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Motivating operations in appetite research.

Katy Tapper1

  • 1Cardiff Institute of Society, Health and Ethics, Cardiff University, 53 Park Place, Cardiff CF10 3AT, UK. tapperk@cf.ac.uk

Appetite
|July 28, 2005
PubMed
Summary

This study introduces motivating operations (MOs), a behavior analytic concept, to explain appetite and eating behaviors. MOs offer a novel framework for understanding motivation in appetite research, differing from existing theories.

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Area of Science:

  • Behavioral Science
  • Psychology
  • Neuroscience

Background:

  • Appetite research often uses behavior analysis principles.
  • Recent theoretical advances in behavior analysis remain underutilized in appetite research.

Purpose of the Study:

  • Introduce the concept of motivating operations (MOs) as a behavior analytic formulation of motivation.
  • Apply MOs to explain various eating behaviors.
  • Differentiate the MO account from other motivation theories in appetite research.

Main Methods:

  • Description of motivating operations (MOs) as environmental events.
  • Explanation of how MOs establish/abolish reinforcement/punishment effects.
  • Discussion of unconditioned and conditioned MOs.

Main Results:

  • MOs can account for a variety of eating behaviors.
  • The MO framework offers distinct explanations for non-regulatory feeding.
  • MOs provide a novel perspective on cognitive variables in motivation.

Conclusions:

  • Motivating operations offer a new theoretical lens for appetite research.
  • The MO account presents unique insights into motivation and eating behavior.
  • This framework has implications for understanding and intervening in eating behaviors.

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