What, When, and How much we Eat
Andrea Cosio
PSY/240
Jade Bost
February 21, 2013
After reading section 12.3 Factors that Determine What, When, and How much we eat in the text, does your personal experience support these concepts? Why or why not? Provide examples.
Yes, I believe my personal experiences support these concepts discussed in 12.3 of the reading material. The Learned Taste Preference and Aversion section describes that nutrition has little direct effect on our feelings of hunger. Many of us prefer to eat food that are culturally specific to us. This is something I agree with. For example I am half Mexican I enjoy spicy foods but my boyfriend and his children are not use to this type of food, while I think it’s good they do not like the taste because they have had different foods based on their culture. This does influence what we eat. Now on to when we eat, I do believe when we eat has to do with “cultural norms, work schedules, family routines, personal preferences, wealth, and a variety of other factors.” ( Biopsychology, John P.J. Pinel) The chapter also states on how we have certain feelings or attacks of malaise, as the reading calls it, when we miss a regularly scheduled meal. This happens to me, I feel nausea. Last factors that influence how much we eat. The reading material states that when we stop eating a meal before the food is gone is called satiety. “Satiety mechanism plays a major role in determining how much we eat.” (Biopsychology, John P.J.Pinel)This section also states that the way we feel about food and our personal experiences with food also influences how much we eat (not just our physical need for food but our physiological need for food affects how much we eat.) Also our social settings has an effect on how much we eat. I know this to be true because I am about 20lbs overweight and in social setting I eat less. I do not want others to think I eat too much. This
References: Biopsychology, Eighth Edition, by John P.J. Pinel. Published by Allyn & Bacon. Copyright © 2011 by Pearson Education, Inc.