Abstract
In a test of Schachter's stimulus-binding theory and Nisbett's set-point theory, 42 women between the ages of 18 and 26 yr. were selected on the basis of weight, dieting history, and parental weight history, and were assigned to one of three groups: obese, normal, or below set-point normal. In a repeated-measures design subjects were asked to grade the taste of peanuts under the two conditions, “high-expansion” bogus preloads and “low-expansion” bogus preloads. While subjects believed they were receiving methyl cellulose of two different grades of expansion, they received placebos. Taste grading was a distractor; the dependent variable was the grams of peanuts eaten. The study was based on Stunkard and Koch's earlier notion that the obese are relatively out of touch with the state of their gut. As predicted from Schachter, a significant interaction was found. The obese ate reliably more peanuts under the “low-expansion” bogus preload condition. Effects of groups and conditions were nonsignificant, eating behavior of the below set-point and obese groups was not similar despite predictions by Nisbett.
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