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Conditioned meal initiation in young children
L L Birch1, L McPhee, S Sullivan
1Child Development Laboratory, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
Insights
This study explored how preschool children learn meal initiation through conditioned stimuli (CS+). Results show conditioning occurred, particularly in children who could distinguish cues paired with food.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral Psychology
- Child Development
- Learning and Conditioning
Background:
- Meal initiation is a complex behavior influenced by various internal and external factors.
- Understanding how environmental cues (conditioned stimuli) influence eating behavior is crucial for addressing feeding issues in children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the conditioning of meal initiation in preschool children using distinct visual and auditory cues.
- To determine if environmental cues can elicit eating behavior even when children are satiated.
Main Methods:
- Two experiments involved preschool children repeatedly exposed to food cues (CS+) and non-food cues (CS-).
- In the second experiment, location was also used as a conditioned stimulus.
- Satiated children were presented with food following CS+ or CS- cues to measure latency to eat and consumption.
Main Results:
- Evidence for conditioned meal initiation was observed.
- Conditioning was more pronounced in children who could accurately differentiate between cues previously paired with food (CS+) and those not (CS-).
Conclusions:
- Environmental cues can be conditioned to influence meal initiation in young children.
- Individual differences in cue discrimination play a significant role in the effectiveness of learned eating behaviors.
Abstract:
In two experiments the conditioning of meal initiation was investigated. Preschool children ate snacks repeatedly in the presence of visual and auditory cues (CS+). On other days, other visual and auditory cues (CS-) were presented in the absence of food. In the second experiment, location also served as a CS. To test for conditioned meal initiation, children were first fed a snack to ensure that they were sated. Immediately following this, on different days, food was presented in the presence of the CS+ or the CS- cues. Data on latency to eating and total consumption revealed evidence for conditioning, at least for children who could correctly identify which cues had and had not been paired with the presentation of food.