Exploring the Power of Expectation in Food

Eating behavior is strongly influenced by social context. We eat differently when we are in the company of others compared to when we are alone.

Our food choices also tend to converge with those of our close social connections.

One reason is that conforming to others' behavior is adaptive, and we experience it as a rewarding experience.

Norms for appropriate eating are established by the behavior of other people but also by shared cultural expectations and environmental cues.

?It is more likely to follow a food norm if it is perceived as relevant based on social comparison. Relevant norms are established by similar others and those we identify with.

We all know that sharing a meal with friends, family, or colleagues is a common activity, and since we often eat in a social context, it is important to understand how and why the people we dine with influence what we eat. We have known for decades from research that other people influence our food intake and choices in various ways.

If we eat with someone who is consuming a large amount, we are likely to align with them and consume more than we would if we were eating alone. At the same time, if we are in environments where eating less creates a favorable social impression, we will do so. Who hasn't experienced leaving an important event, maybe an opening with an aperitif, and still feeling hungry?

One of the reasons why other people have such an influence on our eating behavior is that they provide a norm for socially appropriate behavior.

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"Eating modeling" occurs when the norm is set by a fellow diner, but it also occurs when the model is absent, such as when the norm is communicated through environmental cues (e.g., leaving empty wrappers on display as a sign of what others have eaten) or through textual information (e.g., providing a list of quantities consumed by presumed previous diners).

?It is fascinating to understand that modeling occurs whether co-eaters know each other or are strangers and completely independent of current hunger status, dieting status, current health goals, or age.

Children, for example, model their eating based on both their parents and their peers, and the effects are similar to those observed for adults regulating their eating based on other adults.

We can speak, therefore, of behavioral mimicry, an unconscious process that aligns us with the behaviors of others. Participants in studies on this topic report not being aware of social influence, despite evidence to the contrary.

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Another way we can align our eating behavior with others is through changes in liking and food preferences. Conforming to a group norm is a rewarding experience, and eating with someone else amplifies the hedonic aspects of the experience. Additionally, positive social feedback from peers enhances expected liking and positive attitudes toward a food, as well as personal evaluation of that food. These findings suggest that we eat like others because we find it a positive emotional experience and use norms to inform our food preferences.

A study from a few years ago demonstrated that the person who chooses a dish at a restaurant perceives it as better than someone who, due to unconscious alignment, says the fateful "same for me."

Expectations

Expectations often play a huge role in determining our life experiences. Scientific research results show that they influence biochemical, behavioral, and cognitive outcomes. They can be accompanied by cognitive or emotional states, and these are key variables in shaping perception. Our perceptual capacities are primary components of our personal experiences, and our subjective experiences (perceptions) of food are important regarding our eating experience.

Our expectations have a great influence on attitudes toward food and the pleasure we derive from it. Often, they determine whether we will consume the food in front of us or not.

?The story of smoked salmon ice cream

Yeomans and colleagues conducted a study examining how expectations influence the perception of an unusual flavor of ice cream: smoked salmon. One group of participants ate the ice cream from a plate labeled "ice cream," while another group ate the ice cream from a plate labeled "frozen salted mousse." Participants did not like the ice cream when labeled as ice cream, but it was not as bad when labeled as frozen salted mousse. When labeled as ice cream, people perceived a stronger hint of saltiness in the product. Participants who ate the frozen salted mousse perceived the ice cream as less salty and bitter and found the overall taste more pleasant.

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The presentation of food can significantly influence0In another study, diners at a restaurant were served the same meal in two different presentations on separate evenings.

One arrangement was rated as visually more attractive than the other.

Participants reported enjoying the food more when it was perceived as more attractive. The researchers concluded that presenting food in a more attractive and appealing way can influence the liking of taste.

In my laboratory, we recreated a similar experiment to understand if, in addition to reporting greater liking, there were different brain activities when a dish was presented in a more appealing manner.

?To analyze the reaction, it is first necessary to explain how the "pleasure center" works in the human being. We can say that it is formed by various specific brain areas, such as the ventral tegmental area (VTA), which projects neural connections to other areas involved in this process: the nucleus accumbens, the striatum, the anterior cingulate cortex, the hippocampus, the amygdala, and the cerebral cortex.

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Each of the centers involved in the pleasure or reward process is linked to different functions. For example, the striatum is connected to the formation of habits, the anterior cingulate cortex and the amygdala are connected to emotions, the hippocampus to memory, and the prefrontal cortex to reasoning and planning.

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Dopamine is the neurotransmitter that allows communication between the VTA and the rest of the area. When certain experiences activate VTA neurons and release dopamine, they are classified as pleasurable (increasing the likelihood of being remembered and associated with positive events, which will promote the repetition of these actions in the future).

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The result confirmed the theory: increased activity in these areas was recorded in the presence of dishes with a more "beautiful" presentation.

People usually have expectations about how much they will enjoy a food before deciding to eat it, and these expectations can be based on many variables. Those working in the food industry create conditions to optimize consumer experiences and expectations of the food experience, and those involved in food and beverage marketing have the primary goal of presenting food in a way that generates positive expectations.

?The way information is presented on labels, the composition, presentation, and price of food are data that can be managed to promote positive food expectations. Utilizing concepts from social psychology can be a significant avenue for strengthening positive expectations.

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For example, the principle of authority and self-fulfilling prophecy can induce expectations of great magnitude.

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The principle of authority, as employed in social psychology, refers to individuals' tendency to conform to authority. Whether someone holds the role of authority or not is contextual.

?The self-fulfilling prophecy refers to a situation in which a person's expectations about a second person lead the second person to behave in a way that confirms the first person's expectation. To utilize self-fulfilling prophecy in a food product evaluation taste test, we can introduce a verbal cue: "I believe you will like what you are about to taste."