PSYC 3365 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Ventromedial Nucleus Of The Hypothalamus, Walter Bradford Cannon, Conditioned Taste Aversion
Document Summary
3motivation and hunger (class notes ch 6) Taste is an evolutionary mechanism to help us select the right foods: sweet sugars (energy, salty minerals, nutrients, umami savory (proteins, sour acid (spoiled, bitter dangerous (poisonous) Sensory-specific satiety: the more of a particular food an individual eats, the less appealing that food becomes: sensory-specific satiety is the reason why we have so many small variations on particular food products. Learned taste aversion is learning to avoid foods associated with illness or poor nutrition: john garcia, rats taste (saccharin) radiation illness, learned to avoid the taste that preceded the illness. Learned taste preference is liking the flavor of foods that contains a required nutrient. Ex: salt (nacl) and potato chips contain salt. Summary: taste preferences are partly genetic/evolutionary and partly learned. Helps for a balanced diet: hunger as a motivation. Homeostasis: body mechanisms that maintain a safe or optimal range of functioning: walter cannon.
