Situating desire: situational cues affect desire for food through eating simulations

Papies, E. K. , van Stekelenburg, A., Smeets, M. A.M., Zandstra, E. H. and Dijksterhuis, G. B. (2022) Situating desire: situational cues affect desire for food through eating simulations. Appetite, 168, 105679. (doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2021.105679) (PMID:34500012)

Abstract

How do situations influence food desire? Although eating typically occurs in rich background situations, research on food desire often focuses on the properties of foods and consumers, rather than on the situations in which eating takes place. Here, we take a grounded cognition perspective and suggest that a situation that is congruent with consuming a food increases simulations of eating it, which, in turn, affect desire, and the expected and actual liking of the food. We tested this idea in four pre-registered experiments (N = 524). Participants processed an image of a food presented in a congruent situation, an incongruent situation, or no background situation. Compared to the incongruent situation, the congruent situation increased expected liking of the food and desire, and this was partially or fully mediated by eating simulations. The congruent situation also increased salivation, a physiological indicator of preparing to eat. However, there was only weak and indirect evidence for congruence effects on actual liking of the food when tasted. These findings show that situational cues can affect desire for food through eating simulations. Thus, background situations play an important but understudied role in human food desires. We address implications for research using food images, and for applications to promote healthy and sustainable eating behaviour.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This work was supported by a grant from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research, Unilever Foods Innovation Centre Wageningen and FrieslandCampina, Amersfoort, The Netherlands (FCBG 057-13-001). EKP received no funding from this grant or from either Unilever or FrieslandCampina.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Papies, Dr Esther
• Authors: Papies, E. K., van Stekelenburg, A., Smeets, M. A.M., Zandstra, E. H., and Dijksterhuis, G. B.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Psychology & Neuroscience
• Journal Name: Appetite
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 0195-6663
• ISSN (Online): 1095-8304
• Published Online: 06 September 2021
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd
• First Published: First published in Appetite 168:105679
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher