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Description
Flashcards by Hazel Meades, updated more than 1 year ago
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Created by Hazel Meades
about 9 years ago
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| Question | Answer |
| Outline taste receptors as an evolutionary explanation for food preference (4). | Our taste receptors have adapted to our environment over time so they are specialised to 5 different taste qualities, which can be linked to specific diet aspects. Sweet tastes indicate a food rich in carbohydrates, which provides calories to burn in energy expenditure, sour tastes are associated with gone off food (e.g: milk) that may contain harmful bacteria, salty tastes are critical to normal cell function, bitter tastes are associated with potentially poisonous plant chemicals and umami tastes indicate a meaty quality, which suggests a good protein source that can aid bodily growth and repair. An ability to detect these taste qualities would have helped us to survive in the EEA, therefore they have positive incentive value. |
| Outline the evolutionary avoidance of dangerous foods explanation for food preference (4). | We have evolved to be omnivorous. This means that we have a wider ranging diet and can exploit many different food sources but we are also open to a variety of plant toxins and infections from gone off food (e.g: meat). We've adapted to solve this problem through taste aversion learning (in the EEA it was good to avoid foods that made us sick) and neophobia (we have a tendency to avoid unfamiliar foods. As a result we know that what we're eating is safe). Therefore, we may have a preference for safe, familiar foods. |
| Outline the set point theory of homeostasis as a neural mechanism involved in the control of eating behaviour (4). | The set point theory of homeostasis proposes that homeostatic mechanisms detect the state of our internal environment (whether the body has enough nutrients) and these mechanisms return us to our biological set point (original weight) through a negative feedback loop. This is harder to do however, if we persistently over/under eat so we may settle on a new weight. In order to maintain a consistent weight the body regulates our behaviour through hunger (eating drive) and satiety (when we feel full this switches off eating behaviour). |
| Outline the dual centre theory of feeding behaviour as a neural mechanism involved in the control of eating behaviour (4). | The dual centre theory of eating behaviour proposes that there's a time lag between eating and digestion. By the time the body has eaten enough to restore equilibrium (energy levels) only a small amount of food has been digested so the receptors that detect nutrient levels don't have enough data to switch off eating. The body has evolved 2 separate systems for coping with this: a decrease in glucose and activation of the lateral hypothalamus (which switches on eating behaviour) and an increase in glucose and activation of the ventromedial hypothalamus (which switches it off). This serves to biologically regulate our feeding behaviour. |
| Outline dopamine as an explanation for anorexia (4). | Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that affects our interpretation of harm, pleasure and rewards. Overactivity in the basal ganglia dopamine receptors may result in the difficulty anorexics have with associating good feelings with things most people find pleasurable e.g: food (Kaye et al). Those with anorexia may have inherited this abnormal dopamine activity, which led to their misinterpretation of rewards in relation to food. |
| Outline serotonin as an explanation for AN (4). | Serotonin is a neurotransmitter whose levels affect our mood. High levels of serotonin have been linked to anxiety, which may predispose an individual to developing AN. Research suggests that disturbances in serotonin levels are characteristic of the disorder. This could lead to increased anxiety, which may then be associated with food. Anorexics may have inherited this, resulting in their negative feelings and anxious associations towards situations involving food. |
| Outline the reproductive suppression hypothesis as a biological explanation of anorexia (4). | The reproductive suppression hypothesis proposes that a teenage girl's desire for weight control represents an evolutionary adaptation. Our ancestors delayed the onset of sexual maturation in response to cues about the probability of poor reproductive success. This helped them to avoid giving birth at a time when conditions weren't conducive to the offspring's survival. AN may simply be a disordered variant for when a girl feels unable to cope with biological, emotional and social responsibilities of womanhood. |
| Outline the behavioural explanation for AN (4). | The behavioural approach proposes that AN develops as a result of observation and learning. Through exposure to models in the media people are vicariously reinforced (celebrities receive media attention and money, therefore being slim may seem like a rewarding body shape). They imitate the behaviour to experience direct reinforcement and achieve the idealised body shape. The positive reinforcement (e.g: compliments and more attention from the opposite sex) may strengthen the starvation behaviour through operant conditioning. |
| Outline the cognitive explanation for AN (4). | The cognitive explanation proposes that AN is a result of faulty and maladaptive thought processes about oneself and food/eating. We may misperceive our body weight (e.g: my weight loss isn't too serious), base feelings of self-worth on our distorted understanding of our physical appearance (e.g: I am fat and unattractive) and have irrational beliefs about food/eating (e.g: if I eat I'll put on weight and appear unattractive). Personality may also affect a person's likelihood of developing AN. People high in perfectionism (a strong desire to achieve excellence), for example, may strive to achieve an unrealistically slim body shape because of these distorted views. |
| Outline the adapted to flee hypothesis as a biological explanation for AN (4). | The adapted to flee hypothesis proposes that AN symptoms (food restriction, denial of starvation etc.) reflect adaptive mechanisms that once caused migration in response to famine conditions. This would increase chances of survival in the EEA. Normally, losing weight triggers physiological mechanisms to conserve energy and result in high hunger but this gets turned off for extreme weight loss so the individual can increase chances of survival by migrating to a more favourable environment. Today, this adaptation manifests itself as AN. |
| Outline the boundary model as an explanation for the failure of dieting (4). | The boundary model proposes that a non-dieter eats until physiologically full. A dieter eats until a self-imposed cognitive limit is reached (e.g: calorie counting limit) but from a biological perspective the body tries to maintain homeostasis. A dieter has 2 boundaries that oppose each other. If they exceed their cognitive boundary they are likely to experience the "what the hell" effect and continue to eat until satiety or beyond is reached, resulting in the failure of the diet. |
| Outline restraint theory as an explanation for the failure of dieting (4). | Restraint is commonly recommended for obesity. The restraint theory proposes that dieters exercise restraint over factors such as: how much they eat, what types of food they consume (e.g: avoiding fatty foods) or avoiding eating for long time periods. These periods of restraint are hard to maintain and increase the probability of overeating because of disinhibition (eating more as a result of loosening restraints in response to emotional stress, intoxication or preloading). This ultimately leads to the failure of the diet. |
| Outline social factors as a factor that influences our attitudes to food and eating behaviour (4). | Social factors such as parental attitudes can influence our attitudes to food through social learning. We experience vicarious reinforcement by observing our parents model their eating habits. If we see them experiencing rewards such as enjoying the food, we may imitate their eating behaviour in order to experience direct reinforcement ourselves. Through operant conditioning we may receive positive (e.g: rewards for eating vegetables) or negative reinforcement or punishment for eating certain foods (e.g: being told off for having too many sweets). This further contributes towards our patterns of eating behaviour and attitudes towards meal times. |
| Outline psychological factors as influencing attitudes to food and eating behaviour (4). | One psychological factor that can influence our attitudes to food and eating is mood. Shacter proposed the emotionality theory of obesity, which suggests that people become obese for emotional reasons whilst thin people eat because they're hungry. Carbohydrate craving syndrome supports this because it suggests that we eat carbohydrates and sugar as a form of comfort eating, therefore emotions such as stress can influence our attitudes towards food. |
| Outline social support as an explanation for the success of dieting (4). | Social support can be provided through relapse prevention programmes. These have been developed partly as a result of the negative research findings concerning dieting and they provide reinforcement for healthy, conventional eating through social learning. We experience vicarious reinforcement through observing models successfully regulating their eating behaviour and imitate their actions to experience direct reinforcement (e.g: compliments). Weight Watchers is a successful example of this. It offers role models, vicarious reinforcement and a positive social identity which empowers members to get back on track. The positive reinforcement provided through operant conditioning ultimately leads to the success of the diet. |
| Outline restraint as a explanation for the success of dieting (4). | Restraint is commonly recommended for obesity. It proposes that dieters exercise restraint over how much food they consume (e.g: calorie counting), what type of food they consume (e.g: avoiding fatty foods) and avoid eating food for long periods of time. If the diet is kept to it becomes harder for our homeostatic mechanisms to return us to our biological set point (original weight). Therefore, if we permanently under eat we may settle on a new weight, resulting in the success of the diet. |
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