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Dynamics of self-control during choice and post-choice consumption quantity
Ga-Eun Oh1, Anirban Mukhopadhyay2,3
1Department of Marketing and International Business, Faculty of Business, Lingnan University, Tuen Mun, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Frontiers in Psychology
|June 18, 2024
Summary
Restrained eaters exhibit persistent self-control by limiting intake of chosen virtuous foods. Unrestrained eaters, however, may consume more calories after choosing virtue foods due to goal satisfaction.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral Economics
- Psychology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Eating self-control is typically measured by choices between healthy and unhealthy foods.
- Prior research often overlooks post-choice consumption quantity, focusing only on the initial decision.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how self-control operates during the consumption stage after an initial food choice.
- To examine the role of dietary restraint and goal accessibility in post-choice eating behavior.
Main Methods:
- Two studies were conducted involving participants choosing between virtue and vice food options.
- Consumption quantity and calorie intake were measured after the choice.
- Goal accessibility was assessed in relation to self-control.
Main Results:
- When processing resources are limited, unrestrained eaters consumed more calories from chosen virtue foods than restrained eaters.
- Choosing a virtue food lowered self-control goal accessibility for unrestrained eaters, leading to increased intake.
- No significant differences in intake or goal accessibility were found when participants chose a vice food.
Conclusions:
- Persistent self-control across choice and consumption depends on dietary restraint and the initial choice.
- For unrestrained eaters, choosing a virtue can satisfy the self-control goal, paradoxically increasing intake.
- Self-control is dynamic within a consumption episode, with both choice and quantity being informative.
Keywords:
dietary restraintexploratory researchfood decision makingfood intakegoal accessibilityself-controlMore Related Videos
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