A Psychology of Food

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-ix

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2. Food: Its Psychological Meaning and Significance

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

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   2. The Role of Food and Eating in Personality and Social Development

      • Bernard Lyman

      Pages 3-9

3. Food Preferences

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 11-11

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   2. Long-term Food Preferences

      • Bernard Lyman

      Pages 13-33

   3. Fluctuations in Food Preferences

      • Bernard Lyman

      Pages 34-43

   4. The Relation Between Emotions and Food Preferences

      • Bernard Lyman

      Pages 44-54

   5. Fads, Fashions, and Food Preferences

      • Bernard Lyman

      Pages 55-60

4. Food as a Complex Psychological Stimulus

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 61-61

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   2. Taste

      • Bernard Lyman

      Pages 63-68

   3. Odor

      • Bernard Lyman

      Pages 69-84

   4. Texture

      • Bernard Lyman

      Pages 85-96

   5. Appearance

      • Bernard Lyman

      Pages 97-108

   6. Color

      • Bernard Lyman

      Pages 109-121

5. Food Meanings and Associations

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 123-123

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   2. Food Meanings

      • Bernard Lyman

      Pages 125-138

   3. Changing Food Likes and Dislikes

      • Bernard Lyman

      Pages 139-153

   4. The Use of Food as Psychotherapy

      • Bernard Lyman

      Pages 154-159

   5. Conclusion

      • Bernard Lyman

      Pages 160-160

6. Back Matter

   Pages 161-189

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Writing this book has been a pleasure, but it has also been frustrating. It was a delight to see that the facts of food preferences, eating, and food behavior conform in many ways to the general principles of psychology. Matching these, however, was often like putting together a jigsaw puz­ zle-looking at a fact and trying to figure out which psychological theories or principles were relevant. This was made more difficult by conflicting principles in psychology and contradictory findings in psychological as well as food-preference research. The material cited is not meant to be exhaustive. Undoubtedly, I have been influenced by my own research interests and points of view. When conflicting data exist, I selected those that seemed to me most representa­ tive or relevant, and I have done so without consistently pointing out contrary findings. This applies also to the discussion of psychological prin­ ciples. Much psychological research is done in very restrictive conditions. Therefore, it has limited applicability beyond the confines of the context in which it was conducted. What holds true of novelty, complexity, and curiosity when two-dimensional line drawings are studied, for example, may not have much to do with novelty, complexity, and curiosity in rela­ tion to foods, which vary in many ways such as shape, color, taste, texture, and odor. Nevertheless, I have tried to suggest relationships between psy­ chological principles and food preferences.

• Taste
• behavior
• complex
• complexity
• conflict
• development
• emotion
• personality
• psychology
• psychotherapy
• research

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