Studying human eating behaviour in the laboratory: theoretical considerations and practical suggestions

Best, M., Barsalou, L. W. and Papies, E. K. (2018) Studying human eating behaviour in the laboratory: theoretical considerations and practical suggestions. Appetite, 130, pp. 339-343. (doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2018.06.001) (PMID:30278979)

Abstract

Robinson and colleagues (2018) make important first steps in highlighting the shortcomings of laboratory studies of human eating behaviour, and providing some general suggestions to increase methodological and reporting quality. In this commentary, we present additional important theoretical considerations and practical suggestions. First, we discuss the role of situational cues in eating behaviour and highlight the implications for designing ecologically valid laboratory experiments. Next, we discuss food intake in laboratory settings in the context of the distinction between implicit and explicit measures used widely in social psychology, and provide practical recommendations to keep intake a relatively implicit measure. Finally, we recognise that designing optimal experiments requires significant resources so we present a practical procedure to recruit the smallest informative sample via Bayesian sequential hypothesis testing.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Barsalou, Professor Lawrence and Papies, Dr Esther and Best, Dr Maisy
• Authors: Best, M., Barsalou, L. W., and Papies, E. K.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Psychology
• Journal Name: Appetite
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 0195-6663
• ISSN (Online): 1095-8304
• Published Online: 30 June 2018
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2018 Elsevier
• First Published: First published in Appetite 130:339-343
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher