The phenomenology of food cravings: The role of mental imagery

The study aimed to investigate the role of mental imagery in the experience of food cravings. A sample of 130 undergraduate students was first asked to recall and rate a previous food craving experience. Second, they were asked to imagine themselves eating their favourite food and to rate the involv...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Appetite 2005-12, Vol.45 (3), p.305-313
Main Authors: Tiggemann, M., Kemps, E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Appetite - physiology
Arousal - physiology
Biological and medical sciences
craving
Craving intensity
dietary restriction
Feeding. Feeding behavior
Female
Food - classification
food choices
Food craving
Food Preferences - psychology
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
hunger
Imagination - physiology
Male
Medical sciences
men
Mental imagery
Mental Recall
Metabolic diseases
neurophysiology
perceptions (cognitive)
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
questionnaires
Satiety Response - physiology
Sensory modalities
sensory properties
Taste - physiology
Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems
women
young adults
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Summary:The study aimed to investigate the role of mental imagery in the experience of food cravings. A sample of 130 undergraduate students was first asked to recall and rate a previous food craving experience. Second, they were asked to imagine themselves eating their favourite food and to rate the involvement of different sensory modalities. It was found that mental imagery was a key element in both the retrospective craving experience and the current food induction. In particular, craving intensity was related to the vividness of the food image ( r=.46). The specific sensory modalities most involved were visual (39.7%) and gustatory (30.6%), followed by olfactory (15.8%). There was little involvement of auditory or tactile modalities. It was concluded that cognitive experimental techniques aimed at reducing the vividness of visual, gustatory or olfactory imagery, might usefully be deployed to reduce unwanted food cravings.
ISSN:0195-6663
1095-8304
DOI:10.1016/j.appet.2005.06.004