Birch et al (1987) & Lowe et al (2004)

Psychology: AQA A Level, topic 13.1.2

Birch et al (1987) - Impact of Exposure on Preferences

Birch et al (1987) looked at the imapct of two different types of exposure (looking and tasting) on young children’s preference for novel foods.

Laboratory experiment.
51 2-5-year olds were exposed to seven novel foods, split into two groups ‘look’ or 'taste’.
They were exposed to 6 of the foods 5, 10 or 15 times; one remained novel.
The children were then asked to make a judgement: do the foods look good or do they taste good?

Significant correlations were found for the visual judgments of the looked at foods (r = 0·91), the visual judgments of the tasted (and looked at) foods (r = 0·97) and the taste judgments of the tasted foods (r = 0·94).
The only non-significant relationship was for the taste judgments of the looked at (but never tasted) foods (r = 0·24).

The results support the ‘learned safety’ concept of food choice.
As long as novel foods are not followed by negative side effects (e.g. vomiting or stomachache), the children learnt to like them.

Lowe et al (2004) investigated the effect of peer modelling and rewards-based intervention on fruit and vegetable consumption.

Field experiment.
749 children aged between 5-11, in two inner city London schools, were studied.
One group received the invention; the other group was a control.
In the experimental group, over a four-month period children received fruit at breaktime as a snack and fruit and vegetables at lunch time. They also watched a video featuring ‘The food dudes’ promoting the consumption of fruit and vegetables and received small rewards. Consumption of fruit and vegetables was recorded at break and lunchtime and by asking parents about their habits at home.

Results
Children in the experimental group ate more fruit and vegetables in school and at home.
Conclusion
This showed that peer-modelling and rewards-based interventions could encourage healthy eating in children.