eating and the environment

When viewed strictly in terms of physiology, eating behaviour is regulated by two processes: satiety and hunger. When you have consumed enough calories your body will make you feel full and sated. When you haven’t eaten for quite some time, you will experience hunger and thus are encouraged to feed. Psychologists know better than that. People aren’t very good at recognizing (let alone noticing) internal stimuli signaling satiety or hunger. Evidently eating behaviour is controlled to quite a large degree by external stimuli. For example, portion size has been found to affect eating. Though somewhat oversimplified, one can argue that the larger the serving, the more one will eat. Further, you are likely to eat much more of a meal enjoyed in a group than when eating alone. Meal variety also affects consumption. People eat more of a meal, the larger the variety of foods and flavours comprising the meal. Why people will eat more in these types of situations is an important question in our research on eating behaviour, subjectively experienced satiety and taste evaluation.