Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 8, 2026
04:23
A Treatment Package without Escape Extinction to Address Food Selectivity
Published on: August 21, 2015
12.2K
The effect of combined avoidance and control training on implicit food evaluation and choice
Naomi Kakoschke1, Eva Kemps1, Marika Tiggemann1
1School of Psychology, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia.
Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry
|January 18, 2017
Summary
Combined avoidance and control training effectively reduced implicit liking of unhealthy foods. This intervention shows promise for modifying unhealthy eating behaviors by targeting automatic responses to food cues.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Behavioral Science
- Nutrition Science
Background:
- Environmental food cues contribute to unhealthy eating.
- Dual-process models explain unhealthy eating via automatic (e.g., approach bias) and controlled (e.g., inhibitory control) processes.
- This study investigates interventions for unhealthy eating behavior.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the impact of combined avoidance and control training on implicit evaluation, choice, and consumption of unhealthy snack foods.
- To test predictions derived from dual-process models of eating behavior.
Main Methods:
- 240 undergraduate women participated in a 2x2 between-subjects design.
- Experimental conditions included avoidance training (training vs. control) and control training (training vs. control).
- Measures assessed implicit liking, food choices, and food intake.
Main Results:
- Combined training led to more negative implicit evaluations of unhealthy food compared to single training or control conditions.
- Avoidance training reduced unhealthy snack food choices.
- No significant differences in actual food intake were observed across groups.
Conclusions:
- Combined training effectively reduced implicit liking of unhealthy foods, supporting dual-process models.
- Findings suggest practical implications for interventions aimed at unhealthy eating behavior.
- Overweight or obese individuals might benefit more from this combined training approach.
Related Concept Videos
01:14Conditioned Taste Aversion
1.3K
Conditioned taste aversion, also known as sauce béarnaise syndrome, is a phenomenon in which an individual develops an aversion to a certain food taste following a negative experience, typically illness. This form of aversion is a type of classical conditioning in which the taste of the food (conditioned stimulus, CS) is associated with the experience of illness (unconditioned stimulus, UCS).
A notable characteristic of conditioned taste aversion is that it often requires only a single...
A notable characteristic of conditioned taste aversion is that it often requires only a single...
1.3K
01:14Avoidance Learning and Learned Helplessness
2.9K
Avoidance learning and learned helplessness are critical concepts in understanding behavioral responses to negative stimuli.
Avoidance learning occurs when an organism learns that a specific behavior can prevent an unpleasant outcome. For example, a student who receives a bad grade may start studying harder to avoid future poor grades. This behavior persists even when the negative outcome is no longer present. Avoidance learning is powerful because it maintains behavior in the absence of the...
Avoidance learning occurs when an organism learns that a specific behavior can prevent an unpleasant outcome. For example, a student who receives a bad grade may start studying harder to avoid future poor grades. This behavior persists even when the negative outcome is no longer present. Avoidance learning is powerful because it maintains behavior in the absence of the...
2.9K
01:25Self-Regulation
306
Self-regulation, also known as self-control, encompasses a range of cognitive and behavioral processes that allow individuals to adjust their internal states and outward actions to align with socially acceptable norms and long-term goals. It plays a fundamental role in adaptive functioning, from resisting impulsive behaviors to persisting through challenging tasks. While its benefits are widely recognized, self-regulation is not limitless. Muraven and Baumeister's theory posits that...
306
01:05Instinctive Drift
1.0K
Instinctive drift refers to the tendency of animals to revert to their innate behaviors despite repeated reinforcement. Breland and Breland demonstrated this concept in an experiment with a raccoon. The raccoon was trained to pick up two coins and place them in a container in exchange for food. Initially, the raccoon learned to associate the coins with food, making them a conditioned stimulus or a substitute for food. However, over time, the raccoon became less willing to put the coins into the...
1.0K
01:30Regulation of Food Intake
3.0K
Short-term regulation of food intake primarily involves neural signals from the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, blood nutrient levels, and GI tract hormones. Communication between the gut and brain via vagal nerve fibers plays a significant role in evaluating the contents of the gut. Clinical studies have shown that protein ingestion produces a more prolonged response in these nerve fibers compared to an equivalent amount of glucose. Additionally, the activation of stretch receptors caused by GI...
3.0K
01:14Frustration and Conflict: Avoidance-Avoidance, Double-Approach Avoidance
761
Avoidance-avoidance conflict refers to a psychological situation where a person must choose between two or more unpleasant alternatives. These conflicts are particularly stressful because neither option is desirable. This dilemma is often expressed in sayings like "caught between a rock and a hard place" or "between the devil and the deep blue sea." For instance, individuals who fear dental procedures may find themselves torn between enduring a painful toothache or facing the...
761