| Popis: |
Obesity has quickly spread across the world, creating a global epidemic. One reason for the increase may be overconsumption. Humans are very sensitive to the many inviting properties of food, such as taste, texture, and smell. This study investigated the effects of different lengths olfactory cue exposures on the quantity of food consumed by adults. Past research on this subject has produced opposing results. Studies in food priming, reinforcer sampling, and motivating operations suggest olfactory exposures to food increase food consumption. In contrast, literature on habituation and sensory-specific satiety suggest the opposite effect: olfactory exposures decrease food consumption. The present study hypothesizes that both effects are possible, such that a brief exposure to the smell of the food may increase food consumption, while a prolonged exposure to the smell may decrease consumption. A total of 184 Psychology 10 students at California State University, Fresno were exposed to one of four durations of pizza smell (0 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, and 15 minutes) and then presented with pizza to consume. A one- way ANOVA did not indicate a statistical significant difference in consumption across the time exposures. The lack of statistical significance does not imply that duration of smell exposure produce no effect on consumption. Rather, addressing the limitations in the study for future research may result in a significant understanding of the interaction between smell exposure and consumption. |
