Examining ecological harshness cues and anticipated food scarcity on food preferences
2023
Garza, Ray
To solve the adaptive problem of food uncertainty, humans have evolved cognitive mechanisms for preferring energy dense foods which are sensitive to ecological cues. In the current studies, ecological cues were used to determine if individuals alter their preferences for energy dense foods when exposed to safe, resource scarce, or violent ecological cues. In addition, the Anticipated Food Scarcity Scale (AFSS) was used to assess overall dispositional responses to food instability. Study 1 used a between-within subjects design, and the findings showed that individuals were more likely to prefer high-caloric foods compared to low-caloric foods, regardless of ecological scenario. In Study 2, using a within-subjects design, individuals’ preferences for food were moderated by anticipated food scarcity, where food preferences were higher when in a safe compared to a resource scarce ecology. The studies show that energy dense foods are preferred overall and anticipating food scarcity is associated with those ratings at the individual level, when considering food in a safe ecological scenario.
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