Summary: Research has shown that the food choices we make simply until are influenced by how much food is judged when it comes to calorie content or appeal. This result, known as serial dependent, causes individuals to price the next meal similarly to the previous one, whether it’s more interesting or less.
The study suggests that our understanding of food may not be as self-sufficient as we might think and may have an affect on our daily choices and actions. This finding may help develop strategies for promoting healthier eating patterns and aid in the treatment of eating disorders.
Important Facts:
- Food ratings are impacted by prolific dependent based on previous judgments.
- A meal with a high rating has a higher chance of receiving a higher ranking than a comparable food.
- These results can be used to guide marketing strategies and treatments for eating disorders.
Origin: University of Sydney
We are influenced by what we have already witnessed, a cascading phenomenon known as” serial dependence,” according to research at the University of Sydney.
The study, published now in the high-impact journal , Current Biology,  , was conducted by Professors , David Alais , and , Thomas Carlson , in the School of Psychology at the University of  , Sydney working in partnership with , Professor David Burr , at the University of Florence.
Their research demonstrates that when people evaluate foods images for elegance and calorie content, the assessment is not done alone. Rather, it is gently biased in favor of the conclusion that came before it.
People who make a number of options in succession develop a relationship that lasts forever. In the framework of meal, if a man rates a meal as very attractive, they are likely to charge the following foods image more fondly, regardless of its calorie content or appeal.
It works the other way, to: a preceding repulsive food makes a recent foods less attractive.
The findings may help psychology create solutions for eating disorders that require more or less food, and they may also aid entrepreneurs in the presentation of food menus.
According to lead creator Professor Alais,” The exploratory conditions for serial dependent are not very different from our daily experiences with meal images, such as when we scan a meals delivery menu or browse a menu on our phone. Sequential dependent, therefore, might remain affecting thousands of food choices every day”.
More than 600 participants participated in the study’s experiments, which evaluated several meals images for both carbohydrate content and attractiveness. The results revealed a clear structure of prolific dependence: scores tended to be correlated with previous rankings.
For example, a high ranking for a certain food item resulted in a higher rating for the following item, causing a chain of interrelated rather than separate evaluations.
The general serial dependency effect was not sex centered and was comparable for all, despite the study finding that men tended to price high calorie foods substantially higher than women.
This study highlights the mental preconceptions that are present in foods evaluation, according to Professor Alais. We may be drawn to a certain dish after seeing a similar one that was highly rated, just like our brains are wired to absorb information from past stimulation.
Co-author Professor Carlson said:” Our , earlier work , has shown that the visible mind encodes the perceived nutritional content of foods in just seconds. In upcoming work, it will be interesting to examine how these mental biases and visual processing interact.
Beyond the obvious interest for physical neuroscientists who are interested in understanding how our brain processes images, this study has possible applications.
Understanding sequential dependence could tell techniques used by food producers and restaurateurs to improve the appeal of their menu items. By placing high-appeal things or calorie-rich foods in a collection, they may impact customer perceptions and possibly generate sales.
This research also has potential to play a role in clinical settings, particularly in addressing obesity, compulsive eating, bulimia and related eating disorders.
Cognitive behavioural therapies could be used to leverage these findings to aid people in changing their perceptions and decision-making processes around food by understanding how previous food ratings can affect subsequent choices.
This strategy could encourage better eating habits and support effective treatment for those who struggle with eating disorders.
Similar visual trends have been observed by Professor Alais and his team in previous years for people using dating apps; or evaluating the beauty of art work.
About this news from psychology research
Author: Katie Spenceley
Source: University of Sydney
Contact: Katie Spenceley – University of Sydney
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Open access.
” Positive serial dependence in the appeal and calories ratings of food images” by David Alais et al. Current Biology
Abstract
Positive serial dependence in the appeal and calories ratings of food images
Food is essential to survival, and our brains are highly trained to process food stimuli quickly. Neural signals show that foods can be discriminated as edible or inedible as early as 85 , ms after stimulus onset, distinguished as processed or unprocessed beginning at 130 , ms,  , and as high or low density from 165 , ms.
Recent research revealed that the ventral visual pathway, which controls perception of faces and other significant objects, is specialized for processing food stimuli. For many visual objects, perception can be influenced by recent perceptual history ( known as serial dependence ).
We examined serial dependence for food in two large samples ( n , >,  , 300 ) who rated sequences of food images for either “appeal” or” calories”. The participants ‘ calorie ratings were highly correlated, and they were comparable for both males and females.
Appeal ratings varied considerably between participants, consistent with the idiosyncratic nature of food preferences, and tended to be higher for males than females. High-calorie ratings were associated with high appeal, especially in males.
Importantly, response biases showed clear positive serial dependences: higher stimulus values in the previous trials led to positive biases, and vice versa. The effects were comparable for both male and female participants, as did the calories and appeal ratings, and they varied remarkably.
These findings align with recent research that found food to be selectively in the visual temporal cortex, imply a new mechanism that influences food decision-making, and imply a new sensory-level component that might be used in addition to cognitive diet intervention.
