Browsing by Author "Robinson, Eric"

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    Encouraging children to eat more fruit and vegetables: Health vs. descriptive social norm-based messages.
    (Elsevier, 2016-01-26) Sharps, Maxine; Robinson, Eric
    Traditional intervention approaches to promote fruit and vegetable consumption outline the health benefits of eating fruit and vegetables. More recently, social norm-based messages describing the healthy eating habits of others have been shown to increase fruit and vegetable intake in adults. Here we report two experimental studies which investigated whether exposure to descriptive social norm-based mes-sages about the behaviour of other children and health-based messages increased fruit and vegetable intake in young children. In both studies children were exposed to messages whilst playing a board-game. After exposure to the messages, children were able to consume fruit and vegetables, as well as high calorie snack foods. Although findings were inconsistent across the two individual studies, in a pooled analysis we found evidence that both health messages and descriptive social norm-based mes-sages increased children's fruit and vegetable intake, relative to control condition messages (p<.05).Whether descriptive social norm-based messages can be used to promote meaningful changes to children's dietary behaviour warrants further study.
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    Examining evidence for behavioural mimicry of parental eating by adolescent females. An observational study.
    (Elsevier, 2015-06) Sharps, Maxine; Higgs, Suzanne; Blissett, Jacqueline; Nouwen, Arie; Chechlacz, Magdalena; Allen, Harriet. A.; Robinson, Eric
    Behavioural mimicry is a potential mechanism explaining why adolescents appear to be influenced by their parents' eating behaviour. In the current study we examined whether there is evidence that adolescent females mimic their parents when eating. Videos of thirty-eight parent and female adolescent dyads eating a lunchtime meal together were examined. We tested whether a parent placing a food item into their mouth was associated with an increased likelihood that their adolescent child would place any food item (non-specific mimicry) or the same item (specific mimicry) in their mouth at three different time frames, namely, during the same second or within the next fifteen seconds (+15), five seconds (+5) or two second (+2) period. Parents and adolescents' overall food intake was positively correlated, whereby a parent eating a larger amount of food was associated with the adolescent eating a larger meal. Across all of the three time frames adolescents were more likely to place a food item in their mouth if their parent had recently placed that same food item in their mouth (specific food item mimicry); however, there was no evidence of non-specific mimicry. This observational study suggests that when eating in a social context there is evidence that adolescent females may mimic their parental eating behaviour, selecting and eating more of a food item if their parent has just started to eat that food.
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    Perceived eating norms and children's eating behaviour: an informational social influence account.
    (Elsevier, 2017-02-10) Sharps, Maxine; Robinson, Eric
    There is initial evidence that beliefs about the eating behaviour of others (perceived eating norms) can influence children's vegetable consumption, but little research has examined the mechanisms explaining this effect. In two studies we aimed to replicate the effect that perceived eating norms have on children's vegetable consumption, and to explore mechanisms which may underlie the influence of perceived eating norms on children's vegetable consumption. Study 1 investigated whether children follow perceived eating norms due to a desire to maintain personal feelings of social acceptance. Study 2 investigated whether perceived eating norms influence eating behaviour because eating norms provide information which can remove uncertainty about how to behave. Across both studies children were exposed to vegetable consumption information of other children and their vegetable consumption was examined. In both studies children were influenced by perceived eating norms, eating more when led to believe others had eaten a large amount compared to when led to believe others had eaten no vegetables. In Study 1, children were influenced by a perceived eating norm regardless of whether they felt sure or unsure that other children accepted them. In Study 2, children were most influenced by a perceived eating norm if they were eating in a novel context in which it may have been uncertain how to behave, as opposed to an eating context that children had already encountered. Perceived eating norms may influence children's eating behaviour by removing uncertainty about how to behave, otherwise known as informational social influence.
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    Perceived eating norms and vegetable consumption in children
    (Springer, 2015-10-14) Sharps, Maxine; Robinson, Eric
    Background Beliefs about the eating behaviour of others (perceived eating norms) have been shown to influence eating behaviour in adults, but no research has examined whether young children are motivated by perceived eating norms. Findings Here we investigated the effect on vegetable intake of exposing children to information about the vegetable intake of other children. One hundred and forty three children aged 6–11 years old took part in a between-subjects experiment. Children were exposed to information suggesting that other children had eaten a large amount of carrots, no carrots, or control information. Children ate more carrots when they believed that other children had eaten a large amount of carrots, compared to all other conditions. Conclusions Perceived eating norms can influence vegetable intake in young children and making use of eating norms to promote healthier eating in children warrants investigation.
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    Reprint of: Eating like you are overweight: the effect of overweight models on food intake in a remote confederate study.
    (Elsevier, 2014-12-24) Robinson, Eric; Sharps, Maxine; Price, Nicola; Dallas, Rebecca
    There is consistent evidence that people model the eating behaviour of others. The extent to which people model the amount of food consumed by other people of different weight statuses has received less attention. Here we tested the effect on food consumption of exposing female participants to information about the food consumption of either normal/healthy weight or overweight individuals. Eighty female participants took part in a between-subjects experiment, in which we used a remote-confederate design and manipulated whether participants saw intake information about normal/healthy weight or overweight previous participants (remote confederates). Regardless of the weight-status of the remote confederates, participants ate more food when they believed that previous participants had eaten a large amount of food, in comparison with when they believed previous participants had eaten a smaller amount of food. These findings indicate that women may model the food intake of other women, even when they believe they are of a different weight status to themselves.
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    Social Imitation of Alcohol Consumption and Ingratiation Motives in Young Adults
    (American Psychological Association, 2016-06) Robinson, Eric; Oldham, Melissa; Sharps, Maxine; Cunliffe, Alexandra; Scott, Jade; Clark, Emma; Piercy, Katie; Field, Matt
    Across 2 studies we tested the hypothesis that social ingratiation motives may be an important factor explaining social imitation of alcohol consumption. In Study 1, participants drank alcohol with a heavy versus light drinking confederate under conditions that were designed to heighten or reduce (participants believed they would not be judged) motivation for ingratiation. In Study 2 we manipulated the degree to which participants believed they had already successfully ingratiated themselves with a heavy or no (alcohol) drinking confederate. In Study 1, participants’ alcohol consumption was most strongly influenced by the confederate’s drinking behavior when they believed that they would later be judged by the confederate. In Study 2, participants’ alcohol consumption was influenced by the confederate’s drinking behavior and this effect was particularly pronounced if participants were unsure if the confederate had accepted them. The desire for social ingratiation may in part explain why people imitate the drinking behavior of those around them.