Before dipping your hand into that bowl of M&Ms (一种巧克力豆) at the holiday party, think about what you’re about to do. A lot. A new study finds that people who imagine themselves consuming many pieces of candy eat less of the real thing when given the chance.
Picturing a delicious food—like a juicy steak or an ice cream sundae—generally whets (刺激) the appetite. But what about visualizing yourself eating the entire sundae, spoonful by spoonful?
There’s reason to think that might have the opposite effect, says Carey Morewedge, a psychologist at Carnegie Mellon University. Researchers have found that repeated exposure to a particular food—as in taking bite after bite of it—decreases the desire to consume more. But no one had looked to see whether merely imagining eating has the same effect.
To find out, Morewedge and his colleagues fed M&Ms and cheese cubes to 50 university students. In one experiment, the participants first imagined performing 33 repetitive motions (动作): Half of them imagined eating 30 M&Ms and inserting three quarters into the slot of a laundry machine. The other half imagined eating three M&Ms and inserting 30 quarters. Then everyone was allowed to eat their fill from a bowl of M&Ms. It was reported that those who’d imagined eating more candy ate about three on average, while the others ate about five M&Ms.
The researchers then extended their findings to another food group—cheese. As in the M&M experiment, people who imagined eating 30 cheese cubes consumed less of the real thing. But volunteers who imagined eating 30 M&Ms ate the same amount of cheese as those who imagined eating three M&Ms. Thus, the effect is specific to the type of food imagined.
The findings should have practical applications, says Morewedge. One possible strategy for weight watchers might be to spend a few minutes before each meal imagining eating exactly the foods they’re about to consume, he says.
Although he is planning follow-up studies to investigate the potential of imagined consumption for helping people control their appetite, Morewedge says he’s not planning to experiment on himself over the holidays. “I really enjoy my mother’s cooking,” he says.
12. What did Morewedge and his colleagues want to find out with the first experiment?
A. Whether imagining eating would lead to weight loss.
B. Whether imagining eating would reduce appetite.
C. Whether picturing a delicious food would whet appetite.
D. Whether repeated exposure to food would reduce appetite.
13. What does the underlined part “the others” in Paragraph 4 refer to?
A. Those who imagined eating 30 M&Ms.
B. Those who imagined eating three M&Ms.
C. Those who didn’t participate in the experiment.
D. Those who didn’t imagine eating M&Ms.
14. According to the findings from the experiment, which of the following may make you eat less?
A. Imagining eating any kind of food.
B. Imagining eating at least two kinds of food.
C. Imagining eating as many kinds of food as possible.
D. Imagining eating the same kind of food you will eat.
15. What can be the best title for the text?
A. How to Control Your Appetite
B. Imagining Eating M&Ms: A Way to Lose Weight
C. To Eat Less, Imagine Eating More
D. The Less You Imagine, the More You Eat
答案
Picturing a delicious food—like a juicy steak or an ice cream sundae—generally whets (刺激) the appetite. But what about visualizing yourself eating the entire sundae, spoonful by spoonful?
There’s reason to think that might have the opposite effect, says Carey Morewedge, a psychologist at Carnegie Mellon University. Researchers have found that repeated exposure to a particular food—as in taking bite after bite of it—decreases the desire to consume more. But no one had looked to see whether merely imagining eating has the same effect.
To find out, Morewedge and his colleagues fed M&Ms and cheese cubes to 50 university students. In one experiment, the participants first imagined performing 33 repetitive motions (动作): Half of them imagined eating 30 M&Ms and inserting three quarters into the slot of a laundry machine. The other half imagined eating three M&Ms and inserting 30 quarters. Then everyone was allowed to eat their fill from a bowl of M&Ms. It was reported that those who’d imagined eating more candy ate about three on average, while the others ate about five M&Ms.
The researchers then extended their findings to another food group—cheese. As in the M&M experiment, people who imagined eating 30 cheese cubes consumed less of the real thing. But volunteers who imagined eating 30 M&Ms ate the same amount of cheese as those who imagined eating three M&Ms. Thus, the effect is specific to the type of food imagined.
The findings should have practical applications, says Morewedge. One possible strategy for weight watchers might be to spend a few minutes before each meal imagining eating exactly the foods they’re about to consume, he says.
Although he is planning follow-up studies to investigate the potential of imagined consumption for helping people control their appetite, Morewedge says he’s not planning to experiment on himself over the holidays. “I really enjoy my mother’s cooking,” he says.
12. What did Morewedge and his colleagues want to find out with the first experiment?
A. Whether imagining eating would lead to weight loss.
B. Whether imagining eating would reduce appetite.
C. Whether picturing a delicious food would whet appetite.
D. Whether repeated exposure to food would reduce appetite.
13. What does the underlined part “the others” in Paragraph 4 refer to?
A. Those who imagined eating 30 M&Ms.
B. Those who imagined eating three M&Ms.
C. Those who didn’t participate in the experiment.
D. Those who didn’t imagine eating M&Ms.
14. According to the findings from the experiment, which of the following may make you eat less?
A. Imagining eating any kind of food.
B. Imagining eating at least two kinds of food.
C. Imagining eating as many kinds of food as possible.
D. Imagining eating the same kind of food you will eat.
15. What can be the best title for the text?
A. How to Control Your Appetite
B. Imagining Eating M&Ms: A Way to Lose Weight
C. To Eat Less, Imagine Eating More
D. The Less You Imagine, the More You Eat
答案
苏19057182-3号