisions, reactions to decision outcomes, and counterfactual thinking.
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O'Brien, Orna A; Lindsay, Karen L; McCarthy, Mary; McGloin, Aileen F; Kennelly, Maria; Scully, Helena A; McAuliffe, Fionnuala M
2017-04-01
to qualitatively explore influences identified by overweight/obese pregnant women on food choices and physical activity (PA) behaviours; to determine the impact of pregnancy on these factors; and to inform development of future lifestyle interventions during pregnancy. cross-sectional interview study. maternity hospital, Ireland. pregnant women (n=22), early pregnancy Body Mass Index > 25kg/m 2 MEASURES: barriers to and facilitators of healthy eating and PA in overweight/obese pregnancy. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using inductive thematic analysis. overweight/obese women perceived the following factors to influence their food choices and PA behaviours: personal (e.g. age, enjoyment, health, aesthetic appearance, and response to fatigue); social (e.g. social support, food modelling, social facilitation and weight bias) and environmental (e.g. food salience and the obesogenic environment). These factors affected PA and food choice trajectories differently according to socio-economic and socio-cultural context. personal, social and environmental factors affect food choices and PA behaviours. Pregnancy is a powerful stimulus for positive changes in food choices particularly. This change is driven by desire for healthy pregnancy outcome, and is not intrinsically motivated. Healthy lifestyle interventions should aim to sustain positive changes beyond pregnancy through: empowerment, intrinsic motivation, family-centred approach, and behavioural goals. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
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Fernandes-Machado, Sandra; Gellert, Paul; Goncalves, Sonia; Sniehotta, Falko F; Araujo-Soares, Vera
2016-10-01
There are currently no instruments available to measure social cognitions towards food choice in children. This study aimed to test the feasibility and predictive validity of a novel measurement tool to assess food-related social cognitions. Sixty-eight children, five to eight years old, were asked to sort cards with photographs of four fruit and four sweet/savoury snacks as a mean to measure attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control (PBC), and intention. Subsequently, food choice (dependent variable) was assessed using a laboratory food choice task in which children could gain access to sweet and savoury or fruit items, or a combination. All participants completed the tasks successfully, demonstrating feasibility of the procedure. The order in which the cards were sorted for each construct differed sufficiently and correlations between constructs were in line with previous studies. Measures of PBC, intention, attitude, and subjective norm from the mother, but not from teachers or friends, correlated significantly with subsequent food choice. It is possible to measure food-related social cognitions in children aged five to eight and these measures were predictive of observed behaviour. The new instrument can contribute to our understanding of psychological determinants of food choice in young children. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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The relation of post-work ruminative thinking with eating behaviour.
Cropley, Mark; Michalianou, Georgia; Pravettoni, Gabriella; Millward, Lynne J
2012-02-01
Inability to unwind about work during leisure time has been associated with a number of negative health outcomes. This study was concerned with a possible behavioural pathway between unwinding and disease and examined the relationship between work-related rumination and food choice. Work-related rumination is arguably a core to understanding the 'unwinding process', and food choice is a well-established indicator of nutritional health. Two hundred and sixty-eight full-time workers from a range of white-collar occupations completed a self-report measure of ruminative thinking about work and an eating behaviour questionnaire. Three types of ruminative thinking were identified by factor analysis and labelled affective rumination, problem-solving pondering and detachment. In terms of food choice, high-relative to low-affective ruminators reported eating more unhealthy foods, and low detachers reported eating less cooked meals and more processed foods compared to high detachers. Problem-solving pondering was not associated with food choice, and none of the factors were associated with healthy food choice. It was concluded that failure to unwind from work is not necessarily related to unhealthy food choices. What appears to be the crucial factor is the type of perseverative thinking that people engage in post-work. Limitations and future directions are discussed. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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The Effect of a Recessionary Economy on Food Choice: Implications for Nutrition Education
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Miller, Carla K.; Branscum, Paul
2012-01-01
Objective: To determine the effect of an economic recession on food choice behaviors. Design: A qualitative study using semistructured, in-depth interviews followed by completion of a nutrition knowledge questionnaire and the Food Choice Questionnaire was conducted. Setting and Participants: A convenience sample from a metropolitan city in the…
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Improving Nutrition Education in U.S. Elementary Schools: Challenges and Opportunities
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Perera, Thushanthi; Frei, Simone; Frei, Balz; Wong, Siew Sun; Bobe, Gerd
2015-01-01
Poor food choices in childhood are core contributors to obesity and chronic diseases during adolescence and adulthood. Food choices and dietary behaviors develop in childhood and are difficult to change in adulthood. Nutrition education in elementary schools can provide children with the information and skills to develop healthy food choices and…
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Parents' food choice motives and their associations with children's food preferences.
Russell, Catherine G; Worsley, Anthony; Liem, Djin G
2015-04-01
The objective was to investigate parents' motives for selecting foods for their children and the associations between these motives and children's food preferences. Cross-sectional survey. A modified version of the Food Choice Questionnaire was used to assess parents' food choice motives. Parents also reported children's liking/disliking of 176 food and beverage items on 5-point Likert scales. Patterns of food choice motives were examined with exploratory principal component analysis. Associations between motives and children's food preferences were assessed with linear regression while one-way and two-way ANOVA were used to test for sociodemographic differences. Two Australian cities. Parents (n 371) of 2-5-year-old children. Health, nutrition and taste were key motivators for parents, whereas price, political concerns and advertising were among the motives considered least important. The more parents' food choice for their children was driven by what their children wanted, the less children liked vegetables (β =-0·27, P<0·01), fruit (β=-0·19, P<0·01) and cereals (β=-0·28, P<0·01) and the higher the number of untried foods (r=0·17, P<0·01). The reverse was found for parents' focus on natural/ethical motives (vegetables β=0·17, P<0·01; fruit β=0·17, P<0·01; cereals β=0·14, P=0·01). Health and nutrition motives bordered on statistical significance as predictors of children's fruit and vegetable preferences. Although parents appear well intentioned in their motives for selecting children's foods, there are gaps to be addressed in the nature of such motives (e.g. selecting foods in line with the child's desires) or the translation of health motives into healthy food choices.
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Residents' choice of and control over food in care homes.
Winterburn, Susan
2009-04-01
This study aimed to map food pathways in care homes to identify how residents exercised choice and control over their food intake and any associated or influencing factors. Four homes were visited, interviews were conducted with chefs and nursing staff and the dining facilities were noted. It was found that residents were dependent on the care home for the provision of food. There was almost no direct contact between residents and external food retailers. A food map was constructed, which identified three routes for potential improvements in practice: supply and delivery of food; serving of food; and consumption of food. Residents' choice and control over food could be improved through the design of new products for serving and consumption of food and eating aids, access to local food retailers and nutritional training.
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Optimized bioregenerative space diet selection with crew choice
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Vicens, Carrie; Wang, Carolyn; Olabi, Ammar; Jackson, Peter; Hunter, Jean
2003-01-01
Previous studies on optimization of crew diets have not accounted for choice. A diet selection model with crew choice was developed. Scenario analyses were conducted to assess the feasibility and cost of certain crew preferences, such as preferences for numerous-desserts, high-salt, and high-acceptability foods. For comparison purposes, a no-choice and a random-choice scenario were considered. The model was found to be feasible in terms of food variety and overall costs. The numerous-desserts, high-acceptability, and random-choice scenarios all resulted in feasible solutions costing between 13.2 and 17.3 kg ESM/person-day. Only the high-sodium scenario yielded an infeasible solution. This occurred when the foods highest in salt content were selected for the crew-choice portion of the diet. This infeasibility can be avoided by limiting the total sodium content in the crew-choice portion of the diet. Cost savings were found by reducing food variety in scenarios where the preference bias strongly affected nutritional content.
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Silva-Soares, Nuno F; Nogueira-Alves, A; Beldade, P; Mirth, Christen Kerry
2017-06-07
Understanding how species adapt to new niches is a central issue in evolutionary ecology. Nutrition is vital for the survival of all organisms and impacts species fitness and distribution. While most Drosophila species exploit rotting plant parts, some species have diversified to use ripe fruit, allowing earlier colonization. The decomposition of plant material is facilitated by yeast colonization and proliferation. These yeasts serve as the main protein source for Drosophila larvae. This dynamic rotting process entails changes in the nutritional composition of the food and other properties, and animals feeding on material at different stages of decay are expected to have behavioural and nutritional adaptations. We compared larval performance, feeding behaviour and adult oviposition site choice between the ripe fruit colonizer and invasive pest Drosophila suzukii, and a closely-related rotting fruit colonizer, Drosophila biarmipes. Through the manipulation of protein:carbohydrate ratios in artificial diets, we found that D. suzukii larvae perform better at lower protein concentrations and consume less protein rich diets relative to D. biarmipes. For adult oviposition, these species differed in preference for substrate hardness, but not for the substrate nutritional composition. Our findings highlight that rather than being an exclusive specialist on ripe fruit, D. suzukii's adaptation to use ripening fruit allow it to colonize a wider range of food substrates than D. biarmipes, which is limited to soft foods with higher protein concentrations. Our results underscore the importance of nutritional performance and feeding behaviours in the colonization of new food niches.
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Food Choice and Nutrition: A Social Psychological Perspective.
Hardcastle, Sarah J; Thøgersen-Ntoumani, Cecilie; Chatzisarantis, Nikos L D
2015-10-01
In this Special Issue, entitled "Food choice and Nutrition: A Social Psychological Perspective", three broad themes have been identified: (1) social and environmental influences on food choice; (2) psychological influences on eating behaviour; and (3) eating behaviour profiling.The studies that addressed the social and environmental influences indicated that further research would do well to promote positive food choices rather than reduce negative food choices; promote the reading and interpretation of food labels and find ways to effectively market healthy food choices through accessibility, availability and presentation. The studies on psychological influences found that intentions, perceived behavioural control, and confidence were predictors of healthy eating. Given the importance of psychological factors, such as perceived behavioural control and self-efficacy, healthy eating interventions should reduce barriers to healthy eating and foster perceptions of confidence to consume a healthy diet. The final theme focused on the clustering of individuals according to eating behaviour. Some "types" of individuals reported more frequent consumption of fast foods, ready meals or convenience meals or greater levels of disinhibitiona nd less control over food cravings. Intervention designs which make use of multi-level strategies as advocated by the Ecological Model of Behaviour change that proposes multi-level (combining psychological, social and environmental) strategies are likely to be more effective in reaching and engaging individuals susceptible to unhealthy eating habits than interventions operating on a single level.
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Pricing decisions from experience: the roles of information-acquisition and response modes.
Golan, Hagai; Ert, Eyal
2015-03-01
While pricing decisions that are based on experience are quite common, e.g., setting a selling price for a used car, this type of decision has been surprisingly overlooked in psychology and decision research. Previous studies have focused on either choice decisions from experience, or pricing decisions from description. Those studies revealed that pricing involves cognitive mechanisms other than choice, while experience-based decisions involve mechanisms that differ from description-based ones. Thus, the mutual effect of pricing and experience on decision-making remains unclear. To test this effect, we experimentally compared real-money pricing decisions from experience with those from description, and with choices from experience. The results show that the mode of acquiring information affects pricing: the tendency to underprice high-probability prospects and overprice low-probability ones is diminished when pricing is based on experience rather than description. The findings further reveal attenuation of the tendency to underweight rare events, which underlies choices from experience, in pricing decisions from experience. The difference occurs because the response mode affects the search effort and decision strategy in decisions from experience. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Howard, James D.
2017-01-01
Goal-directed behavior is sensitive to the current value of expected outcomes. This requires independent representations of specific rewards, which have been linked to orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) function. However, the mechanisms by which the human brain updates specific goals on the fly, and translates those updates into choices, have remained unknown. Here we implemented selective devaluation of appetizing food odors in combination with pattern-based neuroimaging and a decision-making task. We found that in a hungry state, participants chose to smell high-intensity versions of two value-matched food odor rewards. After eating a meal corresponding to one of the two odors, participants switched choices toward the low intensity of the sated odor but continued to choose the high intensity of the nonsated odor. This sensory-specific behavioral effect was mirrored by pattern-based changes in fMRI signal in lateral posterior OFC, where specific reward identity representations were altered after the meal for the sated food odor but retained for the nonsated counterpart. In addition, changes in functional connectivity between the OFC and general value coding in ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) predicted individual differences in satiety-related choice behavior. These findings demonstrate how flexible representations of specific rewards in the OFC are updated by devaluation, and how functional connections to vmPFC reflect the current value of outcomes and guide goal-directed behavior. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is critical for goal-directed behavior. A recent proposal is that OFC fulfills this function by representing a variety of state and task variables (“cognitive maps”), including a conjunction of expected reward identity and value. Here we tested how identity-specific representations of food odor reward are updated by satiety. We found that fMRI pattern-based signatures of reward identity in lateral posterior OFC were modulated after selective devaluation, and that connectivity between this region and general value coding ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) predicted choice behavior. These results provide evidence for a mechanism by which devaluation modulates a cognitive map of expected reward in OFC and thereby alters general value signals in vmPFC to guide goal-directed behavior. PMID:28159906
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Neural signatures of experience-based improvements in deterministic decision-making.
Tremel, Joshua J; Laurent, Patryk A; Wolk, David A; Wheeler, Mark E; Fiez, Julie A
2016-12-15
Feedback about our choices is a crucial part of how we gather information and learn from our environment. It provides key information about decision experiences that can be used to optimize future choices. However, our understanding of the processes through which feedback translates into improved decision-making is lacking. Using neuroimaging (fMRI) and cognitive models of decision-making and learning, we examined the influence of feedback on multiple aspects of decision processes across learning. Subjects learned correct choices to a set of 50 word pairs across eight repetitions of a concurrent discrimination task. Behavioral measures were then analyzed with both a drift-diffusion model and a reinforcement learning model. Parameter values from each were then used as fMRI regressors to identify regions whose activity fluctuates with specific cognitive processes described by the models. The patterns of intersecting neural effects across models support two main inferences about the influence of feedback on decision-making. First, frontal, anterior insular, fusiform, and caudate nucleus regions behave like performance monitors, reflecting errors in performance predictions that signal the need for changes in control over decision-making. Second, temporoparietal, supplementary motor, and putamen regions behave like mnemonic storage sites, reflecting differences in learned item values that inform optimal decision choices. As information about optimal choices is accrued, these neural systems dynamically adjust, likely shifting the burden of decision processing from controlled performance monitoring to bottom-up, stimulus-driven choice selection. Collectively, the results provide a detailed perspective on the fundamental ability to use past experiences to improve future decisions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Neural signatures of experience-based improvements in deterministic decision-making
Tremel, Joshua J.; Laurent, Patryk A.; Wolk, David A.; Wheeler, Mark E.; Fiez, Julie A.
2016-01-01
Feedback about our choices is a crucial part of how we gather information and learn from our environment. It provides key information about decision experiences that can be used to optimize future choices. However, our understanding of the processes through which feedback translates into improved decision-making is lacking. Using neuroimaging (fMRI) and cognitive models of decision-making and learning, we examined the influence of feedback on multiple aspects of decision processes across learning. Subjects learned correct choices to a set of 50 word pairs across eight repetitions of a concurrent discrimination task. Behavioral measures were then analyzed with both a drift-diffusion model and a reinforcement learning model. Parameter values from each were then used as fMRI regressors to identify regions whose activity fluctuates with specific cognitive processes described by the models. The patterns of intersecting neural effects across models support two main inferences about the influence of feedback on decision-making. First, frontal, anterior insular, fusiform, and caudate nucleus regions behave like performance monitors, reflecting errors in performance predictions that signal the need for changes in control over decision-making. Second, temporoparietal, supplementary motor, and putamen regions behave like mnemonic storage sites, reflecting differences in learned item values that inform optimal decision choices. As information about optimal choices is accrued, these neural systems dynamically adjust, likely shifting the burden of decision processing from controlled performance monitoring to bottom-up, stimulus-driven choice selection. Collectively, the results provide a detailed perspective on the fundamental ability to use past experiences to improve future decisions. PMID:27523644
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Bucher, Tamara; Collins, Clare; Rollo, Megan E; McCaffrey, Tracy A; De Vlieger, Nienke; Van der Bend, Daphne; Truby, Helen; Perez-Cueto, Federico J A
2016-06-01
Nudging or 'choice architecture' refers to strategic changes in the environment that are anticipated to alter people's behaviour in a predictable way, without forbidding any options or significantly changing their economic incentives. Nudging strategies may be used to promote healthy eating behaviour. However, to date, the scientific evidence has not been systematically reviewed to enable practitioners and policymakers to implement, or argue for the implementation of, specific measures to support nudging strategies. This systematic review investigated the effect of positional changes of food placement on food choice. In total, seven scientific databases were searched using relevant keywords to identify interventions that manipulated food position (proximity or order) to generate a change in food selection, sales or consumption, among normal-weight or overweight individuals across any age group. From 2576 identified articles, fifteen articles comprising eighteen studies met our inclusion criteria. This review has identified that manipulation of food product order or proximity can influence food choice. Such approaches offer promise in terms of impacting on consumer behaviour. However, there is a need for high-quality studies that quantify the magnitude of positional effects on food choice in conjunction with measuring the impact on food intake, particularly in the longer term. Future studies should use outcome measures such as change in grams of food consumed or energy intake to quantify the impact on dietary intake and potential impacts on nutrition-related health. Research is also needed to evaluate potential compensatory behaviours secondary to such interventions.
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Li, Qi; Qin, Shaozheng; Rao, Li-Lin; Zhang, Wencai; Ying, Xiaoping; Guo, Xiuyan; Guo, Chunyan; Ding, Jinghong; Li, Shu; Luo, Jing
2011-01-01
The vast majority of decision-making research is performed under the assumption of the value maximizing principle. This principle implies that when making decisions, individuals try to optimize outcomes on the basis of cold mathematical equations. However, decisions are emotion-laden rather than cool and analytic when they tap into life-threatening considerations. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), this study investigated the neural mechanisms underlying vital loss decisions. Participants were asked to make a forced choice between two losses across three conditions: both losses are trivial (trivial-trivial), both losses are vital (vital-vital), or one loss is trivial and the other is vital (vital-trivial). Our results revealed that the amygdala was more active and correlated positively with self-reported negative emotion associated with choice during vital-vital loss decisions, when compared to trivial-trivial loss decisions. The rostral anterior cingulate cortex was also more active and correlated positively with self-reported difficulty of choice during vital-vital loss decisions. Compared to the activity observed during trivial-trivial loss decisions, the orbitofrontal cortex and ventral striatum were more active and correlated positively with self-reported positive emotion of choice during vital-trivial loss decisions. Our findings suggest that vital loss decisions involve emotions and cannot be adequately captured by cold computation of minimizing losses. This research will shed light on how people make vital loss decisions. PMID:21412428
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Real Returns to Career Decisions: The Physician's Specialty and Location Choices.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Langwell, Kathryn M.
1980-01-01
Studies the physician's choice of a practice location as a factor influencing lifetime earnings. Also, computations of net present values associates with the decision to specialize, rather than enter general or family practice, suggest that returns to specialty choice are highly dependent upon the choice of a practice location. (CT)
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Regulatory Fit and Systematic Exploration in a Dynamic Decision-Making Environment
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Otto, A. Ross; Markman, Arthur B.; Gureckis, Todd M.; Love, Bradley C.
2010-01-01
This work explores the influence of motivation on choice behavior in a dynamic decision-making environment, where the payoffs from each choice depend on one's recent choice history. Previous research reveals that participants in a regulatory fit exhibit increased levels of exploratory choice and flexible use of multiple strategies over the course…
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Reinforcement learning and decision making in monkeys during a competitive game.
Lee, Daeyeol; Conroy, Michelle L; McGreevy, Benjamin P; Barraclough, Dominic J
2004-12-01
Animals living in a dynamic environment must adjust their decision-making strategies through experience. To gain insights into the neural basis of such adaptive decision-making processes, we trained monkeys to play a competitive game against a computer in an oculomotor free-choice task. The animal selected one of two visual targets in each trial and was rewarded only when it selected the same target as the computer opponent. To determine how the animal's decision-making strategy can be affected by the opponent's strategy, the computer opponent was programmed with three different algorithms that exploited different aspects of the animal's choice and reward history. When the computer selected its targets randomly with equal probabilities, animals selected one of the targets more often, violating the prediction of probability matching, and their choices were systematically influenced by the choice history of the two players. When the computer exploited only the animal's choice history but not its reward history, animal's choice became more independent of its own choice history but was still related to the choice history of the opponent. This bias was substantially reduced, but not completely eliminated, when the computer used the choice history of both players in making its predictions. These biases were consistent with the predictions of reinforcement learning, suggesting that the animals sought optimal decision-making strategies using reinforcement learning algorithms.
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Rigorously testing multialternative decision field theory against random utility models.
Berkowitsch, Nicolas A J; Scheibehenne, Benjamin; Rieskamp, Jörg
2014-06-01
Cognitive models of decision making aim to explain the process underlying observed choices. Here, we test a sequential sampling model of decision making, multialternative decision field theory (MDFT; Roe, Busemeyer, & Townsend, 2001), on empirical grounds and compare it against 2 established random utility models of choice: the probit and the logit model. Using a within-subject experimental design, participants in 2 studies repeatedly choose among sets of options (consumer products) described on several attributes. The results of Study 1 showed that all models predicted participants' choices equally well. In Study 2, in which the choice sets were explicitly designed to distinguish the models, MDFT had an advantage in predicting the observed choices. Study 2 further revealed the occurrence of multiple context effects within single participants, indicating an interdependent evaluation of choice options and correlations between different context effects. In sum, the results indicate that sequential sampling models can provide relevant insights into the cognitive process underlying preferential choices and thus can lead to better choice predictions. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.
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Factors Influencing Food Choices Among Older Adults in the Rural Western USA.
Byker Shanks, Carmen; Haack, Sarah; Tarabochia, Dawn; Bates, Kate; Christenson, Lori
2017-06-01
Nutrition is an essential component in promoting health and quality of life into the older adults years. The purpose of this qualitative research is to explore how the rural food environment influences food choices of older adults. Four focus groups were conducted with 33 older adults (50 years of age and older) residing in rural Montana communities. Four major themes related to factors influencing food choices among rural older adults emerged from this study: perception of the rural community environment, support as a means of increasing food access, personal access to food sources, and dietary factors. The findings from this current study warrant further research and promotion of specifically tailored approaches that influence the food choices of older adults in the rural western USA, including the developing and expanding public transportation systems, increasing availability of local grocers with quality and affordable food options, increasing awareness and decreasing stigma surrounding community food programs, and increasing nutrition education targeting senior health issues.
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The Neural Basis of Risky Choice with Affective Outcomes
Suter, Renata S.; Pachur, Thorsten; Hertwig, Ralph; Endestad, Tor; Biele, Guido
2015-01-01
Both normative and many descriptive theories of decision making under risk are based on the notion that outcomes are weighted by their probability, with subsequent maximization of the (subjective) expected outcome. Numerous investigations from psychology, economics, and neuroscience have produced evidence consistent with this notion. However, this research has typically investigated choices involving relatively affect-poor, monetary outcomes. We compared choice in relatively affect-poor, monetary lottery problems with choice in relatively affect-rich medical decision problems. Computational modeling of behavioral data and model-based neuroimaging analyses provide converging evidence for substantial differences in the respective decision mechanisms. Relative to affect-poor choices, affect-rich choices yielded a more strongly curved probability weighting function of cumulative prospect theory, thus signaling that the psychological impact of probabilities is strongly diminished for affect-rich outcomes. Examining task-dependent brain activation, we identified a region-by-condition interaction indicating qualitative differences of activation between affect-rich and affect-poor choices. Moreover, brain activation in regions that were more active during affect-poor choices (e.g., the supramarginal gyrus) correlated with individual trial-by-trial decision weights, indicating that these regions reflect processing of probabilities. Formal reverse inference Neurosynth meta-analyses suggested that whereas affect-poor choices seem to be based on brain mechanisms for calculative processes, affect-rich choices are driven by the representation of outcomes’ emotional value and autobiographical memories associated with them. These results provide evidence that the traditional notion of expectation maximization may not apply in the context of outcomes laden with affective responses, and that understanding the brain mechanisms of decision making requires the domain of the decision to be taken into account. PMID:25830918
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Effects of context on risk taking and decision times in obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Sip, Kamila E; Muratore, Alexandra F; Stern, Emily R
2016-04-01
Despite the fact that OCD patients show altered decision making in everyday life, few studies have investigated how patients make risky decisions and what contextual factors impact choices. We investigated cognitive context with the use of the "framing effect" task, which investigates decision making based on whether monetarily equivalent choice options are framed in terms of a potential to either lose (lose $20 out of $50) or gain (gain $30 out of $50) money. In addition, we manipulated social context by providing positive or neutral feedback on subjects' choices. Overall, participants were risk taking for options framed in terms of potential loss and risk averse for options framed in terms of potential gain (the classic framing effect). Although OCD patients were generally more risk averse, the effect of the frame on choices did not differ significantly from healthy participants and choices were not impacted by social context. Within OCD patients, greater self-reported indecisiveness was associated with a larger effect of the frame on choices. OCD patients were also significantly slower to make choices in the loss compared to gain frame, an effect that was not observed among healthy participants. Overall, our results suggest that the framing of choice options has a differential effect on decision times but not the actual choices made by OCD patients, and that patients are not sensitive to social feedback when making choices. The correlation between indecisiveness and the framing effect in OCD suggests that further work interrogating the relationship between specific symptoms and decision making among patients may yield new insights into the disorder. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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The neural basis of risky choice with affective outcomes.
Suter, Renata S; Pachur, Thorsten; Hertwig, Ralph; Endestad, Tor; Biele, Guido
2015-01-01
Both normative and many descriptive theories of decision making under risk are based on the notion that outcomes are weighted by their probability, with subsequent maximization of the (subjective) expected outcome. Numerous investigations from psychology, economics, and neuroscience have produced evidence consistent with this notion. However, this research has typically investigated choices involving relatively affect-poor, monetary outcomes. We compared choice in relatively affect-poor, monetary lottery problems with choice in relatively affect-rich medical decision problems. Computational modeling of behavioral data and model-based neuroimaging analyses provide converging evidence for substantial differences in the respective decision mechanisms. Relative to affect-poor choices, affect-rich choices yielded a more strongly curved probability weighting function of cumulative prospect theory, thus signaling that the psychological impact of probabilities is strongly diminished for affect-rich outcomes. Examining task-dependent brain activation, we identified a region-by-condition interaction indicating qualitative differences of activation between affect-rich and affect-poor choices. Moreover, brain activation in regions that were more active during affect-poor choices (e.g., the supramarginal gyrus) correlated with individual trial-by-trial decision weights, indicating that these regions reflect processing of probabilities. Formal reverse inference Neurosynth meta-analyses suggested that whereas affect-poor choices seem to be based on brain mechanisms for calculative processes, affect-rich choices are driven by the representation of outcomes' emotional value and autobiographical memories associated with them. These results provide evidence that the traditional notion of expectation maximization may not apply in the context of outcomes laden with affective responses, and that understanding the brain mechanisms of decision making requires the domain of the decision to be taken into account.
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Food Store Choice Among Urban Slum Women Is Associated With Consumption of Energy-Dense Food.
Anggraini, Roselynne; Februhartanty, Judhiastuty; Bardosono, Saptawati; Khusun, Helda; Worsley, Anthony
2016-07-01
The aim of this study was to examine the associations of food store choice with food consumption among urban slum women. A cross-sectional survey was carried out among 188 urban slum women (19-50 years old) in Jakarta, Indonesia. A semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire was used to assess food consumption. Associations between food consumption and food store choice were tested by linear regression. This study found that frequencies of buying food from small shops (warung), street food vendors, and modern food stores were significantly associated with consumption of snacks, mixed dishes, and fruit respectively. In addition, buying food from traditional markets and small cafes (warung makan) was not significantly associated with particular types of food consumption. As modern food stores are rarely utilized by these women, small shops (warung) and street food vendors are likely to be important channels to improve slum dwellers' diet. © 2016 APJPH.
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Influence of social norms and palatability on amount consumed and food choice.
Pliner, Patricia; Mann, Nikki
2004-04-01
In two parallel studies, we examined the effect of social influence and palatability on amount consumed and on food choice. In Experiment 1, which looked at amount consumed, participants were provided with either palatable or unpalatable food; they were also given information about how much previous participants had eaten (large or small amounts) or were given no information. In the case of palatable food, participants ate more when led to believe that prior participants had eaten a great deal than when led to believe that prior participants had eaten small amounts or when provided with no information. This social-influence effect was not present when participants received unpalatable food. In Experiment 2, which looked at food choice, some participants learned that prior participants had chosen the palatable food, others learned that prior participants had chosen the unpalatable food, while still others received no information about prior participants' choices. The social-influence manipulation had no effect on participants' food choices; nearly all of them chose the palatable food. The results were discussed in the context of Churchfield's (1995) distinction between judgments about matters of fact and judgments about preferences. The results were also used to illustrate the importance of palatability as a determinant of eating behavior.
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Devlin, Sandra L.
This study sought to determine the effectiveness of a nutrition education program, "Food...Your Choice," in improving nutrition knowledge among selected second-grade students. ("Food ...Your Choice," developed by the National Dairy Council, consists of six grade-level units, with lesson plans, worksheets, posters, and activity…
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Multi-Stage Mental Process for Economic Choice in Capuchins
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Padoa-Schioppa, Camillo; Jandolo, Lucia; Visalberghi, Elisabetta
2006-01-01
We studied economic choice behavior in capuchin monkeys by offering them to choose between two different foods available in variable amounts. When monkeys selected between familiar foods, their choice patterns were well-described in terms of relative value of the two foods. A leading view in economics and biology is that such behavior results from…
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Dowd, Kylie; Burke, Karena J
2013-10-01
This study examined a three-step adaptation of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) applied to the intention of consumers to purchase sustainably sourced food. The sample consisted of 137 participants, of which 109 were female, who were recruited through a farmers market and an organic produce outlet in an Australian capital city. Participants completed an online questionnaire containing the TPB scales of attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control and intention; measures of positive moral attitude and ethical self identity; and food choice motives. Hierarchical multiple regression was used to examine the predictive utility of the TPB in isolation (step 1) and the TPB expanded to include the constructs of moral attitude and ethical self-identity (step 2). The results indicated the expansion of the TPB to include these constructs added significantly to the predictive model measuring intention to purchase sustainably sourced food. The third step in the adaptation utilised this expanded TPB model and added a measure of retail channel (where consumers reported buying fresh produce) and 9 food choice motives, in order to assess the predictive utility of the inclusion of choice motivations in this context. Of the 8 food choice motives examined, only health and ethical values significantly predicted intention to purchase sustainably sourced food. However, with the addition of food choice motives, ethical self-identity was no longer a significant predictor of intention to purchase sustainably sourced food. Overall the adapted TPB model explained 76% of the variance in intention to purchase sustainably sourced food. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Hermens, Frouke; Matthews, William J.
2015-01-01
Abstract We asked participants to make simple risky choices while we recorded their eye movements. We built a complete statistical model of the eye movements and found very little systematic variation in eye movements over the time course of a choice or across the different choices. The only exceptions were finding more (of the same) eye movements when choice options were similar, and an emerging gaze bias in which people looked more at the gamble they ultimately chose. These findings are inconsistent with prospect theory, the priority heuristic, or decision field theory. However, the eye movements made during a choice have a large relationship with the final choice, and this is mostly independent from the contribution of the actual attribute values in the choice options. That is, eye movements tell us not just about the processing of attribute values but also are independently associated with choice. The pattern is simple—people choose the gamble they look at more often, independently of the actual numbers they see—and this pattern is simpler than predicted by decision field theory, decision by sampling, and the parallel constraint satisfaction model. © 2015 The Authors. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. PMID:27522985
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Health promotion messages: the role of social presence for food choices.
Bittner, Jenny V; Kulesz, Micaela M
2015-04-01
We investigated whether social presence cues encourage consumers to self-regulate and select healthier food products. In the first experiment, workers completed food choices in an e-commerce environment. After the activation of health-related goals, they saw a social presence cue and were asked to choose between healthy and unhealthy food options. The analyses revealed main effects of social presence and health goal activation on food choices. These effects were additive, such that the combination of social presence and health goals induced significantly healthier choices compared with the control group. The second experiment further examined social presence cues that were presented on a menu. The results showed significant effects on food choices and on the perceived self-regulatory success in dieting. These findings indicate that social presence cues could be employed to increase healthful eating and, furthermore, that it may be useful to co-activate multiple cues in health promotion messages. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Food choices and peer relationships: Examining 'a taste for necessity' in a network context.
Pachucki, Mark C
2014-01-01
The knowledge of how our taste preferences in food are shaped by our social lives has largely developed without attention to the roles played by relationships with other people. While the well-known sociological work of Pierre Bourdieu highlights the relationship of economic, cultural, and social capital with food consumption, very little scholarship concerned with food has given explicit empirical attention to social network connectivity as a form of social capital. To bridge this gap, this investigation utilizes data from a prospective cohort study of health in which both the food choices of several thousand individuals and their social ties with peers are examined. Comparing the relative social connectedness of individuals and their common food choices provides a new perspective on taste formation and maintenance and provides new evidence of how interpersonal mechanisms play a role in food choice and taste preferences.
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Food choices and peer relationships: Examining ‘a taste for necessity’ in a network context
Pachucki, Mark C.
2016-01-01
The knowledge of how our taste preferences in food are shaped by our social lives has largely developed without attention to the roles played by relationships with other people. While the well-known sociological work of Pierre Bourdieu highlights the relationship of economic, cultural, and social capital with food consumption, very little scholarship concerned with food has given explicit empirical attention to social network connectivity as a form of social capital. To bridge this gap, this investigation utilizes data from a prospective cohort study of health in which both the food choices of several thousand individuals and their social ties with peers are examined. Comparing the relative social connectedness of individuals and their common food choices provides a new perspective on taste formation and maintenance and provides new evidence of how interpersonal mechanisms play a role in food choice and taste preferences. PMID:27226654
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Hollands, Gareth J; Prestwich, Andrew; Marteau, Theresa M
2011-03-01
To examine the effect of communicating images of energy-dense snack foods paired with aversive images of the potential health consequences of unhealthy eating, on implicit and explicit attitudes and food choice behavior. Participants were randomly allocated to either an evaluative conditioning (EC) procedure that paired images of snack foods with images of potential adverse health consequences or a control condition that featured images of snack foods alone. Implicit attitudes were assessed pre- and post-intervention. Explicit attitudes and food choice behavior were assessed post-intervention. The conditioning intervention made implicit attitudes toward energy-dense snacks more negative, with this effect greatest in those with relatively more favorable implicit attitudes toward these snacks at baseline. Participants in the conditioning intervention were more likely to choose fruit rather than snacks in a behavioral choice task, a relationship mediated by changes in implicit attitudes. Presenting aversive images of potential health consequences with those of specific foodstuffs can change implicit attitudes, which impacts on subsequent food choice behavior. (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved
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Wildhaber, Mark L.; Lamberson, Peter J.
2004-01-01
Various mechanisms of habitat choice in fishes based on food and/or temperature have been proposed: optimal foraging for food alone; behavioral thermoregulation for temperature alone; and behavioral energetics and discounted matching for food and temperature combined. Along with development of habitat choice mechanisms, there has been a major push to develop and apply to fish populations individual-based models that incorporate various forms of these mechanisms. However, it is not known how the wide variation in observed and hypothesized mechanisms of fish habitat choice could alter fish population predictions (e.g. growth, size distributions, etc.). We used spatially explicit, individual-based modeling to compare predicted fish populations using different submodels of patch choice behavior under various food and temperature distributions. We compared predicted growth, temperature experience, food consumption, and final spatial distribution using the different models. Our results demonstrated that the habitat choice mechanism assumed in fish population modeling simulations was critical to predictions of fish distribution and growth rates. Hence, resource managers who use modeling results to predict fish population trends should be very aware of and understand the underlying patch choice mechanisms used in their models to assure that those mechanisms correctly represent the fish populations being modeled.
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Miller, Jane; Lee, Amanda; Obersky, Natalie; Edwards, Rachael
2015-06-01
The present paper reports on a quality improvement activity examining implementation of A Better Choice Healthy Food and Drink Supply Strategy for Queensland Health Facilities (A Better Choice). A Better Choice is a policy to increase supply and promotion of healthy foods and drinks and decrease supply and promotion of energy-dense, nutrient-poor choices in all food supply areas including food outlets, staff dining rooms, vending machines, tea trolleys, coffee carts, leased premises, catering, fundraising, promotion and advertising. An online survey targeted 278 facility managers to collect self-reported quantitative and qualitative data. Telephone interviews were sought concurrently with the twenty-five A Better Choice district contact officers to gather qualitative information. Public sector-owned and -operated health facilities in Queensland, Australia. One hundred and thirty-four facility managers and twenty-four district contact officers participated with response rates of 48.2% and 96.0%, respectively. Of facility managers, 78.4% reported implementation of more than half of the A Better Choice requirements including 24.6% who reported full strategy implementation. Reported implementation was highest in food outlets, staff dining rooms, tea trolleys, coffee carts, internal catering and drink vending machines. Reported implementation was more problematic in snack vending machines, external catering, leased premises and fundraising. Despite methodological challenges, the study suggests that policy approaches to improve the food and drink supply can be implemented successfully in public-sector health facilities, although results can be limited in some areas. A Better Choice may provide a model for improving food supply in other health and workplace settings.
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Britten, Patricia; Cleveland, Linda E; Koegel, Kristin L; Kuczynski, Kevin J; Nickols-Richardson, Sharon M
2012-10-01
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Patterns, released as part of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, are designed to meet nutrient needs without exceeding energy requirements. They identify amounts to consume from each food group and recommend that nutrient-dense forms-lean or low-fat, without added sugars or salt-be consumed. Americans fall short of most food group intake targets and do not consume foods in nutrient-dense forms. Intake of calories from solid fats and added sugars exceed maximum limits by large margins. Our aim was to determine the potential effect on meeting USDA Food Pattern nutrient adequacy and moderation goals if Americans consumed the recommended quantities from each food group, but did not implement the advice to select nutrient-dense forms of food and instead made more typical food choices. Food-pattern modeling analysis using the USDA Food Patterns, which are structured to allow modifications in one or more aspects of the patterns, was used. Nutrient profiles for each food group were modified by replacing each nutrient-dense representative food with a similar but typical choice. Typical nutrient profiles were used to determine the energy and nutrient content of the food patterns. Moderation goals are not met when amounts of food in the USDA Food Patterns are followed and typical rather than nutrient-dense food choices are made. Energy, total fat, saturated fat, and sodium exceed limits in all patterns, often by substantial margins. With typical choices, calories were 15% to 30% (ie, 350 to 450 kcal) above the target calorie level for each pattern. Adequacy goals were not substantially affected by the use of typical food choices. If consumers consume the recommended quantities from each food group and subgroup, but fail to choose foods in low-fat, no-added-sugars, and low-sodium forms, they will not meet the USDA Food Patterns moderation goals or the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Copyright © 2012 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Centrally Administered Ghrelin Acutely Influences Food Choice in Rodents
Schéle, Erik; Bake, Tina; Rabasa, Cristina; Dickson, Suzanne L.
2016-01-01
We sought to determine whether the orexigenic hormone, ghrelin, is involved in the intrinsic regulation of food choice in rats. Ghrelin would seem suited to serve such a role given that it signals hunger information from the stomach to brain areas important for feeding control, including the hypothalamus and reward system (e.g. ventral tegmental area, VTA). Thus, in rats offered a choice of palatable foods (sucrose pellets and lard) superimposed on regular chow for 2 weeks, we explored whether acute central delivery of ghrelin (intracerebroventricular (ICV) or intra-VTA) is able to redirect their dietary choice. The major unexpected finding is that, in rats with high baseline lard intake, acute ICV ghrelin injection increased their chow intake over 3-fold, relative to vehicle-injected controls, measured at both 3 hr and 6 hr after injection. Similar effects were observed when ghrelin was delivered to the VTA, thereby identifying the VTA as a likely contributing neurobiological substrate for these effects. We also explored food choice after an overnight fast, when endogenous ghrelin levels are elevated, and found similar effects of dietary choice to those described for ghrelin. These effects of fasting on food choice were suppressed in models of suppressed ghrelin signaling (i.e. peripheral injection of a ghrelin receptor antagonist to rats and ghrelin receptor (GHSR) knock-out mice), implicating a role for endogenous ghrelin in the changes in food choice that occur after an overnight fast. Thus, in line with its role as a gut-brain hunger hormone, ghrelin appears to be able to acutely alter food choice, with notable effects to promote “healthy” chow intake, and identify the VTA as a likely contributing neurobiological substrate for these effects. PMID:26925974
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Neurophysiological Pathways to Obesity: Below Awareness and Beyond Individual Control
Cohen, Deborah A.
2008-01-01
A global obesity epidemic is occurring simultaneously with ongoing increases in the availability and salience of food in the environment. Obesity is increasing across all socioeconomic groups and educational levels and occurs even among individuals with the highest levels of education and expertise in nutrition and related fields. Given these circumstances, it is plausible that excessive food consumption occurs in ways that defy personal insight or are below individual awareness. The current food environment stimulates automatic reflexive responses that enhance the desire to eat and increase caloric intake, making it exceedingly difficult for individuals to resist, especially because they may not be aware of these influences. This article identifies 10 neurophysiological pathways that can lead people to make food choices subconsciously or, in some cases, automatically. These pathways include reflexive and uncontrollable neurohormonal responses to food images, cues, and smells; mirror neurons that cause people to imitate the eating behavior of others without awareness; and limited cognitive capacity to make informed decisions about food. Given that people have limited ability to shape the food environment individually and no ability to control automatic responses to food-related cues that are unconsciously perceived, it is incumbent upon society as a whole to regulate the food environment, including the number and types of food-related cues, portion sizes, food availability, and food advertising. PMID:18586908
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Models of Affective Decision Making
Charpentier, Caroline J.; De Neve, Jan-Emmanuel; Li, Xinyi; Roiser, Jonathan P.; Sharot, Tali
2016-01-01
Intuitively, how you feel about potential outcomes will determine your decisions. Indeed, an implicit assumption in one of the most influential theories in psychology, prospect theory, is that feelings govern choice. Surprisingly, however, very little is known about the rules by which feelings are transformed into decisions. Here, we specified a computational model that used feelings to predict choices. We found that this model predicted choice better than existing value-based models, showing a unique contribution of feelings to decisions, over and above value. Similar to the value function in prospect theory, our feeling function showed diminished sensitivity to outcomes as value increased. However, loss aversion in choice was explained by an asymmetry in how feelings about losses and gains were weighted when making a decision, not by an asymmetry in the feelings themselves. The results provide new insights into how feelings are utilized to reach a decision. PMID:27071751
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Emotion and decision making: multiple modulatory neural circuits.
Phelps, Elizabeth A; Lempert, Karolina M; Sokol-Hessner, Peter
2014-01-01
Although the prevalent view of emotion and decision making is derived from the notion that there are dual systems of emotion and reason, a modulatory relationship more accurately reflects the current research in affective neuroscience and neuroeconomics. Studies show two potential mechanisms for affect's modulation of the computation of subjective value and decisions. Incidental affective states may carry over to the assessment of subjective value and the decision, and emotional reactions to the choice may be incorporated into the value calculation. In addition, this modulatory relationship is reciprocal: Changing emotion can change choices. This research suggests that the neural mechanisms mediating the relation between affect and choice vary depending on which affective component is engaged and which decision variables are assessed. We suggest that a detailed and nuanced understanding of emotion and decision making requires characterizing the multiple modulatory neural circuits underlying the different means by which emotion and affect can influence choices.
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Food choice ideologies: the modern manifestations of normative and humanist views of the world.
Lindeman, M; Sirelius, M
2001-12-01
Two studies examined whether everyday food choice motives (FCMs) and abstract values constitute food choice ideologies (FCIs), whether these ideologies reflect the same normativism-humanism polarity as Tomkins' theory suggests to reflect ideologies in general, and whether various dietary groups endorse FCIs in different ways. In Study 1, 82 female participants filled in the Food Choice Questionnaire, a short version of Schwartz's Value Survey, and Tomkins' Polarity Scale. The results reflected four FCIs: ecological ideology (EI), health ideology (HI), pleasure ideology (PI) and convenience ideology (CI). Study 2 (N=144) replicated the results for ecological and health ideologies but not for pleasure and convenience ideologies. In both studies, EI, which was typical for vegetarians, was associated with a humanist view of the world, whereas HI was related to a normative view of the world. The results suggest that food choice has become a new site where one expresses one's philosophy of life.
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Using Decision Trees for Estimating Mode Choice of Trips in Buca-Izmir
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Oral, L. O.; Tecim, V.
2013-05-01
Decision makers develop transportation plans and models for providing sustainable transport systems in urban areas. Mode Choice is one of the stages in transportation modelling. Data mining techniques can discover factors affecting the mode choice. These techniques can be applied with knowledge process approach. In this study a data mining process model is applied to determine the factors affecting the mode choice with decision trees techniques by considering individual trip behaviours from household survey data collected within Izmir Transportation Master Plan. From this perspective transport mode choice problem is solved on a case in district of Buca-Izmir, Turkey with CRISP-DM knowledge process model.
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How General are Risk Preferences? Choices under Uncertainty in Different Domains*
Einav, Liran; Finkelstein, Amy; Pascu, Iuliana; Cullen, Mark R.
2011-01-01
We analyze the extent to which individuals’ choices over five employer-provided insurance coverage decisions and one 401(k) investment decision exhibit systematic patterns, as would be implied by a general utility component of risk preferences. We provide evidence consistent with an important domain-general component that operates across all insurance choices. We find a considerably weaker relationship between one's insurance decisions and 401(k) asset allocation, although this relationship appears larger for more “financially sophisticated” individuals. Estimates from a stylized coverage choice model suggest that up to thirty percent of our sample makes choices that may be consistent across all six domains. PMID:24634517
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Patros, Connor H G; Alderson, R Matt; Lea, Sarah E; Tarle, Stephanie J
2017-02-01
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is characterized by an impaired ability to maintain attention and/or hyperactivity/impulsivity. Impulsivity is frequently defined as the preference for small, immediate rewards over larger, delayed rewards, and has been associated with a variety of negative outcomes such as risky behavior and academic difficulty. Extant studies have uniformly utilized the traditional paradigm of presenting two response choices, which limits the generalization of findings to scenarios in which children/adolescents are faced with dichotomous decisions. The current study is the first to examine the effect of manipulating the number of available response options on impulsive decision-making in boys with and without ADHD. A total of 39 boys (ADHD = 16, typically developing [TD] = 23) aged 8-12 years completed a traditional two-choice impulsivity task and a novel five-choice impulsivity task to examine the effect of manipulating the number of choice responses (two vs five) on impulsive decision-making. A five-choice task was utilized as it presents a more continuous array of choice options when compared to the typical two-choice task, and is comparable given its methodological similarity to the two-choice task. Results suggested that boys with ADHD were significantly more impulsive than TD boys during the two-choice task, but not during the five-choice task. Collectively, these findings suggest that ADHD-related impulsivity is not ubiquitous, but rather dependent on variation in demands and/or context. Further, these findings highlight the importance of examining ADHD-related decision-making within the context of alternative paradigms, as the exclusive utilization of two-choice tasks may promote inaccurate conceptualizations of the disorder.
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Turnin, Marie-Christine; Buisson, Jean-Christophe; Ahluwalia, Namanjeet; Cazals, Laurent; Bolzonella-Pene, Caroline; Fouquet-Martineau, Caroline; Martini, Pascale; Tauber, Maïthé; Hanaire, Hélène
2016-02-01
To evaluate the impact of interactive Nutri-Advice kiosks on children's nutritional skills and their ability to apply it to food choices in a middle school cafeteria menu (food choice competencies). Quasi-experimental design; pre/post-test. Freestanding interactive computer terminals (kiosks) were installed in three middle schools in Toulouse, France. A total of 580 children were enrolled into the study (mean age, 13 ± 1 years). Each child's physiological profile was stored in a personal barcode card. During 1 school year, once a day, each child could access the kiosk with this card, trying to find the most balanced meal according to his or her profile and the food available on the cafeteria menu. Children's food choice competency changes and body mass index z-score were evaluated. Significance of change in food choice competencies (postintervention vs baseline) was examined using paired t test. Across the study, children chose significantly less cheese and pastry or desserts, and significantly more starchy food and dairy, and tended to choose fruits and vegetables more often. Body mass index z-score decreased significantly during the period. Personalized nutrition counseling through an interactive device has the potential to improve the food choice competencies of children. Copyright © 2016 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Sutherland, Lisa A.; Beavers, Daniel P.; Kupper, Lawrence L.; Bernhardt, Amy M.; Heatherton, Todd; Dalton, Madeline A.
2010-01-01
Objective To examine food and beverage choices of preschool-aged children. Design Semistructured observational study. While pretending to be adults during a role-play scenario, children selected food and beverage items from a miniature grocery store stocked with 73 different products, of which 47 foods and beverages were examined in this analysis. Parents self-reported how frequently they purchased specific grocery items. Setting A behavioral laboratory. Participants One hundred twenty children, aged 2 to 6 years, and 1 parent for each child. Main Outcome Measure Children’s total purchases were classified according to the number of healthier and less healthy products they selected as least healthy, somewhat healthy, and most healthy choices. The same categories were used to classify parents’ self-reported purchases. Results Most of the children (70.8%) purchased foods that were categorized as least healthy choices. Only 13 children (10.8%) had shopping baskets consisting of the healthiest choices. On average, children in the group with the least healthy choices purchased the same number of healthier and less healthy products, whereas children in the group with most healthy choices purchased 5 healthier products for each less healthy product selected. The healthfulness of children’s total purchases were significantly (P=.02) predicted by their parents’ purchasing categorization. Conclusions When presented with a wide array of food products, young children chose combinations of healthier and less healthy foods and beverages. The data suggest that children begin to assimilate and mimic their parents’ food choices at a very young age, even before they are able to fully appreciate the implications of these choices. PMID:18981355
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Henry, Holly K M; Borzekowski, Dina L G
2015-04-01
Using a qualitative design, this study investigated mothers' perceptions of food choices and default options, for children, at fast-food restaurants. Mothers of 3- to 8-year-old children (n = 40) participated in phone interviews. Mothers praised fast-food restaurants for offering healthier choices, but voiced concerns about quality of the food. Half worried about meat products and several were distressed by the processing involved with food and beverages. Many said that their children wanted to visit fast-food restaurants because of advertised toys and not food offerings. Half liked bundled meals, as long as they could choose the specific items that were included. Having healthier defaults might eliminate battles, reduce forgetfulness and facilitate ordering. Most mothers favored healthier defaults because it would help "other parents." This small study provides strong support for offering healthier options at fast-food restaurants. Restaurants, schools and other food venues should design children's meals that make the healthy choice the easy choice. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Aggarwal, R.
2013-12-01
Given the critical - but often subtle - feedbacks between water, energy, and food security, a nexus approach that integrates management and governance across sectors and scales is increasingly being advocated in research and policy circles. As a first step, such an approach calls for an integrated multi-disciplinary assessment of the externalities across sectors and tradeoffs involved in enhancing security in one sector on the other sectors. Recent research efforts have focused on understanding these tradeoffs, say, through estimating the energy costs of expanding irrigation for greater food security; or estimating the embodied land and water costs in increased energy production. While such efforts have increased awareness about the inter-connectedness of such issues, the fundamental question of how such an understanding influences decision-making and how it can lead to coordinated action towards a transition to more sustainable pathways still remains largely unanswered. The long legacy of sectoral organization of political and bureaucratic structures has led to a fragmentary policy and institutional landscape, on which cross-sectoral public action and coordination poses several challenges. Moreover, poorly defined property rights, imperfect or absent markets, and uncertainty about resource dynamics imply that economic signals about relative scarcity in one sector are not necessarily clear to decision makers in the other sectors. In this study, we examine these issues related to water-energy food nexus in the context of semi-arid groundwater irrigated regions of western and southern India. Using a social-ecological systems framework, we begin by characterizing some of the key inter-dependencies among food, water, and energy at the farm household, village and state level. We then examine the factors that influence decision-making at these levels, and the extent to which these decisions internalize the externalities. Specifically, we examine the role of energy pricing and rationing policy on groundwater withdrawals and type of crops grown. Finally, we examine several emerging examples of innovative policies and institutions that have leveraged the synergies among sectors. Although these examples do not necessarily provide optimal solutions, these provide some clues as to how decision- making within individual sectors can be influenced through institutional and policy design to transition towards more sustainable pathways in a second best world. We conclude by exploring what lessons these cases might hold for navigating these tradeoffs in other contexts.
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Soares, Marta C; Cardoso, Sónia C; Malato, João T; Messias, João P M
2017-02-01
Evidence suggests that animals are selected to make accurate choices and prioritize goals within the constraints of a given social environment to maximize fitness. These decisions are mostly based on complex processes in which value is linked to reward and cues may carry variable incentive salience. However, the level in which the incentive elicited by a cue is able to shift individual choices should differ between individuals and neurophysiological states. Here we used a notorious cooperative cleanerfish species Labroides dimidiatus to probe for differences in the incentive motivational valences given to food cues and then tested for the role of the dopaminergic system in the appraisal of such cues. We found that cleaners differed in Pavlovian conditioned approach behavioural responses to reward-associated stimuli: while the majority were fast to engage physically with the cue plate that indicated future reward delivery (sign trackers), only a few took significantly more time to respond (goal trackers). But amongst those that were considering the sole cue attractive, we discovered that the dopaminergic blockage decreased their initial propensity to approach and touch the cue plate. Our results show that dopamine disruption contributes to shifting the attribution of motivational incentive from the predictive cue towards the actual reward and provides key insight into the physiological framework of cooperative-based decision making. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Continuous track paths reveal additive evidence integration in multistep decision making.
Buc Calderon, Cristian; Dewulf, Myrtille; Gevers, Wim; Verguts, Tom
2017-10-03
Multistep decision making pervades daily life, but its underlying mechanisms remain obscure. We distinguish four prominent models of multistep decision making, namely serial stage, hierarchical evidence integration, hierarchical leaky competing accumulation (HLCA), and probabilistic evidence integration (PEI). To empirically disentangle these models, we design a two-step reward-based decision paradigm and implement it in a reaching task experiment. In a first step, participants choose between two potential upcoming choices, each associated with two rewards. In a second step, participants choose between the two rewards selected in the first step. Strikingly, as predicted by the HLCA and PEI models, the first-step decision dynamics were initially biased toward the choice representing the highest sum/mean before being redirected toward the choice representing the maximal reward (i.e., initial dip). Only HLCA and PEI predicted this initial dip, suggesting that first-step decision dynamics depend on additive integration of competing second-step choices. Our data suggest that potential future outcomes are progressively unraveled during multistep decision making.
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... cause kidney damage if left untreated. Make healthy food choices Choose foods that are healthy for your heart ... healthy for your body. Tips for making healthy food choices Cook with a mix of spices instead of ...
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Eating habits and factors affecting food choice of adolescents living in rural areas.
Bargiota, Alexandra; Pelekanou, Maria; Tsitouras, Andreas; Koukoulis, Georgios N
2013-01-01
To establish factors that affect food choices among adolescents living in rural areas and to identify their food choices. A random sample of adolescents living in a Greek rural area (n=382) aged 12-18 years were individually interviewed. Food consumption was assessed by a semi-quantitative food-frequency questionnaire and adherence to the Mediterranean diet was evaluated using the KIDMED questionnaire. Information was collected regarding self-perceived body size, dieting, dietary knowledge, parental control, meal and snack frequency, eating out of home, eating takeaways and precooked meals, eating from the school canteen. Body image concerns, dieting, education about food, parental control, maternal education level and eating with family and peers are factors that were found to affect food choices in this group of Greek adolescents. The adherence to the Mediterranean diet was low (KIDMED index was 4.5±2.7). Regular family meals at home were frequent in this group and 99% of the adolescents ate lunch daily at home. Eating out with peers and eating from the school canteen was related with higher consumption of 'junk type of food'. Girls and younger adolescents and those whose mothers had a higher education level seem to make healthier choices. Factors such as personal issues, family and peer pressure significantly affect food choices among adolescents living in a Greek rural area and highlight the importance of implementing multilevel strategies to promote healthy eating among adolescents.
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Affective influences on partner choice: role of mood in social decisions.
Forgas, J P
1991-11-01
Does mood influence our information search and decision strategies when choosing a partner? In Experiment 1 (N = 60), sad Ss preferred rewarding to competent partners and remembered information supporting that choice better. In Experiment 2 (N = 96), mood effects on information selectivity, decision speed, and processing strategy in partner choices were found. In Experiment 3 (N = 42), a computerized stimulus presentation revealed mood-induced differences in the latency, self-exposure, and eventual recall of interpersonal information. These results are interpreted as evidence for mood-induced selectivity in information search and decision strategies when making realistic partner choices. The implications of the findings for research on interpersonal relations and for contemporary affect-cognition theories are considered.
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Heart strings and purse strings: Carryover effects of emotions on economic decisions.
Lerner, Jennifer S; Small, Deborah A; Loewenstein, George
2004-05-01
We examined the impact of specific emotions on the endowment effect, the tendency for selling prices to exceed buying or "choice" prices for the same object. As predicted by appraisal-tendency theory, disgust induced by a prior, irrelevant situation carried over to normatively unrelated economic decisions, reducing selling and choice prices and eliminating the endowment effect. Sadness also carried over, reducing selling prices but increasing choice prices--producing a "reverse endowment effect" in which choice prices exceeded selling prices. The results demonstrate that incidental emotions can influence decisions even when real money is at stake, and that emotions of the same valence can have opposing effects on such decisions.
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Retailer branding of consumer sales promotions. A major development in food marketing?
Hamlin, Robert P; Lindsay, Sophie; Insch, Andrea
2012-02-01
This article examines retailer branding of consumer price promotions. It discusses the mechanics of price promotions, consumers' reactions to them and the benefits that accrue to those that use them. It describes how large food retailers can now deploy branded price promotion systems that are fundamentally different to 'traditional' price promotions in both their mechanics and their effects on consumer decision processes. The article describes a field experiment that compared the performance of a food retailer's branded price promotion system with that of a generic (manufacturer) price promotion. The research involved three experiments that covered two food categories (sliced bread and margarine) and two levels of discount (10% and 20%). The results indicate that food retailers are able to attach powerful brands to their price promotion systems, and these brand heuristics can significantly increase consumer purchase intent relative to an equivalent generic/manufacturer promotion. This incremental heuristic effect was stable in both categories and for both levels of price discount studied. These results are consistent with the predictions of alternative, non-cognitive and heuristic based models of food consumer choice that have been published recently in 'Appetite'. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Providing choice and/or variety during a meal: Impact on vegetable liking and intake.
Parizel, Odile; Labouré, Hélène; Marsset-Baglieri, Agnès; Fromentin, Gilles; Sulmont-Rossé, Claire
2017-01-01
Out-of-home catering services frequently offer consumers the opportunity to choose their foods from among different proposals and/or provide consumers with a variety of food. The aim of the present study was to assess the impact of choice and/or variety on food liking and food intake. Fifty-nine normal-weight adults were recruited under the condition that they equally liked three vegetable recipes (green beans with butter, zucchinis with olive oil, spinach with cream). Volunteers participated in four sessions at lunch time. In the no-choice/no-variety condition, volunteers were served one dish randomly selected from among the three. In the no-choice/variety condition, volunteers were served all three dishes. In the choice/no-variety condition, participants chose one dish from among the three dishes. In the choice/variety condition, volunteers chose as many dishes as they desired from among the three dishes. Results showed that providing choice increased vegetable liking and vegetable intake, while offering a variety of vegetables only increased their liking. No synergy effect between choice and variety was observed on vegetable liking and vegetable intake (i.e. the effect in the choice/variety condition was not significantly higher than the effects in no-choice/variety and the choice/no-variety conditions). Published by Elsevier Ltd.
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Changing memory of food enjoyment to increase food liking, choice and intake.
Robinson, Eric; Blissett, Jackie; Higgs, Suzanne
2012-10-28
Novel ways to increase liking and intake of food are needed to encourage acceptance of healthier food. How enjoyable we remember food to have been is likely to be a significant predictor of food choice. Two studies examined whether remembered enjoyment of eating a food can be increased and whether this makes individuals more likely to eat that food in the future. In Study One, a simple manipulation of instructing participants to rehearse what they found enjoyable about a food immediately after eating it was used to increase remembered enjoyment (relative to controls). In a separate study; Study Two, the effect of increasing remembered enjoyment on food choice was tested by examining whether the manipulation to increase remembered enjoyment resulted in participants choosing to eat more of a food as part of a later buffet lunch. The experimental manipulation increased remembered enjoyment for the food (Study One). A change in remembered enjoyment was shown to have a significant effect on the amount of a food participants chose to eat the following day for lunch (Study Two). The present studies suggest that remembered enjoyment can be increased via a simple act of rehearsal, resulting in a later increase in the amount of food chosen and eaten. Interventions based on altering remembered enjoyment of healthy food choices warrant further investigation.
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Persistent optimizing: how mothers make food choices for their preschool children.
Walsh, Audrey; Meagher-Stewart, Donna; Macdonald, Marilyn
2015-04-01
Mothers' ability to provide healthy food choices for their children has become more complex in our current obesogenic environment. We conducted a total of 35 interviews with 18 mothers of preschool children. Using constructivist grounded theory methods, we developed a substantive theory of how mothers make food choices for their preschoolers. Our substantive theory, persistent optimizing, consists of three main integrated conceptual categories: (a) acknowledging contextual constraints, (b) stretching boundaries, and (c) strategic positioning. Implications to improve mothers' ability to make healthy food choices that reduce their children's risk of becoming overweight or obese are discussed. © The Author(s) 2014.
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Ammerman, Alice S; Hartman, Terry; DeMarco, Molly M
2017-02-01
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) serves as an important nutritional safety net program for many Americans. Given its aim to use traditional economic levers to provide access to food, the SNAP program includes minimal nutritional requirements and restrictions. As food choices are influenced by more than just economic constraints, behavioral economics may offer insights and tools for altering food purchases for SNAP users. This manuscript outlines behavioral economics strategies that have potential to encourage healthier food choices within the SNAP program. Copyright © 2016 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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2013-01-01
Background Vending machines and shops located within health care facilities are a source of food and drinks for staff, visitors and outpatients and they have the potential to promote healthy food and drink choices. This paper describes perceptions of parents and managers of health-service located food outlets towards the availability and labelling of healthier food options and the food and drinks offered for sale in health care facilities in Australia. It also describes the impact of an intervention to improve availability and labelling of healthier foods and drinks for sale. Methods Parents (n = 168) and food outlet managers (n = 17) were surveyed. Food and drinks for sale in health-service operated food outlets (n = 5) and vending machines (n = 90) in health care facilities in the Hunter New England region of NSW were audited pre (2007) and post (2010/11) the introduction of policy and associated support to increase the availability of healthier choices. A traffic light system was used to classify foods from least (red) to most healthy choices (green). Results Almost all (95%) parents and most (65%) food outlet managers thought food outlets on health service sites should have signs clearly showing healthy choices. Parents (90%) also thought all food outlets on health service sites should provide mostly healthy items compared to 47% of managers. The proportion of healthier beverage slots in vending machines increased from 29% to 51% at follow-up and the proportion of machines that labelled healthier drinks increased from 0 to 26%. No outlets labelled healthier items at baseline compared to 4 out of 5 after the intervention. No changes were observed in the availability or labelling of healthier food in vending machines or the availability of healthier food or drinks in food outlets. Conclusions Baseline availability and labelling of healthier food and beverage choices for sale in health care facilities was poor in spite of the support of parents and outlet managers for such initiatives. The intervention encouraged improvements in the availability and labelling of healthier drinks but not foods in vending machines. PMID:24274916
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Bell, Colin; Pond, Nicole; Davies, Lynda; Francis, Jeryl Lynn; Campbell, Elizabeth; Wiggers, John
2013-11-25
Vending machines and shops located within health care facilities are a source of food and drinks for staff, visitors and outpatients and they have the potential to promote healthy food and drink choices. This paper describes perceptions of parents and managers of health-service located food outlets towards the availability and labelling of healthier food options and the food and drinks offered for sale in health care facilities in Australia. It also describes the impact of an intervention to improve availability and labelling of healthier foods and drinks for sale. Parents (n = 168) and food outlet managers (n = 17) were surveyed. Food and drinks for sale in health-service operated food outlets (n = 5) and vending machines (n = 90) in health care facilities in the Hunter New England region of NSW were audited pre (2007) and post (2010/11) the introduction of policy and associated support to increase the availability of healthier choices. A traffic light system was used to classify foods from least (red) to most healthy choices (green). Almost all (95%) parents and most (65%) food outlet managers thought food outlets on health service sites should have signs clearly showing healthy choices. Parents (90%) also thought all food outlets on health service sites should provide mostly healthy items compared to 47% of managers. The proportion of healthier beverage slots in vending machines increased from 29% to 51% at follow-up and the proportion of machines that labelled healthier drinks increased from 0 to 26%. No outlets labelled healthier items at baseline compared to 4 out of 5 after the intervention. No changes were observed in the availability or labelling of healthier food in vending machines or the availability of healthier food or drinks in food outlets. Baseline availability and labelling of healthier food and beverage choices for sale in health care facilities was poor in spite of the support of parents and outlet managers for such initiatives. The intervention encouraged improvements in the availability and labelling of healthier drinks but not foods in vending machines.
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Alós-Ferrer, Carlos; Hügelschäfer, Sabine; Li, Jiahui
2016-01-01
Decision inertia is the tendency to repeat previous choices independently of the outcome, which can give rise to perseveration in suboptimal choices. We investigate this tendency in probability-updating tasks. Study 1 shows that, whenever decision inertia conflicts with normatively optimal behavior (Bayesian updating), error rates are larger and decisions are slower. This is consistent with a dual-process view of decision inertia as an automatic process conflicting with a more rational, controlled one. We find evidence of decision inertia in both required and autonomous decisions, but the effect of inertia is more clear in the latter. Study 2 considers more complex decision situations where further conflict arises due to reinforcement processes. We find the same effects of decision inertia when reinforcement is aligned with Bayesian updating, but if the two latter processes conflict, the effects are limited to autonomous choices. Additionally, both studies show that the tendency to rely on decision inertia is positively associated with preference for consistency.
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Alós-Ferrer, Carlos; Hügelschäfer, Sabine; Li, Jiahui
2016-01-01
Decision inertia is the tendency to repeat previous choices independently of the outcome, which can give rise to perseveration in suboptimal choices. We investigate this tendency in probability-updating tasks. Study 1 shows that, whenever decision inertia conflicts with normatively optimal behavior (Bayesian updating), error rates are larger and decisions are slower. This is consistent with a dual-process view of decision inertia as an automatic process conflicting with a more rational, controlled one. We find evidence of decision inertia in both required and autonomous decisions, but the effect of inertia is more clear in the latter. Study 2 considers more complex decision situations where further conflict arises due to reinforcement processes. We find the same effects of decision inertia when reinforcement is aligned with Bayesian updating, but if the two latter processes conflict, the effects are limited to autonomous choices. Additionally, both studies show that the tendency to rely on decision inertia is positively associated with preference for consistency. PMID:26909061
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Decision Making and Reward in Frontal Cortex
Kennerley, Steven W.; Walton, Mark E.
2011-01-01
Patients with damage to the prefrontal cortex (PFC)—especially the ventral and medial parts of PFC—often show a marked inability to make choices that meet their needs and goals. These decision-making impairments often reflect both a deficit in learning concerning the consequences of a choice, as well as deficits in the ability to adapt future choices based on experienced value of the current choice. Thus, areas of PFC must support some value computations that are necessary for optimal choice. However, recent frameworks of decision making have highlighted that optimal and adaptive decision making does not simply rest on a single computation, but a number of different value computations may be necessary. Using this framework as a guide, we summarize evidence from both lesion studies and single-neuron physiology for the representation of different value computations across PFC areas. PMID:21534649
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Effects of nutrition label format and product assortment on the healthfulness of food choice.
Aschemann-Witzel, Jessica; Grunert, Klaus G; van Trijp, Hans C M; Bialkova, Svetlana; Raats, Monique M; Hodgkins, Charo; Wasowicz-Kirylo, Grazyna; Koenigstorfer, Joerg
2013-12-01
This study aims to find out whether front-of-pack nutrition label formats influence the healthfulness of consumers' food choices and important predictors of healthful choices, depending on the size of the choice set that is made available to consumers. The predictors explored were health motivation and perceived capability of making healthful choices. One thousand German and Polish consumers participated in the study that manipulated the format of nutrition labels. All labels referred to the content of calories and four negative nutrients and were presented on savoury and sweet snacks. The different formats included the percentage of guideline daily amount, colour coding schemes, and text describing low, medium and high content of each nutrient. Participants first chose from a set of 10 products and then from a set of 20 products, which was, on average, more healthful than the first choice set. The results showed that food choices were more healthful in the extended 20-product (vs. 10-product) choice set and that this effect is stronger than a random choice would produce. The formats colour coding and texts, particularly colour coding in Germany, increased the healthfulness of product choices when consumers were asked to choose a healthful product, but not when they were asked to choose according to their preferences. The formats did not influence consumers' motivation to choose healthful foods. Colour coding, however, increased consumers' perceived capability of making healthful choices. While the results revealed no consistent differences in the effects between the formats, they indicate that manipulating choice sets by including healthier options is an effective strategy to increase the healthfulness of food choices. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Robinson, Eric; Thomas, Jason; Aveyard, Paul; Higgs, Suzanne
2014-03-01
There is interest in the hypothesis that social norms are a determinant of healthy and unhealthy dietary practices. The objective of our work was to assess the weight of evidence that experimentally manipulated information about eating norms influences food intake and choice. This systematic review of experimental studies examined whether providing information about other peoples' eating habits influences food intake or choices. To inform the review, three electronic databases (PsycINFO, MEDLINE, and the Social Sciences Citation Index) were searched during July 2012. A narrative approach was used to synthesize studies that examined the influence of norms on food choice and meta-analyses were used to synthesize the effect that informational eating norms have on quantity of food consumed. Fifteen experimental studies were reviewed. There was evidence that both high intake norms (Z=3.84; P=0.0001; standardized mean difference 0.41, 95% confidence interval 0.20 to 0.63) and low intake norms (Z=2.78; P=0.005; standard mean difference -0.35, 95% confidence interval -0.59 to -0.10) exerted moderate influence on amounts of food eaten. There was consistent evidence that norms influenced food choices; norm information indicating that others make low-energy or high-energy food choices significantly increased the likelihood that participants made similar choices. Information about eating norms influences choice and quantity of food eaten, which could be used to promote healthy changes to dietary behavior. Copyright © 2014 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Witnesses' blindness for their own facial recognition decisions: a field study.
Sagana, Anna; Sauerland, Melanie; Merckelbach, Harald
2013-01-01
In a field study, we examined choice blindness for eyewitnesses' facial recognition decisions. Seventy-one pedestrians were engaged in a conversation by two experimenters who pretended to be tourists in the center of a European city. After a short interval, pedestrians were asked to identify the two experimenters from separate simultaneous six-person photo lineups. Following each of the two forced-choice recognition decisions, they were confronted with their selection and asked to motivate their decision. However, for one of the recognition decisions, the chosen lineup member was exchanged with a previously unidentified member. Blindness for this identity manipulation occurred at the rate of 40.8%. Furthermore, the detection rate varied as a function of similarity (high vs. low) between the original choice and the manipulated outcome. Finally, choice manipulations undermined the confidence-accuracy relation for detectors to a greater degree than for blind participants. Stimulus ambiguity is discussed as a moderator of choice blindness. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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Model-based choices involve prospective neural activity
Doll, Bradley B.; Duncan, Katherine D.; Simon, Dylan A.; Shohamy, Daphna; Daw, Nathaniel D.
2015-01-01
Decisions may arise via “model-free” repetition of previously reinforced actions, or by “model-based” evaluation, which is widely thought to follow from prospective anticipation of action consequences using a learned map or model. While choices and neural correlates of decision variables sometimes reflect knowledge of their consequences, it remains unclear whether this actually arises from prospective evaluation. Using functional MRI and a sequential reward-learning task in which paths contained decodable object categories, we found that humans’ model-based choices were associated with neural signatures of future paths observed at decision time, suggesting a prospective mechanism for choice. Prospection also covaried with the degree of model-based influences on neural correlates of decision variables, and was inversely related to prediction error signals thought to underlie model-free learning. These results dissociate separate mechanisms underlying model-based and model-free evaluation and support the hypothesis that model-based influences on choices and neural decision variables result from prospection. PMID:25799041
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Distance and Sex Determine Host Plant Choice by Herbivorous Beetles
Ballhorn, Daniel J.; Kautz, Stefanie; Heil, Martin
2013-01-01
Background Plants respond to herbivore damage with the release of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). This indirect defense can cause ecological costs when herbivores themselves use VOCs as cues to localize suitable host plants. Can VOCs reliably indicate food plant quality to herbivores? Methodology We determined the choice behavior of herbivorous beetles (Chrysomelidae: Gynandrobrotica guerreroensis and Cerotoma ruficornis) when facing lima bean plants (Fabaceae: Phaseolus lunatus) with different cyanogenic potential, which is an important constitutive direct defense. Expression of inducible indirect defenses was experimentally manipulated by jasmonic acid treatment at different concentrations. The long-distance responses of male and female beetles to the resulting induced plant volatiles were investigated in olfactometer and free-flight experiments and compared to the short-distance decisions of the same beetles in feeding trials. Conclusion Female beetles of both species were repelled by VOCs released from all induced plants independent of the level of induction. In contrast, male beetles were repelled by strongly induced plants, showed no significant differences in choice behavior towards moderately induced plants, but responded positively to VOCs released from little induced plants. Thus, beetle sex and plant VOCs had a significant effect on host searching behavior. By contrast, feeding behavior of both sexes was strongly determined by the cyanogenic potential of leaves, although females again responded more sensitively than males. Apparently, VOCs mainly provide information to these beetles that are not directly related to food quality. Being induced by herbivory and involved in indirect plant defense, such VOCs might indicate the presence of competitors and predators to herbivores. We conclude that plant quality as a food source and finding a potentially enemy-free space is more important for female than for male insect herbivores, whereas the presence of a slightly damaged plant can help males to localize putative mating partners. PMID:23405176
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Actual use of a front-of-pack nutrition logo in the supermarket: consumers' motives in food choice.
Vyth, Ellis L; Steenhuis, Ingrid H M; Vlot, Jessica A; Wulp, Anouk; Hogenes, Meefa G; Looije, Danielle H; Brug, Johannes; Seidell, Jacob C
2010-11-01
A front-of-pack nutrition logo on products with relatively favourable product compositions might help consumers to make more healthful choices. Studies investigating actual nutrition label use in point-of-purchase settings are scarce. The present study investigates the use of the 'Choices' nutrition logo in Dutch supermarkets. Adults were asked to complete a validated questionnaire about motivation for food choice and their purchased products were scored for the Choices logo after they had done their shopping. Nine supermarkets in The Netherlands. A total of 404 respondents participated. Of the respondents, 62 % reported familiarity with the logo. The motivations for food choice that were positively associated with actually purchasing products with the logo were attention to 'weight control' and 'product information'. The food choice motive 'hedonism' was negatively associated with purchasing products with the logo. This is the first study to investigate actual use of the Choices logo. In order to stimulate consumers to purchase more products with a favourable product composition, extra attention should be paid to hedonistic aspects such as the tastefulness and the image of healthy products.
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Comparison of Food Choice Motives between Malay Husbands and Wives in an Urban Community.
Asma, A; Nawalyah, A G; Rokiah, M Y; Mohd Nasir, M T
2010-04-01
The main objective of this study was to determine the motives underlying the selection of foods between husbands and wives in an urban community. Thiscross-sectional study was carried out in Bandar Baru Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia among 150 married couples aged 20 and above, who voluntarily agreed to participate and were not on any special diet. Data were collected using the Food Choice Questionnaire (FCQ) which measured the health-related and non health related factor that influence people's food choices. It consisted of 36 items designed to assess the reported importance of nine factors: health, mood, convenience, sensory appeal, natural content, price, weight control, familiarity, and ethical concern. In this study, the FCQ was adapted and a new factor, religion (religious guidelines), was included. Demographic characteristics including age, occupation, education, household income and household size were also collected. Data were analysed using SPSS version 16. Results showed that 40.7% of husbands (mean age= 43.33 + 11.16 years) and 55.3% of wives (mean age= 41.28 + 10.93 years) perceived themselves as the main food shopper while 12.0% of the husbands and 85.3% of the wives perceived themselves as the main meal planner. Husbands rated religion as the most prominent factor in food choice motives with a mean average rating of 4.56 + 0.59 on a 5-point rating scale, followed by health and convenience factor. Meanwhile, the wives rated health as the most essential factor with mean average rating of 4.49 + 0.58, followed by religion and convenience factor. Sensory appeal, ethical concerns and familiarity were rated as the bottom three factors of food choice motives among these two groups. Price of foods was not considered as an important factor in making food choices for the subjects in this study. In conclusion, the husbands and wives of this urban community rated religion, health and convenience as the three most important food choice motives in food selection.
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Kubanek, Jan; Snyder, Lawrence H.
2017-01-01
Abstract Behavior is guided by previous experience. Good, positive outcomes drive a repetition of a previous behavior or choice, whereas poor or bad outcomes lead to an avoidance. How these basic drives are implemented by the brain has been of primary interest to psychology and neuroscience. We engaged animals in a choice task in which the size of a reward outcome strongly governed the animals' subsequent decision whether to repeat or switch the previous choice. We recorded the discharge activity of neurons implicated in reward-based choice in 2 regions of parietal cortex. We found that the tendency to retain previous choice following a large (small) reward was paralleled by a marked decrease (increase) in the activity of parietal neurons. This neural effect is independent of, and of sign opposite to, value-based modulations reported in parietal cortex previously. This effect shares the same basic properties with signals previously reported in the limbic system that detect the size of the recently obtained reward to mediate proper repeat-switch decisions. We conclude that the size of the obtained reward is a decision variable that guides the decision between retaining a choice or switching, and neurons in parietal cortex strongly respond to this novel decision variable. PMID:26491065
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Mohr, Peter N C; Heekeren, Hauke R; Rieskamp, Jörg
2017-08-21
Individuals make decisions under risk throughout daily life. Standard models of economic decision making typically assume that people evaluate choice options independently. There is, however, substantial evidence showing that this independence assumption is frequently violated in decision making without risk. The present study extends these findings to the domain of decision making under risk. To explain the independence violations, we adapted a sequential sampling model, namely Multialternative Decision Field Theory (MDFT), to decision making under risk and showed how this model can account for the observed preference shifts. MDFT not only better predicts choices compared with the standard Expected Utility Theory, but it also explains individual differences in the size of the observed context effect. Evidence in favor of the chosen option, as predicted by MDFT, was positively correlated with brain activity in the medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC) and negatively correlated with brain activity in the anterior insula (aINS). From a neuroscience perspective, the results of the present study show that specific brain regions, such as the mOFC and aINS, not only code the value or risk of a single choice option but also code the evidence in favor of the best option compared with other available choice options.
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A qualitative study of the food-related experiences of rural village shop customers.
Scarpello, T; Poland, F; Lambert, N; Wakeman, T
2009-04-01
In the UK, although food choice in urban contexts has been widely studied, far less empirical information has been gathered from rural settings. With the closure of local services, some rural dwellers were believed to experience difficulties in meeting healthy eating recommendations. The present study aimed to explore perceptions of village store users. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted individually with 40 adults who were frequent users of rural village shops in Norfolk, UK. Participants were purposively selected to ensure that a wide demographic cross-section of customers was obtained. Interviews focused upon food choice strategies; attitudes towards rural food retail; and the provision of healthy foods. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed qualitatively, using an established interpretative phenomenological approach. Four main themes emerged as drivers of food choice in rural villages: (1) village store as icon, which described how the perceived centrality of village shops influenced food choices; (2) village store as a service provider, which described top-up shopping behaviours; (3) alternative food sources, which described store users desires for local foods and their attitudinal conflicts towards supermarkets; and (4) lifestyle factors, which described the influence of factors such as time pressures, access to cars and family structures. Food choices were strongly influenced by the distinctive characteristics of the rural environment. Village shops were seen as important for community identity ('rural idyll'), as well as providing access to food and services. However, desires were made apparent for a greater range of healthy, fresh and locally-sourced foods.
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Association between food marketing exposure and adolescents' food choices and eating behaviors.
Scully, Maree; Wakefield, Melanie; Niven, Philippa; Chapman, Kathy; Crawford, David; Pratt, Iain S; Baur, Louise A; Flood, Victoria; Morley, Belinda
2012-02-01
The present study examined associations between food marketing exposure and adolescents' food choices and reported consumption of energy-dense and nutrient-poor (EDNP) foods. A cross-sectional survey of 12,188 Australian secondary students aged 12-17 years was conducted, using a web-based self-report questionnaire. Measures included students' level of exposure to commercial television and non-broadcast types of food marketing, whether they had tried a new product or requested a product they had seen advertised, and their reported consumption of fast food, sugary drinks and sweet and salty snacks. Results indicated greater exposure to commercial television, print/transport/school food marketing and digital food marketing were all independently associated with students' food choices. High commercial television viewers (>2h/day) were more likely to report higher consumption of EDNP foods (ORs ranged from 1.31 for fast food to 1.91 for sweet snacks). Some associations between digital food marketing exposure and students' eating behaviors were found; however, print/transport/school food marketing was only related to sweet snack consumption. These study results suggest that cumulative exposure to television food advertising and other food marketing sources are positively linked to adolescents' food choices and eating behaviors. Policy changes to restrict food marketing to young people should include both television and non-broadcast media. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Tough Choices for Teachers: Ethical Challenges in Today's Schools and Classrooms
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Infantino, Robert; Wilke, Rebecca
2009-01-01
From lesson-planning to instructional practice to classroom management, teachers must make choices constantly and consistently. Sometimes these decisions are easy, but there are some decisions that are very difficult. Such delicate decisions often arise in the world of education and may be detrimental to one's career. Thoughtful decision-making…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Snipes, Katherine H.
2009-01-01
A set of computer-based recreation choice experiments were run to examine the effect of expected congestion and social interactions on the decision making process. MouseTrace is a process-tracing program that recorded individual subject's information acquisitions and provided the necessary information to determine if subjects used attribute-based…
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Incorporating patient-preference evidence into regulatory decision making.
Ho, Martin P; Gonzalez, Juan Marcos; Lerner, Herbert P; Neuland, Carolyn Y; Whang, Joyce M; McMurry-Heath, Michelle; Hauber, A Brett; Irony, Telba
2015-10-01
Patients have a unique role in deciding what treatments should be available for them and regulatory agencies should take their preferences into account when making treatment approval decisions. This is the first study designed to obtain quantitative patient-preference evidence to inform regulatory approval decisions by the Food and Drug Administration Center for Devices and Radiological Health. Five-hundred and forty United States adults with body mass index (BMI) ≥ 30 kg/m(2) evaluated tradeoffs among effectiveness, safety, and other attributes of weight-loss devices in a scientific survey. Discrete-choice experiments were used to quantify the importance of safety, effectiveness, and other attributes of weight-loss devices to obese respondents. A tool based on these measures is being used to inform benefit-risk assessments for premarket approval of medical devices. Respondent choices yielded preference scores indicating their relative value for attributes of weight-loss devices in this study. We developed a tool to estimate the minimum weight loss acceptable by a patient to receive a device with a given risk profile and the maximum mortality risk tolerable in exchange for a given weight loss. For example, to accept a device with 0.01 % mortality risk, a risk tolerant patient will require about 10 % total body weight loss lasting 5 years. Patient preference evidence was used make regulatory decision making more patient-centered. In addition, we captured the heterogeneity of patient preferences allowing market approval of effective devices for risk tolerant patients. CDRH is using the study tool to define minimum clinical effectiveness to evaluate new weight-loss devices. The methods presented can be applied to a wide variety of medical products. This study supports the ongoing development of a guidance document on incorporating patient preferences into medical-device premarket approval decisions.
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Neurons in the Frontal Lobe Encode the Value of Multiple Decision Variables
Kennerley, Steven W.; Dahmubed, Aspandiar F.; Lara, Antonio H.; Wallis, Jonathan D.
2009-01-01
A central question in behavioral science is how we select among choice alternatives to obtain consistently the most beneficial outcomes. Three variables are particularly important when making a decision: the potential payoff, the probability of success, and the cost in terms of time and effort. A key brain region in decision making is the frontal cortex as damage here impairs the ability to make optimal choices across a range of decision types. We simultaneously recorded the activity of multiple single neurons in the frontal cortex while subjects made choices involving the three aforementioned decision variables. This enabled us to contrast the relative contribution of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), the orbito-frontal cortex, and the lateral prefrontal cortex to the decision-making process. Neurons in all three areas encoded value relating to choices involving probability, payoff, or cost manipulations. However, the most significant signals were in the ACC, where neurons encoded multiplexed representations of the three different decision variables. This supports the notion that the ACC is an important component of the neural circuitry underlying optimal decision making. PMID:18752411
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Mitchell, Marci R.; Weiss, Virginia G.; Ouimet, Dominique J.; Fuchs, Rita A.; Morgan, Drake; Setlow, Barry
2014-01-01
Cocaine use is associated with high levels of impulsive choice (greater discounting of delayed rewards) in humans, but the cause/effect relationships between cocaine use and impulsive choice are not fully understood. In previous work, we found that both experimenter- and self-administration of fixed quantities of cocaine caused lasting increases in impulsive choice in rats. The present study extended these findings by taking into account baseline impulsive choice prior to self-administration, and by allowing rats free access to cocaine. Male Long-Evans rats were trained in a delay discounting task in which they made discrete-trial choices between small immediate and large delayed food rewards. Half of the rats were then implanted with intravenous catheters and, following recovery, allowed to self-administer cocaine HCl (1.0 mg/kg/infusion) in 6 hour sessions over 14 days. Control rats orally self-administered a sucrose solution under similar conditions. Upon completion of self-administration training, rats remained abstinent for 3 weeks before retesting in the delay discounting task. Cocaine and control groups did not differ prior to self-administration, but afterward, the cocaine group showed greater impulsive choice (fewer choices of large, delayed rewards) than controls. Additional analyses revealed that the effects of cocaine on impulsive choice were intake-dependent; rats classified as “low intake” did not differ from controls, whereas rats classified as “high intake” were significantly more impulsive than both controls and their pre-cocaine baseline. These findings are consistent with the idea that cocaine-induced, pharmacologically based neural adaptations promote the development of impulsive decision making. PMID:24841739
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Sharif Ishak, Sharifah Intan Zainun; Shohaimi, Shamarina; Kandiah, Mirnalini
2013-04-01
The food choices in childhood have high a probability of being carried through into their adulthood life, which then contributes to the risk of many non-communicable diseases. Therefore, there is a need to gather some information about children's views on foods which may influence their food choices for planning a related dietary intervention or programme. This paper aimed to explore the views of children on foods and the types of foods which are usually consumed by children under four food groups (snacks, fast foods, cereals and cereal products; and milk and dairy products) by using focus group discussions. A total of 33 school children aged 7-9 years old from Selangor and Kuala Lumpur participated in the focus groups. Focus groups were audio-taped, transcribed and analyzed according to the listed themes. The outcomes show that the children usually consumed snacks such as white bread with spread or as a sandwich, local cakes, fruits such as papaya, mango and watermelon, biscuits or cookies, tea, chocolate drink and instant noodles. Their choices of fast foods included pizza, burgers, French fries and fried chicken. For cereal products, they usually consumed rice, bread and ready-to-eat cereals. Finally, their choices of dairy products included milk, cheese and yogurt. The reasons for the food liking were taste, nutritional value and the characteristics of food. The outcome of this study may provide additional information on the food choices among Malaysian children, especially in urban areas with regard to the food groups which have shown to have a relationship with the risk of childhood obesity.
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Sivell, Stephanie; Edwards, Adrian; Elwyn, Glyn; Manstead, Antony S. R.
2010-01-01
Abstract Objective To describe the evidence about factors influencing breast cancer patients’ surgery choices and the implications for designing decision support in reference to an extended Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) and the Common Sense Model of Illness Representations (CSM). Background A wide range of factors are known to influence the surgery choices of women diagnosed with early breast cancer facing the choice of mastectomy or breast conservation surgery with radiotherapy. However, research does not always reflect the complexities of decision making and is often atheoretical. A theoretical approach, as provided by the CSM and the TPB, could help to identify and tailor support by focusing on patients’ representations of their breast cancer and predicting surgery choices. Design Literature search and narrative synthesis of data. Synthesis Twenty‐six studies reported women’s surgery choices to be influenced by perceived clinical outcomes of surgery, appearance and body image, treatment concerns, involvement in decision making and preferences of clinicians. These factors can be mapped onto the key constructs of both the TPB and CSM and used to inform the design and development of decision support interventions to ensure accurate information is provided in areas most important to patients. Conclusions The TPB and CSM have the potential to inform the design of decision support for breast cancer patients, with accurate and clear information that avoids leading patients to make decisions they may come to regret. Further research is needed examining how the components of the extended TPB and CSM account for patients’ surgery choices. PMID:20579123
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Purcell, Braden A.; Kiani, Roozbeh
2016-01-01
Decision-making in a natural environment depends on a hierarchy of interacting decision processes. A high-level strategy guides ongoing choices, and the outcomes of those choices determine whether or not the strategy should change. When the right decision strategy is uncertain, as in most natural settings, feedback becomes ambiguous because negative outcomes may be due to limited information or bad strategy. Disambiguating the cause of feedback requires active inference and is key to updating the strategy. We hypothesize that the expected accuracy of a choice plays a crucial rule in this inference, and setting the strategy depends on integration of outcome and expectations across choices. We test this hypothesis with a task in which subjects report the net direction of random dot kinematograms with varying difficulty while the correct stimulus−response association undergoes invisible and unpredictable switches every few trials. We show that subjects treat negative feedback as evidence for a switch but weigh it with their expected accuracy. Subjects accumulate switch evidence (in units of log-likelihood ratio) across trials and update their response strategy when accumulated evidence reaches a bound. A computational framework based on these principles quantitatively explains all aspects of the behavior, providing a plausible neural mechanism for the implementation of hierarchical multiscale decision processes. We suggest that a similar neural computation—bounded accumulation of evidence—underlies both the choice and switches in the strategy that govern the choice, and that expected accuracy of a choice represents a key link between the levels of the decision-making hierarchy. PMID:27432960
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Purcell, Braden A; Kiani, Roozbeh
2016-08-02
Decision-making in a natural environment depends on a hierarchy of interacting decision processes. A high-level strategy guides ongoing choices, and the outcomes of those choices determine whether or not the strategy should change. When the right decision strategy is uncertain, as in most natural settings, feedback becomes ambiguous because negative outcomes may be due to limited information or bad strategy. Disambiguating the cause of feedback requires active inference and is key to updating the strategy. We hypothesize that the expected accuracy of a choice plays a crucial rule in this inference, and setting the strategy depends on integration of outcome and expectations across choices. We test this hypothesis with a task in which subjects report the net direction of random dot kinematograms with varying difficulty while the correct stimulus-response association undergoes invisible and unpredictable switches every few trials. We show that subjects treat negative feedback as evidence for a switch but weigh it with their expected accuracy. Subjects accumulate switch evidence (in units of log-likelihood ratio) across trials and update their response strategy when accumulated evidence reaches a bound. A computational framework based on these principles quantitatively explains all aspects of the behavior, providing a plausible neural mechanism for the implementation of hierarchical multiscale decision processes. We suggest that a similar neural computation-bounded accumulation of evidence-underlies both the choice and switches in the strategy that govern the choice, and that expected accuracy of a choice represents a key link between the levels of the decision-making hierarchy.
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Relatively Recursive Rational Choice.
1981-11-01
for the decision procedure of recursively representable rational choice. Alternatively phrased, we wish to inquire into its degrees of unsolvability. We...may first make the observation that there are three classic notions of reducibility of decision procedures for subsets of the natural numbers... rational choice function defined as an effectively computable represent- ation of Richter’s [1971] concept of rational choice, attains by means of an
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Marsot, Maud; Rautureau, Séverine; Dufour, Barbara; Durand, Benoit
2014-01-01
Comparison of control strategies against animal infectious diseases allows determining optimal strategies according to their epidemiological and/or economic impacts. However, in real life, the choice of a control strategy does not always obey a pure economic or epidemiological rationality. The objective of this study was to analyze the choice of a foot and mouth disease (FMD) control strategy as a decision-making process in which the decision-maker is influenced by several stakeholders (government, agro-food industries, public opinion). For each of these, an indicator of epizootic impact was quantified to compare seven control strategies. We then determined how, in France, the optimal control strategy varied according to the relative weights of stakeholders and to the perception of risk by the decision-maker (risk-neutral/risk-averse). When the scope of decision was national, whatever their perception of risk and the stakeholders' weights, decision-makers chose a strategy based on vaccination. This consensus concealed marked differences between regions, which were connected with the regional breeding characteristics. Vaccination-based strategies were predominant in regions with dense cattle and swine populations, and in regions with a dense population of small ruminants, combined with a medium density of cattle and swine. These differences between regions suggested that control strategies could be usefully adapted to local breeding conditions. We then analyzed the feasibility of adaptive decision-making processes depending on the date and place where the epizootic starts, or on the evolution of the epizootic over time. The initial conditions always explained at least half of the variance of impacts, the remaining variance being attributed to the variability of epizootics evolution. However, the first weeks of this evolution explained a large part of the impacts variability. Although the predictive value of the initial conditions for determining the optimal strategy was weak, adaptive strategies changing dynamically according to the evolution of the epizootic appeared feasible.
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A Probabilistic, Dynamic, and Attribute-wise Model of Intertemporal Choice
Dai, Junyi; Busemeyer, Jerome R.
2014-01-01
Most theoretical and empirical research on intertemporal choice assumes a deterministic and static perspective, leading to the widely adopted delay discounting models. As a form of preferential choice, however, intertemporal choice may be generated by a stochastic process that requires some deliberation time to reach a decision. We conducted three experiments to investigate how choice and decision time varied as a function of manipulations designed to examine the delay duration effect, the common difference effect, and the magnitude effect in intertemporal choice. The results, especially those associated with the delay duration effect, challenged the traditional deterministic and static view and called for alternative approaches. Consequently, various static or dynamic stochastic choice models were explored and fit to the choice data, including alternative-wise models derived from the traditional exponential or hyperbolic discount function and attribute-wise models built upon comparisons of direct or relative differences in money and delay. Furthermore, for the first time, dynamic diffusion models, such as those based on decision field theory, were also fit to the choice and response time data simultaneously. The results revealed that the attribute-wise diffusion model with direct differences, power transformations of objective value and time, and varied diffusion parameter performed the best and could account for all three intertemporal effects. In addition, the empirical relationship between choice proportions and response times was consistent with the prediction of diffusion models and thus favored a stochastic choice process for intertemporal choice that requires some deliberation time to make a decision. PMID:24635188
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Bekker, Hilary L
2010-03-01
To discuss whether using the International Patient Decision Aids Standards (IPDAS) Collaboration checklist as a gold standard to judge interventions' quality is premature and potentially detrimental to the validity of resources designed to help patients make treatment choices. Conceptual review integrating the science behind individuals' decision making with the demands of designing complex, healthcare interventions. Patient decision aids are promoted as interventions to help professionals engage in shared and/or patient-centred care. The IPDAS domains were informed by experts' opinions of best practice. Decision scientists study how individuals make decisions, what biases their choices and how best to support decisions. There is debate from decision scientists about which component parts are the active ingredients that help people make decisions. Interventions to help patients make choices have different purposes, component parts and outcomes to those facilitating professional-patient communications. The IPDAS checklist will change to respond to new evidence from the decision sciences. Adhering uncritically to the IPDAS checklist may reduce service variation but is not sufficient to ensure interventions enable good patient decision making. Developers must be encouraged to reason about the IPDAS checklist to identify those component parts that do (not) meet their intervention's purpose. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Leimbach, Friederike; Georgiev, Dejan; Litvak, Vladimir; Antoniades, Chrystalina; Limousin, Patricia; Jahanshahi, Marjan; Bogacz, Rafal
2018-06-01
During a decision process, the evidence supporting alternative options is integrated over time, and the choice is made when the accumulated evidence for one of the options reaches a decision threshold. Humans and animals have an ability to control the decision threshold, that is, the amount of evidence that needs to be gathered to commit to a choice, and it has been proposed that the subthalamic nucleus (STN) is important for this control. Recent behavioral and neurophysiological data suggest that, in some circumstances, the decision threshold decreases with time during choice trials, allowing overcoming of indecision during difficult choices. Here we asked whether this within-trial decrease of the decision threshold is mediated by the STN and if it is affected by disrupting information processing in the STN through deep brain stimulation (DBS). We assessed 13 patients with Parkinson disease receiving bilateral STN DBS six or more months after the surgery, 11 age-matched controls, and 12 young healthy controls. All participants completed a series of decision trials, in which the evidence was presented in discrete time points, which allowed more direct estimation of the decision threshold. The participants differed widely in the slope of their decision threshold, ranging from constant threshold within a trial to steeply decreasing. However, the slope of the decision threshold did not depend on whether STN DBS was switched on or off and did not differ between the patients and controls. Furthermore, there was no difference in accuracy and RT between the patients in the on and off stimulation conditions and healthy controls. Previous studies that have reported modulation of the decision threshold by STN DBS or unilateral subthalamotomy in Parkinson disease have involved either fast decision-making under conflict or time pressure or in anticipation of high reward. Our findings suggest that, in the absence of reward, decision conflict, or time pressure for decision-making, the STN does not play a critical role in modulating the within-trial decrease of decision thresholds during the choice process.
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Activity Guide for Nutrition Education, Grades K-3.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Chula Vista City School District, CA.
This activity guide for foods and nutrition education at the primary level is divided into two sections: lesson plans and resource materials. Five concepts are outlined in the lesson plan: food choices, factors influencing choices, consumer competencies, food related careers, and food protection. Each lesson plan provides information on…
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Expert Decision-Making in Naturalistic Environments: A Summary of Research
2005-03-01
a number of descriptive decision theories arose (Plous, 1993). One of these is the rational choice model of decision - making (Janis & Mann, 1977...possible association between time pressure and increased levels of emotion . To date, the role played by emotion in decision - making has not been given... rational choice model seems to describe some decision events and Janis and Mann (1977) have highlighted emotion as a potential influence on decision
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Local dynamics in decision making: The evolution of preference within and across decisions
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
O'Hora, Denis; Dale, Rick; Piiroinen, Petri T.; Connolly, Fionnuala
2013-07-01
Within decisions, perceived alternatives compete until one is preferred. Across decisions, the playing field on which these alternatives compete evolves to favor certain alternatives. Mouse cursor trajectories provide rich continuous information related to such cognitive processes during decision making. In three experiments, participants learned to choose symbols to earn points in a discrimination learning paradigm and the cursor trajectories of their responses were recorded. Decisions between two choices that earned equally high-point rewards exhibited far less competition than decisions between choices that earned equally low-point rewards. Using positional coordinates in the trajectories, it was possible to infer a potential field in which the choice locations occupied areas of minimal potential. These decision spaces evolved through the experiments, as participants learned which options to choose. This visualisation approach provides a potential framework for the analysis of local dynamics in decision-making that could help mitigate both theoretical disputes and disparate empirical results.
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Making Healthy Choices at Fast Food Restaurants
... Pets and Animals myhealthfinder Food and Nutrition Healthy Food Choices Weight Loss and Diet Plans Nutrients and Nutritional Info Sugar and Sugar Substitutes Exercise and Fitness Exercise Basics Sports Safety Injury Rehabilitation Emotional Well-Being Mental Health Sex ...
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Curryer, Bernadette; Stancliffe, Roger J; Dew, Angela; Wiese, Michele Y
2018-06-01
Increased choice and control is a driving force of current disability policy in Australia for people with disability and their families. Yet little is known of how adults with intellectual disability (ID) actually experience choice and control within their family relationships. We used interpretative phenomenological analysis of individual, semistructured interviews conducted with 8 Australian adults with ID to understand the meaning given to their experience of family support received around choice and decision making. Three themes were identified: (1) centrality of family, (2) experience of self-determination, and (3) limitations to choice and control. The participants identified trusted family members from whom guidance around choice and decision making was both sought and received, often involving mutual decision making and limitations to control.
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Consumer-perceived quality in 'traditional' food chains: the case of the Greek meat supply chain.
Krystallis, Athanassios; Chryssochoidis, George; Scholderer, Joachim
2007-01-01
Recent food scares have increased consumer concern about meat safety. However, the Greek 'traditional' meat supply chain from producers to local butchers does not seem to realise the pressing consumer demand for certified meat quality. Or is it that, in such food chains, this demand is not so pressing yet? The present paper seeks to answer this question based on a survey conducted in the Athens area, involving a sample of 268 participants responsible for food purchasing decisions. The survey mainly aims to develop an integrated model of factors that affect consumer-perceived meat quality and to develop the profile of different consumer segments in relation to these perceptions. The substantial findings of the survey include the fact that, despite their enormous per capita consumption, the majority of consumers are not particularly involved in the meat-purchasing process. Rather they attach importance to visual intrinsic quality cues evaluated in a pre-purchasing context. In this respect, intrinsic quality cues are assigned a role similar to that of quality certification; coupled with the choice of traditional channels and the resulting personal relation with the butcher, they can be understood as efforts to decrease risk of the purchasing decision. Moreover, consumers with such behaviour seem to relate domestic country of origin of meat mostly with perceptions of general safety. Finally, a small, but promising trend with substantial marketing implications of frequent purchases of chicken and pork at supermarkets should not be ignored.