Humor and Hunger Affect the Response Toward Food Cues
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Humor and Hunger Affect the Response Toward Food Cues. / Froehlich, Eva; Samaan, Larissa; Matsuzaki, Rie; Park, Soyoung Q.
In: FRONT PSYCHOL, Vol. 12, 680508, 2021.Research output: SCORING: Contribution to journal › SCORING: Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Humor and Hunger Affect the Response Toward Food Cues
AU - Froehlich, Eva
AU - Samaan, Larissa
AU - Matsuzaki, Rie
AU - Park, Soyoung Q
N1 - Copyright © 2021 Froehlich, Samaan, Matsuzaki and Park.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - The omnipresence of food cues in everyday life has been linked to troubled eating behavior and rising rates of obesity. While extended research has been conducted on the effects of negative emotions and stress on food consumption, very little is known about how positive emotions affect eating and particularly attention toward food cues. In the present study, we investigated whether humor impacts attentional bias toward food and whether it will affect preferences for healthy and unhealthy food items, depending on the hunger state. To do so, a group of randomly assigned participants watched funny video clips (humor group, N = 46) or neutral ones (control group, N = 49). Afterwards, they performed a modified Posner cueing task with low or high caloric food images serving as cues. We found a significant group × hunger interaction. Compared to the control group, the humor group responded more slowly to food cues when hungry, whereas the opposite was true when participants were satiated. Additionally, our results suggest that hunger possibly directs attention away from healthy food cues and toward unhealthy ones. No group differences were found with respect to food preferences and engagement and disengagement of attention. We discuss the potential of humor in counteracting aversive consequences of hunger on attention allocation toward food. We propose an underlying mechanism involving a combined reduction in cortisol levels and a decrease in activation of the reward system. However, given the novelty of the findings, further research is warranted, both to replicate the results as well as to investigate the suggested underlying processes.
AB - The omnipresence of food cues in everyday life has been linked to troubled eating behavior and rising rates of obesity. While extended research has been conducted on the effects of negative emotions and stress on food consumption, very little is known about how positive emotions affect eating and particularly attention toward food cues. In the present study, we investigated whether humor impacts attentional bias toward food and whether it will affect preferences for healthy and unhealthy food items, depending on the hunger state. To do so, a group of randomly assigned participants watched funny video clips (humor group, N = 46) or neutral ones (control group, N = 49). Afterwards, they performed a modified Posner cueing task with low or high caloric food images serving as cues. We found a significant group × hunger interaction. Compared to the control group, the humor group responded more slowly to food cues when hungry, whereas the opposite was true when participants were satiated. Additionally, our results suggest that hunger possibly directs attention away from healthy food cues and toward unhealthy ones. No group differences were found with respect to food preferences and engagement and disengagement of attention. We discuss the potential of humor in counteracting aversive consequences of hunger on attention allocation toward food. We propose an underlying mechanism involving a combined reduction in cortisol levels and a decrease in activation of the reward system. However, given the novelty of the findings, further research is warranted, both to replicate the results as well as to investigate the suggested underlying processes.
U2 - 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.680508
DO - 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.680508
M3 - SCORING: Journal article
C2 - 34603121
VL - 12
JO - FRONT PSYCHOL
JF - FRONT PSYCHOL
SN - 1664-1078
M1 - 680508
ER -