Ch.9- Social Influences

• What is cuisine?

  Cuisine is defined by its staple ingredients (ex: rice), characteristic flavors (ex: spices), and particular modes of food preparation (ex: stir fry)

  There also have rules (ex: sequences, mixtures)
• Cuisines are Adaptive

  • Psychology accounts for discovery of adaptive behavior
  • Ex: Milk consumption & lactose intolerance
  • Lactase enzyme that breaks down milk sugar (lactose) is deprogrammed after infancy in most humans (Asians, black Americans)
  • These cultures have largely rejected milk products or used fermented/cultured products (yogurt, cheese)
  • Foods that are nutritionally complete & easily acceptable are more likely to be accepted in cuisine (ex: beans + rice or beans + corn)
• Religious Beliefs & Cultural Attitudes

  • prohibition of meat-eating by Hindus (nutritional-adaptive terms)
  • cows are more useful as dairy than a meat source
  • Hindus may avoid meat due to religious beliefs (sacredness of life & reincarnation
  • Beliefs about food set by culture (not individual)
  • ex: insects or dog meat as food
  • Learned "contaminants" are viewed as disgusting in some cultures, but not in others (SLT)
• Determinants of Cuisine

  • Food rules are learned + cultural (when, what utensil to use, etc)
  • Ex: donuts for breakfast, but not dinner; salad as appetizer; fries w/ fingers
• Other determinants of cuisine:

  • Perception of risk (ex: mad cow disease)
  • Attitudes about health (stress & emotion-related eating)
  • Ex: fat is bad
• Social Influences on Food Selection

  • Indirect influences- Ex: beliefs, culinary traditions, occasions, availability (presence of a person is not necessary)
  • Ex: wouldn't eat food touched by a roach
  • Direct influences- involvement of another person as a social agents
  • Availability of food is both a determinant and a consequence
• Benefits of Direct Social Influences

  • We are paradoxically attracted (neophilic) to and fearful (neophobic) of new food (aka omnivore's paradox)
• How do we manage this paradox?

  • Commensal eating (eating in groups w/ fam or friends)
  • We tend to eat when we're socializing
  • No excessive eating/undereating
  • Balances food consumption
• Social Learning about Food

  • We innately dislike spicy/bitter foods but learn to like them when they are associated with social status & reinforcement
  • We prefer food made by someone we like (positive feelings for)
  • Law of contagion- exchange of properties when two objects contact one another (ex: people, brand, food)