The Psychology of Eating: From Healthy to Disordered Behavior

Food Choice 61

Problems with a psychophysiological model

A psychophysiological approach to food choice focuses on the biological
aspects of eating and emphasizes the importance of hunger and satiety. It
acknowledges the role of both learning and cognitions and illustrates in
part how these factors might impact upon physiology. However, there are
several problems with this perspective, as follows:

• Much psychophysiological research has taken place in laboratories and
  some has used animals as models for human food choice. The extent
  to which research derived from these conditions can be transferred to
  understanding human behavior remains unclear.


• Food choice may relate to neurochemicals and brain pathways.
  However, eating is an inherently social behavior as it usually takes place
  in the context of others, with food acquiring and representing a range
  of social meanings. A psychophysiological approach to food choice does
  not explicitly incorporate either social learning or social meanings.


• A psychophysiological model emphasizes eating as a result of hunger
  and satiety. However, as food is a social behavior such biological drives
  are consistently moderated and modified by social drives.


• This approach assumes that an individual will respond to hunger by
  eating and to satiety by ceasing to eat. However, many individuals over-
  ride the physiological drive to eat due to factors such as a desire to be
  thin, a dislike of food, and a fear of losing control. They can also over-
  ride the drive to stop eating due to a desire for a treat, social cues to
  continue eating, or the availability of more food.

In summary, a psychophysiological model of food choice examines the effect
of the senses on food selection, the impact of psychopharmacological
drugs and neurochemicals on hunger and satiety, the effect of food on
cognitions and behavior, and the relationship between stress and eating.
This perspective emphasizes the biological basis to eating and minimizes
the social context surrounding food intake.

Conclusion

There are many different approaches to understanding food choice. This
chapter has focused on three overarching theories. First, it has described