What do you think would happen if you did an experiment, where you gave 2 groups of people free flow of ice cream, and the only difference was that the first group was given medium-sized bowls, and the second given large ones?
Would the 2 groups scoop the same amount, or would the bowl size affect how much they scooped and ate?
Or, what if you did another experiment with another 2 groups, and for one group, you gave them 7 colours of M&M’s, and for the other group you gave them 10 different colours of M&M’s?
Would both groups eat the same amount, or would the variety of colours affect how much they ate?
If you want to know the answers, check out Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think. Mindless Eating is a book about the psychology of eating. The author Brian Wansink is a scientist who has conducted numerous studies on the subject, including those experiments mentioned above. 
On second thoughts, for my own personal safety, I better reveal the results.
Here’s what happened to those ice cream eaters:
Those who were given the huge bowls dished out huge amounts. In fact, they dished about 31 percent more - 127 more calories’ worth of ice cream. […]
Big dishes and big spoons are big trouble. As the size of our dishes increases, so does the amount we scoop onto them.
And the M&M’s?
If you want to lose weight and you absolutely need to eat M&M’s, get those single coloured ones.Most people know that all M&M’s taste alike. The color is just added to the coating. There’s no way they should eat different amounts.
But they do. The person with 10 colors will eat 43 more M&M’s (99 versus 56) than his friend with 7 colors. He does so because he thinks there’s more variety, which increases how much he thinks he’ll like the M&M’s and how much he thinks is normal to eat.
Speaking of losing weight, this book is stuffed with many, many more such fascinating insights into our psyche when it comes to eating, which would help one lose weight almost effortlessly (albeit quite gradually).
Heck, even if you don’t need to lose weight, the stuffing in there is still equally fascinating.
This book is for people who eat. Enough said.
The first time you told me the interesting tidbits from the book, I was intrigued! I must get hold of a copy.
Comment by Veron — May 6, 2007 @ 1:07 am
The book and the studies (in my honest and own opinion) are seriously killing the joy of eating.
Comment by Pei Ee — May 6, 2007 @ 11:37 pm
Sounds like an interesting book. Must get a copy soon.
It’s the same when I cook for parties or for my company’s toastmasters’ meeting. I must cook enough of every dish because people will want to sampe everything.
This is why people definitely tend to overeat in buffets because they are spoilt for choice. For me, I prefer to eat only the things I fancy, completely leaving out some of the things.
Comment by ganchau — May 7, 2007 @ 10:20 am
Psychology of eating… a killjoy, definite but very interesting, nonetheless. Such a wonder, how our brains work.
Comment by Kydia — May 7, 2007 @ 1:53 pm
Pei Ee, Kydia: does understanding how the nervous system works help you feel less pain?
Comment by tinkertailor — May 7, 2007 @ 2:04 pm
Hmmm… I would think that an understanding will help in coping/handling of the pain better and in a way, might be able to lessen the pain as such. Make sense?
Comment by Kydia — May 7, 2007 @ 2:48 pm