Motivation to Eat
AP Psychology
What Motivates us to Eat?
 Complete the survey 
 The measure is based on a four-category model of
motivations for alcohol use
 The model specifies the following four specific
motivations for eating that extend beyond the need for
nourishment
 To cope with negative affect
 To be social
 To comply with others’ expectations
 To enhance pleasure
What Motivates us to Eat?
 Most important—
 this scale recognizes that psychological motivations can
play an important role in the initiation of both healthy and
disordered eating
Scoring
Coping
 Add the numbers placed
Social Motivation
 Add the numbers placed
before the following items:
before the following items:
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5
7
9
10
11
4
12
13
14
18
Scoring
Compliance
 Add the numbers placed
Pleasure
 Add the numbers placed
before the following items:
before the following items:
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15
16
17
19
20
1
2
3
6
8
Take a moment to identify your mean
score for each category
Mean Scores
Female Undergraduates
 The mean scores
Male Undergraduates
 The Mean scores
were:
were:
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1.78 for Coping
2.74 for Social
1.60 for Compliance
2.33 for Pleasure
1.78 for Coping
2.66 for Social
1.54 for Compliance
2.28 for Pleasure
 What commonalities do we see?
 What might explain the similarities and differences
What’s the Significance?
 Mean scores are for a group of generally healthy
people
 May suggest:
 These psychological motivations are not the dominant
reasons healthy undergraduates eat
 The Authors suggest:
 Disturbed eating results from chronically acting on coping,
compliance, and pleasure motivations
 Even those who diet may see their eating as motivated by
depression, feelings of personal inadequacy, and as a
way to comfort themselves.
What Motivates us to Eat?
 Would you do anything to survive? Would you eat
anything to live?
 1972 plane crash in the Andes Mountains
 Survivors were stranded for 72 days, existing on wine,
chocolates, and finally the flesh of their dead comrades
The Decision to Eat
 Factors Affecting their
Choice:
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Difficult decision
“Life is more important”
Developed rules for eating
Changed definitions of “taboo”
Encouraged others to eat their
flesh, if they too should die
Discuss
 How strong is the hunger drive?
 What do you think you would do in this situation?
The Psychology of Hunger
 What affects hunger?
 Hunger does NOT
come from our
stomach.
 It comes from our…
 Brain
 What part of the brain?
 The Hypothalamus
Hypothalamus
Lateral Hypothalamus
Ventromedial Hypothalamus
 Initiates Hypothalamus
Hunger
Mnemonic:
Stops Hunger
 Orexin- a hormone that
 When lesioned you will
when released by the
I’m
latehypothalamus
for lunch.
lateral
makes
you feel hungry
hypothalamus
 When lesioned
(destroyed) you will
never be hungry again.
never feelThe
full again.
I’m hungry.
lateral
makes you hungry.
What affects hunger?
 Glucose- sugar that
circulates throughout the
body that is used for energy-
 Run low on glucose you feel
hungry as orexin is now
being released as a
response
 “Satisfy your hunger and eat a
Snickers” What is the key
ingredient in any candy bar?
Sugar. Run low on glucose you
become hungry
What affects Hunger?
 Insulin- hormone that converts glucose to energy- high
levels of insulin result in low levels of glucose- you feel
hungry
 Think of a teeter-totter- when insulin goes up/ glucose goes
down- producing hunger
What affects Hunger?
 CCK- produced by hormones in the gut that provide
short-term signals of satiation, or being full
 CCK is released while you are eating in response to
the lining of the stomach stretching The more it stretches- the more CCK is released
 When you say; “I am stuffed,” that is because CCK was
released, signifying to the brain to stop eating
Review
1.
The most critical physiological factor
controlling hunger is the
A. level of blood sugar
B. stomach contractions
C. taste of food
D. presence of fatigue
Review
2.
The maintenance of steady states of temperature
and blood pressure are examples of
A. thermostasis
B. homeostasis
C. intrinsic motivation
D. biological rhythm
Review
3.
Electrically stimulating the lateral hypothalamus will
cause a rat to
A. start eating
B. stop eating
C. start drinking
D. stop drinking
Review
4.
If the lateral hypothalamus is destroyed, a rat will
A. drink more water than biologically needed
B. refuse to drink until forced to do so.
C. eat until it becomes obese
D. refuse to eat until force fed.
Review
5.
The employees at a factory were excellent workers until a
week before Christmas when a rumor spread that economic
conditions would force the plant to close in four days. The quality
and quantity of work took a down turn as the workers spent time
discussing among themselves the plausibility of the rumor and what
they would do if it were true. Maslow would say that these workers
were motivated by
A. meta-needs
B. intrinsic motivation
C. esteem and self-esteem
D. safety and security
Set-Point Theory
 Set point theory is maintaining of the body’s ideal
weight
 This is maintained, or regulated through homeostasis,
which affects the basal metabolic rate- (BMR) the rate
at which your body conserves and burns off calories.
 The hypothalamus acts like a thermostat.
 Wants to maintain a stable weight.
 Activate the lateral when you diet and activate the
ventromedial when you start to gain weight.
 Ghrelin
Set-Point Theory
 Factors that affect
the BMR:
 Women have a
slower BMR.
 Not eating lowers
your BMR.
 Exercising speeds up
the BMR.
 Overweight people
have a higher BMR.
Set-Point Theory--Leptin
 Leptin is a cell-signaling hormone vital in the regulation of
appetite, food intake and body weight.
 When fat mass decreases, the level of plasma leptin falls so
that appetite is stimulated until the fat mass is recovered.
 By contrast, when fat mass increases, so do leptin levels and
appetite is suppressed until weight loss occurs.
 In this way leptin regulates energy intake and fat stores so
that weight is maintained within a relatively narrow range.
 Resistance to leptin, or a lack of it have been associated with
obesity
Obesity
 Obesity- is indicated by over 30 on the BMI- the Body
Mass Index
 Severely overweight to the point where it causes health
issues.
 Mostly eating habits but some people are predisposed
towards obesity.
Eating Disorders
Anorexia Nervosa
 Characterized by an
obsession with body
weight and a
preoccupation to burn
calories through
excessive exercising
and not eating
Bulimia Nervosa
 Characterized by
binging (consuming
large amounts of
calories) and purgingmethods that involve
ridding the body of food
Eating Disorders
 Eating disorders often
involve perceptual
distortions- even though
a person is underweight
they still see themselves
as being overweight,
which is why
professional help is
often required
With a small group…
 Read the article: “Why Men are Better Dieters Than
Women”
 Respond:
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What makes men better dieters?
Which motivational theory best matches up to this?
Do you agree with their hypothesis?
Are there any social or cultural aspects they may have
ignored?