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Individuals vary in the extent to which they engage in holistic and analytic information processing styles. Holistic processing involves focusing on the interconnectivity and relatedness of items being evaluated, while analytic processing involves focusing on items being judged as discrete elements and independent of context. We examined the contribution of these basic processing styles to the dishware size effect, which proposes that food consumption patterns may be influenced by the size of the dishware (i.e., larger plates increase the amount of food consumed). We observed that participants self-served and consumed more food when using and eating from a larger plate (LP) compared with a smaller plate (SP) (

Introduction: Experimental research has examined the effect of social media on body dissatisfaction, but little attention has been given to the impact on eating behavior. Across two studies, we tested the causal relationship between acute social media use, body dissatisfaction and eating behavior. Methods: In Study 1, 80 female participants (age: M = 20.75 years; BMI: M = 21.3) viewed their own Facebook account or a news website before completing a portion size selection task. In Study 2 (pre-registered), 148 participants (81 females; age: M = 20.92 years; BMI: M = 22.19), viewed their own or an experimenter-curated Instagram profile before consuming potato chips ad-libitum. Results: In Study 1, body dissatisfaction was significantly higher in participants who viewed Facebook (compared to a news website) and significantly mediated the effect of condition on portion size selection. In Study 2, regardless of condition females reported significantly smaller ideal body sizes and higher body dissatisfaction compared to males. When females reported a thinner body size as ideal, females in the personal Instagram consumed significantly less potato chips than those in the control Instagram condition. When males reported a smaller actual body size, males in the personal Instagram condition consumed significantly less potato chips than males in the control Instagram condition. Discussion: Findings suggest brief bouts of social media use may produce immediate disruptions to body image of both sexes, and restrained snack intake of females endorsing thin ideals.

Portion size selection is an indicator of appetite and within younger adults, is predicted by factors such as expected satiety, liking and motivations to achieve an ideal sensation of fullness (i.e., implicit satiety goals). Currently, there is limited research available on the determinants of portion size selection within older adults. Therefore, the current study aimed to examine the relationship between individual differences in implicit satiety goals, food-related expectations, and portion size selection in older adults. Free-living older adult Singaporeans (N = 115; N

Conclusions about human behavior are primarily based upon observations from western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (WEIRD) samples, especially from the United States. One consequence may be the promotion of assumptions that research findings from these populations are more generalizable to humankind than findings from non-WEIRD populations. We tested this with an archival study comparing the extent to which titles of over 5,000 published psychology articles specify samples’ racial/ethnic/national/cultural characteristics—a practice that implies constraints to generalizability. We observed that samples from the United States were less frequently specified in titles compared to both other WEIRD and non-WEIRD regions. Yet, samples from the United States (compared to other regions) were more frequently specified in titles if they referred to racial/ethnic/cultural minorities who may be perceived as exceptions to assumed generalizability of the White American population. These findings suggest that one consequence of a USA-centric sampling bias in psychology may be biased assumptions of (White) people from the United States as especially reflective of humankind.

Culture fusion reflects blending of elements from distinct cultures that produces a novel, hybrid cultural representation. Prior research among participants in the USA revealed that fusion of cultural elements from the USA and China could be perceived as contamination of one’s local culture and evokes disgust. It remains unknown whether this aversion to culture fusion generalizes to other samples and is contingent on perceivers’ attitudes toward the source of the foreign culture. Here, we tested these questions across two studies. Participants were exposed to different patterns of culture mixing of their own local culture and two foreign cultures (one relatively favored and one relatively disfavored). Across both studies (Singaporean participants in Study 1 and Hong Kong participants in Study 2), the results replicated prior findings suggesting that culture fusion elicits stronger negative evaluations (e.g., disgust, discomfort) compared to other patterns of culture mixing (i.e., presentation of local and foreign elements side-by-side). Importantly, a Mixing Type × Foreign Source interaction emerged, such that participants in both studies reacted more negatively to culture mixing involving a less favored (China) than a more favored (USA) culture, with negative reactions especially pronounced toward culture fusion. This aversive response was moderated by patriotism in Singapore but not in Hong Kong. These findings demonstrate that response to culture mixing depends on intergroup attitudes toward foreign cultures, and culture fusion is especially aversive when involving cultural inflows from a disfavored out-group. The contribution of geopolitical differences between Singapore and Hong Kong on these findings are also considered. Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) Nanyang Technological University The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research and preparation of this manuscript was supported by Nanyang Assistant Professorship (NAP) Award Grant (M4081643.SS0) awarded to Bobby Cheon, a General Research Fund (Reference Number 14655416) of the Research Grant Council of Hong Kong SAR government awarded to Ying-yi Hong, and by A*STAR under its IAF-PP Food Structure Engineering for Nutrition and Health Programme (Grant ID Number H17/01/a0/A11 & H18/01/a0/B11).

Comparative metabolomics analysis of biofluids could provide information about the metabolic alterations in aging. To investigate the signature of multiple metabolic profiles associated with aging in an Asian population, we performed a pilot study in healthy Singaporeans, including 33 elderly and 33 young males. Fasting whole bloods were analyzed by routine hematology; the serum and urine metabolome profiles were obtained using NMR-based nontargeted metabolomics analysis and targeted lipoprotein analysis. Among the 90 identified compounds in serum and urine samples, 32 were significantly different between the two groups. The most obvious age-related metabolic signatures include decreased serum levels of albumin lysyl and essential amino acids and derivatives but increased levels of N-acetyl glycoproteins and several lipids and elevated urine levels of trimethylamine N-oxide, scyllo-inositol, citrate, and ascorbic acid but decreased levels of several amino acids, acetate, etc. Among 112 lipoprotein subfractions, 65 were elevated, and 2 were lower in the elderly group. These significantly age-varying metabolites, especially in the amino acid and fatty acid metabolism pathways, suggest that the regulation of these pathways contributes to the aging process in Chinese Singaporeans. Further multiomics studies including the gut microbiome and intervention studies in a larger cohort are needed to elucidate the possible mechanisms in the aging process. Accepted version

In addition to its public health implications, the global COVID-19 pandemic has also produced significant disruptions to individuals' socioeconomic resources and opportunities. Prior research has suggested that low subjective socioeconomic status (SSES) may stimulate appetite and motivate increased energy intake. Here, we tested whether individuals experiencing lower levels of SSES (SSES disadvantage) during a nationwide stay-at-home order for COVID-19 exhibited preferences for larger food portion sizes through perceived disruptions to personal financial and material resources. Data was collected near the conclusion of a nationwide partial lockdown (Singapore's "Circuit-Breaker" from April to June 2020). Participants (N = 295) completed an online survey involving a measure of SSES, the Coronavirus Impacts Questionnaire, and a food portion selection task where participants estimated the portion size they prefer to consume for a range of common foods. SSES disadvantage was associated with selection of smaller average portion sizes. Yet, a significant indirect effect of coronavirus impact was observed in this relationship, such that participants experiencing greater SSES disadvantage selected larger portion sizes through the effect of greater perceived impacts of COVID-19 to one's financial/material resources (controlling for one's actual level of income). These findings further support the idea that perceived deprivation and insecurity of important resources (financial, social, material) may influence intentions to consume greater amounts of energy. Consequently, systematic societal disruptions to such resources may reinforce and perpetuate potentially obesogenic eating behaviors of populations that are especially vulnerable to such shocks (i.e., people experiencing SSES disadvantage).

Cultural norms for the experience, expression, and regulation of emotion vary widely between individualistic and collectivistic cultures. Collectivistic cultures value conformity, social harmony, and social status hierarchies, which demand sensitivity and focus to broader social contexts, such that attention is directed to contextual emotion information to effectively function within constrained social roles and suppress incongruent personal emotions. By contrast, individualistic cultures valuing autonomy and personal aspirations are more likely to attend to central emotion information and to reappraise emotions to avoid negative emotional experience. Here we examined how culture affects perceptual strategies employed during emotion regulation, particularly during cognitive reappraisal and emotional suppression. Eye movements were measured while healthy young adult participants viewed negative International Affective Picture System (IAPS) images and regulated emotions by using either strategies of reappraisal (19 Asian American, 21 Caucasian American) or suppression (21 Asian American, 23 Caucasian American). After image viewing, participants rated how negative they felt as a measure of subjective emotional experience. Consistent with prior studies, reappraisers made lower negative valence ratings after regulating emotions than suppressers across both Asian American and Caucasian American groups. Although no cultural variation was observed in subjective emotional experience during emotion regulation, we found evidence of cultural variation in perceptual strategies used during emotion regulation. During middle and late time periods of emotional suppression, Asian American participants made significantly fewer fixations to emotionally salient areas than Caucasian American participants. These results indicate cultural variation in perceptual differences underlying emotional suppression, but not cognitive reappraisal.

Children have been found to rely on others for food choice and food intake cues, but it is unclear whether a similar type of social modeling occurs for food portion selection, especially among young children. Given that portion size predicts energy intake, it is important to understand the role of social influence on portion selection behavior early in life. The present study aimed to determine preschoolers' conformity to food portion selection patterns of remote peers using a computerized Portion Selection Task and examined the role of parents' feeding styles in children's susceptibility to others' food portion choices. Seventy-five 3-6 year old Singaporean children (M = 62 ± 0.72 months) were asked to make food portion selections of high-energy-density (ED) foods and low-ED foods both independently and after having viewed remote peers' portion selections of the same foods. In the unhealthy peers condition, children saw peers choose large portions of high-ED foods and small portions of low-ED foods, while in the healthy peers condition, children saw peers select large portions of low-ED foods and small portions of high-ED foods. Parents were surveyed about their child feeding practices. Results revealed that participants exhibited conformity to the portion sizes of remote peers for both high-ED and low-ED foods under the healthy peers condition, but only marginally for high-ED foods under the unhealthy peers condition. Parents' higher restriction of foods for child's health was marginally associated with lower conformity to peers' portion selections of unhealthy foods and higher conformity to peers' portion selections of healthy foods. This study provides support for social modeling of food portion selection among young children, but the extent of social modeling may be contingent on characteristics of the food. Accepted version

Portion size is an important determinant of energy intake and the development of easy to use and valid tools for measuring portion size are required. Standard measures, such as ad libitum designs and currently available computerized portion selection tasks (PSTs), have several limitations including only being able to capture responses to a limited number of foods, requiring participants' physical presence and logistical/technical demands. The objective of the current study was to develop and test robust and valid measures of portion size that can be readily prepared by researchers and be reliably utilized for remote online data collection. We developed and tested two simplified PSTs that could be utilized online: (1) portion size images presented simultaneously along a horizontal continuum slider and (2) multiple-choice images presented vertically. One hundred and fifty participants (M = 21.35 years old) completed both simplified PSTs, a standard computerized PST and a series of questionnaires of variables associated with portion size (e.g., hunger, food item characteristics, Three Factor Eating Questionnaire). We found average liking of foods was a significant predictor of all three tasks and cognitive restraint also predicted the two simplified PSTs. We also found significant agreement between the standard PST and estimated portion sizes derived from the simplified PSTs when accounting for average liking. Overall, we show that simplified versions of the standard PST can be used online as an analogue of estimating ideal portion size. Published version

The Singapore Preconception Study of Long-Term Maternal and Child Outcomes (S-PRESTO) is a preconception, longitudinal cohort study that aims to study the effects of nutrition, lifestyle, and maternal mood prior to and during pregnancy on the epigenome of the offspring and clinically important outcomes including duration of gestation, fetal growth, metabolic and neural phenotypes in the offspring. Between February 2015 and October 2017, the S-PRESTO study recruited 1039 Chinese, Malay or Indian (or any combinations thereof) women aged 18 to 45 years and who intended to get pregnant and deliver in Singapore, resulting in 1032 unique participants and 373 children born in the cohort. The participants were followed up for 3 visits during the preconception phase and censored at 12 months of follow up if pregnancy was not achieved (N=557 censored). Women who successfully conceived (N=475) were characterised at gestational weeks 6-8, 11-13, 18-21, 24-26, 27-28 and 34-36. Follow up of their index offspring (N=373 singletons) is on-going at birth, 1, 3 and 6 weeks, 3, 6, 12, 18, 24 and 36 months and beyond. Women are also being followed up post-delivery. Data is collected via interviewer-administered questionnaires, metabolic imaging (magnetic resonance imaging), standardized anthropometric measurements and collection of diverse specimens, i.e. blood, urine, buccal smear, stool, skin tapes, epithelial swabs at numerous timepoints. S-PRESTO has extensive repeated phenotypic data collected which include genetic and epigenetic sampling from preconception which is unique in mother-offspring epidemiological cohorts This enables prospective assessment of a wide array of potential determinants of future health outcomes in women from preconception to post-delivery and in their offspring across the earliest development from embryonic stages into early childhood. In addition the S-PRESTO study, draws from the three major Asian ethnic groups that represent 50% of the global population, increasing the relevance of its findings to global efforts to address non-communicable diseases.

Background A higher prevalence of obesity in men compared to women, particularly amongst those 18 to 40 years of age, has been observed in Singapore. We hypothesised that poor adaptation during the transition out of full-time National Service (NS) among young men may have contributed to weight gain and we sought to understand these underlying drivers. Methods In-depth interviews were conducted with young men (n=26; aged 19-25 years), 12 months after they had completed full-time NS. The interviews were guided by the health belief model to elicit perceived factors influencing weight change during the transition period, as well as barriers and motivators in weight management. Data was collected and cross-checked by two researchers, and analysed using the thematic analysis approach. Results The participants generally perceived themselves to be less fit and less healthy one year later, as compared to during full-time NS. They felt that reduced physical activity levels and unhealthy eating behaviours contributed to their perceived weight gain. However, they did not have immediate concerns about their perceived change in weight. While most were aware of the benefits of regular physical activity, benefits of healthy eating were rarely mentioned. Many did not view healthy lifestyle behaviours as a current priority, citing reasons which included: Time pressures, incongruence with current lifestyle, or poor self-motivation. Other barriers included a lack of access to healthy food choices and insufficient common leisure time to exercise with peers. Motivators for these lifestyle behaviours were mostly intrinsic, including interest in a particular sport, having personal fitness goals and personal preferences for healthy food options. Participants also described healthy eating as a means to compensate for inactivity or unhealthy food choices. Extrinsic motivators included peer influence, access to sports facilities, healthy food options and monetary incentives.ConclusionThere remains a need to educate young men transiting out of full-time NS on lifestyle, weight and health, and address their misconceptions in particular. Creating a healthy environment and providing appropriate incentives would be important to facilitate a smooth transition out of full-time NS, minimising the risk of unhealthy weight gain in young men.

Although implicit theories have been studied in the context of personal traits, there has been limited investigation of their role in physiological domains such as appetite. Subjective feelings and affective states can function as goals and desired end states that individuals regulate their behaviors to attain. Likewise, different conceptualizations people maintain for the subjective experience of satiety (i.e., terminating hunger or attaining fullness) may also predict individual variations in eating behavior. We examined whether portion selection and food intake were guided by such implicit goals pertaining to the nature of satiety. Across 3 studies, we observed that individuals report distinct subjective requirements (degrees of fullness) to attain different states of satiety (stop hunger, feel comfortably full, feel completely full), suggesting that these states reflect independent goals or outcomes. Importantly, personal requirements to feel completely full (compared to stop hunger or feel comfortably full) were observed to be the strongest predictor of portion sizes selected in Study 1 (B = 1.17, p

The use of nudging, prompts or primes in the environment aligned with desired goals, as a strategy to promote healthy behaviour has gained increasing attention. Yet, the adoption of healthy behaviours may ironically be frustrated by licensing of competing goals for indulgence, producing compensatory unhealthy behaviours. However, little is known of these unintended compensatory effects of "health" nudging, and the conditions in which engagement of healthy behaviours may continue to activate health goals versus compensatory goals for indulgence. Over two studies, we examined both behavioural phenomena by investigating the influence of impending healthy food consumption on snack intake. We predicted that anticipated engagement of healthy eating will prime healthier eating behaviour (decreased snack intake), unless consumption of an anticipated healthy meal is expected to lead to an energy deficit (a "low calorie" meal), which may instead activate compensatory indulgence (increased snack intake). Study 1 demonstrated that the increase in the saliency of "healthiness" (unrelated to calorie content) from an anticipated meal resulted in lower snack intake (potato crisp consumption). Study 2 revealed that the anticipated consumption of a healthy meal described as low in caloric content promoted compensatory eating behaviour. This maladaptive behaviour was also observed to be associated with the endorsement of weight-regulation-related compensatory health beliefs. Furthermore, the findings also suggest that more restrained eaters (who experience competing goals for health and indulgence) may be especially likely to engage in healthier eating behaviour when anticipating healthy meals that were not portrayed to be low in calories. Taken together, our findings suggest that nudging by increasing the salience of healthy options without implying resulting negative energy balance is an effective strategy in promoting healthy eating behaviour and may be less prone to maladaptive compensatory behaviour, especially for individuals actively regulating their dietary behaviour. Accepted version

Many people struggle to control their food intake and bodyweight. This is often interpreted as evidence that humans are generally predisposed to consume food when it is available, because adiposity offered insurance against the threat of starvation in our ancestral environment. In this paper we suggest that modern humans have actually inherited a far broader range of foraging skills that continue to influence our dietary behaviour. To evaluate this idea, we identify three challenges that would need to be addressed to achieve efficient foraging; (1) monitoring the ‘procurement cost’ of foods, (2) determining the energy content of foods, and (3) proactively adapting to perceived food insecurity. In each case, we review evidence drawn from controlled and observational studies of contemporary humans and conclude that psychological mechanisms that address these challenges are conserved. For contemporary humans who live in fast-paced obesogenic environments, this foraging ‘toolkit’ no longer serves the same function to which it was adapted, and in many cases, this leads to an increase in food intake. Understanding these forms of ‘evolutionary mismatch’ is important because it can provide a stronger theoretical basis for informed dietary interventions that leverage fundamental foraging goals rather than work against them.

Culture mixing is a critical consequence of globalization. Thus, predicting the effects of globalization on individual psychological processes requires understanding the effects of exposure to culture mixing on cognition, attitudes, and behaviors. Prior research has demonstrated that perceiving the mixing of own and foreign cultures can trigger subsequent shifts across a wide range of psychological processes. This article proposes that the psychological consequences of culture mixing can be understood through consideration of the specific form of culture mixing involved and the fundamental psychological functions that cultures (particularly heritage cultures) fulfill. Culture mixing itself is a diverse, heterogeneous phenomenon, and different forms of culture mixing (e.g., simultaneous co-presence, superimposition, fusion) may activate different psychological outcomes. Furthermore, heritage cultures serve critical psychological functions by providing guides and normative standards for behavior, acting as markers that facilitate differentiation of ingroup members from those of outgroups and buffering against psychological threats. The frustration or disruption of these functions by culture mixing may serve as a basis for predicting psychological responses to mixing. Finally, this article suggests key areas for future study in culture mixing and how studying diverse patterns of culture mixing may be critical for enriching cognition and behavior in response to reminders of globalization. Accepted version

Globalization has made exposure to multiple cultures not only possible, but often necessary and unavoidable. This article focuses on how people react and adapt to increasing globalization and multiculturalism. We posit that reactions to multiculturalism and intercultural contact are not universal and are themselves shaped by cultural experiences. That is, culture provides a frame of reference for reconciling and negotiating the inflow of foreign cultures and peoples. Although exposure to foreign cultures can widen one’s worldview, thereby enhancing creativity and reducing prejudice, intercultural contact can also bring about negative exclusionary responses such as aversion, disgust, and defensiveness. We explore how culture and individual differences, such as a belief in racial essentialism, critically shape reactions to intercultural contact. Our discussion sheds light on recent geopolitical and societal shifts that reflect an increased backlash against rising globalization and cultural diversity.

Among humans, simply looking at infants can activate affiliative and nurturant behaviors. However, it remains unknown whether mere exposure to infants also activates other aspects of the caregiving motivational system, such as generalized defensiveness in the absence of immediate threats. Here, we demonstrate that simply viewing faces of infants (especially from the ingroup) may heighten vigilance against social threats and support for institutions that purportedly maintain security. Across two studies, participants viewed and rated one among several image types (between-subjects design): Infants, adult males, adult females, and puppies in Study 1, and infants of varying racial/ethnic groups (including one&rsquo, s ingroup) and puppies in Study 2. Following exposure to one of these image types, participants completed measures of intergroup bias from a range of outgroups that differed in perceived threat, belief in a dangerous world, right-wing authoritarianism and social-political conservatism (relative to liberalism). In Study 1 (United States), stronger affiliative reactions to images of infants (but not adults or puppies) predicted stronger perceptions of a dangerous world, endorsement of right-wing authoritarianism, and support for social-political conservatism (relative to liberalism). Study 2 (Italy) revealed that exposure to images of ingroup infants (compared to outgroup infants) increased intergroup bias against outgroups that are characterized as threatening (immigrants and Arabs) and increased conservatism. These findings suggest a predisposed preparedness for social vigilance in the mere suggested presence of infants (e.g., viewing images) even in the absence of salient external threats.

Texture has long been considered an important attribute for food acceptance. However, which specific textural characteristics contribute to overall acceptance of a food is not well understood. It has been suggested that texture contrasts and combinations are a universal feature in giving foods a desirable texture, yet this notion is largely based upon anecdotal data. This study uses multiple survey research methods to assess the importance of texture contrast and combinations across cultures (Poland, U.S.A., and Singapore). Participants (n = 288) completed a survey that included overt measures of food texture contrast importance as well as free response questions regarding texture. The overall importance of texture for food liking was not different across the populations. However, the participants from Singapore and Poland gave more importance to a desirable food having multiple textures than the U.S.A. cohort. When looking at free responses, participants were twice as likely to mention combinations (multiple textures) with a texture contrast when describing foods they liked, in comparison to foods they disliked. This was observed across all 3 cultures. However, the type and quantity of texture terms used within combinations were different among cultures. For instance, Asians enjoyed more texturally diverse food combinations than the other two cultures. These findings highlight the importance of texture contrasts and combinations in three distinct cultures.

Humans possess evolved mechanisms to detect and reject contamination by potentially harmful foreign substances. These mechanisms may also function in the rejection of violations in the social order. Here, we propose that the disgust evaluation system may also be sensitive to culture mixing, especially when elements of own and foreign cultures occupy the same space at the same time (culture fusion). Across four studies, we observe support for this prediction. Paralleling disgust ratings for contaminants mixing with pure objects associated with the self (Study 1A), representations of blending and fusion between elements of own and foreign cultures were rated as more disgusting than simultaneous presentation of the same cultural elements without fusion (Studies 1B and 2). Disgust toward culture fusion was observed over and above incongruity associated with mixing two in-group cultural representations (Study 4). Moreover, selective disgust toward in-group–out-group culture fusion was especially pronounced among those endorsing higher levels of patriotism (Studies 1B, 2, and 4), but not when culture fusion involved two foreign representations (Study 3). These findings support the notion that the architecture for pathogenic- and food-based disgust may have been extended to reject external threats to the fidelity of in-group identity markers by out-group influences.

Human neuroimaging studies have shown that people living in poverty tend to suffer hippocampal atrophy, which leads to impaired memory and learning throughout life. However, behavioral studies demonstrate that poor people with high self-esteem are often exempt from the deleterious effect of poverty and instead possess a happy and successful life. Here we investigated whether high self-esteem can buffer against the deleterious effects of poverty, as indicated by low subjective socioeconomic status (SSS), on the hippocampal gray matter volume (GMV) in a large cohort of young participants (N = 280). As expected, findings revealed that although low (vs. high) SSS was linked with a smaller hippocampal GMV, the deleterious effect of low SSS on hippocampal GMV was alleviated when the participants have high self-esteem. Commonality analyses further confirmed this observation. The current study suggests that positive psychological resources such as self-esteem may provide protection for the hippocampal atrophy in adversity. Hum Brain Mapp 37:3757–3766, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Lower socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with increased consumption of energy-dense foods and sugar-sweetened beverages. Recent findings suggest that the mere perception of having lower subjective SES (SSES) compared to others was sufficient to elicit heightened preferences and consumption of higher energy foods and meals. This increased drive for energy intake associated with low SSES may be accompanied by heightened perceptual sensitivity to the presence of energy in foods, which may aid discrimination and selection of energy-dense foods. The present study tested this prediction by investigating whether acute experiences of low SSES may produce subsequent shifts in perceptual sensitivity to the energy density of beverages. Participants performed two taste tests on 6 iced tea beverages that varied in energy density prior to (at baseline) and after an experimental SSES manipulation. There were no differences in general frequency of ice tea consumption across the SSES conditions. Results revealed that participants were better at perceiving beverages that were higher in energy to be more energy dense following the low SSES manipulation (compared to baseline evaluations). By contrast, participants in the high SSES and neutral control conditions exhibited no overall consistent change in sensitivity to perceived energy density across the beverages following the manipulation. Additionally, no effects of SSES manipulation were observed for rated palatability of the beverages. These findings demonstrate that subjective experiences of having inadequate socioeconomic resources may produce taste-based perceptual shifts that increase sensitivity to the presence of energy in foods, potentially through heightened attentiveness to or expectations of sensory characteristics that signal energy (i.e., sweetness, texture). Such perceptual shifts may have been adaptive for facilitating the discrimination and selection of energy-dense foods in the face of resource insecurity. Importantly, this study suggests that merely perceiving a socioeconomic disadvantage may enhance identification and consumption of energy-dense foods and beverages, which may represent a psychosocial process that contributes to socioeconomic disparities in consumption of energy dense foods, and may be operational via heightened perceptual sensitivity to sensory cues associated with the presence of energy in the consumed food. Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) Nanyang Technological University This research was supported by Nanyang Technological University Nanyang Assistant Professorship (NAP) grant (M4081643) and by A*STAR under its IAF-PP Food Structure Engineering for Nutrition and Health Programme (Grant ID No: H17/01/a0/A11 & H18/01/a0/B11). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of the A*STAR.

Prior studies have demonstrated that social norms or cues of others' eating behaviors serve as powerful guides for one's own eating behaviors. Yet it remains underexplored whether young children are susceptible to social pressure by remote peers when faced with a conflict between what they prefer and the healthy choices of a group majority. Here we examined whether preschool-aged children conformed to healthy food choices of remote peers. Following a modified Asch conformity paradigm, the present study used videos of remote confederates' food preferences to test whether 89 3- to 6-year-old Singaporean preschoolers conformed to remote peers' healthy food choices (fruits and vegetables). Participants were asked to make a series of food choices when faced with two food options (healthy, unhealthy), both independently and after having viewed remote peers make healthy food choices (fruits, vegetables). Results showed a significant level of conformity, such that participants altered their initially unhealthy food choices to match the healthy choices of remote peers for 29% of trials. Age and BMI z-scores were also associated with rates of food choice conformity. The finding that young children may conform to food-related behaviors of remote peers offers the potential promise of interventions involving remote peers in promoting healthier dietary choices of young children. ASTAR (Agency for Sci., Tech. and Research, S’pore) Accepted version

Here, we argue that attackers in intergroup conflicts are also likely to hold strong identity fusion, anticipate threat from the out-groups, and retaliate by signaling preemptive aggressiveness, which may not be asymmetrically exclusive to defenders. We propose that the study of the intergroup and intragroup dynamics could highlight more specific, robust markers to differentiate types of defenders from attackers.

Young children tend to follow others’ food preferences. Whether this conformity applies to actual food/beverage consumption, however, is understudied. The present study tested whether sixty-three 3- to 6-year-old preschoolers conformed to remote peers’ beverage taste preferences. Participants indicated taste preference between two beverage options (standard v. sweetened), independently and after having been told that remote peers selected the opposite beverage. After the social influence manipulation, beverage preference and quantity consumed were measured. Results revealed a trend of conformity both in beverage preferences and subsequent private consumption patterns. These findings suggest that peers may be influential social reference figures for young children not just for beverage choice but also for associated consumption behavior. Age and thirst status was also found to be correlated with conformity, such that peers may play a more important role as preschoolers get older and that thirst may weaken social influence by peers.

Prior research has suggested that basic individual differences in reactivity to threatening or aversive stimuli are predictors of individual differences in racial bias. Despite the role of genes in modulating such individual differences in affective and motivational responses, whether such genes contribute to individual differences in racial bias remain unknown. Here we examined the influence of the serotonin transporter polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) on implicit and self-reported racial bias among a sample of European-Americans. We observed that the short-allele variant of 5-HTTLPR predicted greater levels of implicit racial biases, but not explicit self-reported racial biases. These findings demonstrate that a genetic variant involved in affective response and regulation may contribute to individual differences in the activation of automatic race-related evaluations, although this influence of genes on racial bias may not be readily expressed through deliberative self-report.

Cultural diversity in patterns for understanding and conceptualizing one’s relationships with others may have led to diverse cultural systems for interpreting, thinking, and reasoning about the world. Eastern holistic systems of thought rely on connectedness and relations as a primary way of understanding the world, whereas Western analytic systems of thought rely on discreteness or substansiveness as an epistemological way of thinking. From attention and cognition to social cognitive processes, neural systems have likewise adapted differently across cultural contexts to facilitate divergent systems of social interactions and relations. This chapter reviews recent evidence for cultural influences on neural systems of analytic/holistic thinking, and discusses the relevance of this neuroscientific evidence, such as that from functional magnetic resonance imaging and analysis of event-related potentials, for cultural-psychological theories of holism and dialecticism.

Stress is linked to increased preferences and consumption of palatable energy dense foods, particularly among females. Despite the role of stress on potentially obesogenic eating habits, its effect on pre-meal planning, such as the selection of portion sizes, remain unknown. Here, we investigated the relationship between perceived stress, gender, and intended portion sizes for diverse foods. Across two studies, increased perceived stress predicted larger (higher energy) intended portion sizes across a variety of food items among females, but not males. Additionally, for females, increased perceived stress was associated with lowered expectations of the satiety of foods presented, suggesting a potential mechanism by which stress may influence decisions about portion size. These findings reveal that the potentially obesogenic effects of stress on food judgments and behaviours (particularly among females) are not only expressed within meals, but also during more deliberate stages of planning that precedes meals. ASTAR (Agency for Sci., Tech. and Research, S’pore) Accepted version

Recent evidence suggests that lower perceived socioeconomic status is linked to increased appetite and intake of greater calories. Yet, whether insecurity of socioeconomic resources directly influences regulatory systems of appetite and energy intake is not known. Considering psychological states, mindsets and beliefs have shown to meaningfully affect physiological responses to food, the present study tested the hypothesis that low subjective socioeconomic status (SSS) will have a direct influence on physiological responses, such as appetite-related hormones (ghrelin, pancreatic polypeptide and insulin). Forty-eight healthy males were randomly (crossover, counterbalanced) assigned, to two experimental conditions where participants were either experimentally induced to feel low SSS or not (control; CON). Feelings of low SSS resulted in an increase in active ghrelin (an orexigenic hormone) following the SSS manipulation compared with baseline, while no change in active ghrelin was observed in CON. Furthermore, participants reported lower fullness and satiety following low SSS compared with CON. Our findings demonstrate that SSS may influence hunger regulation and appetite, and suggest that physiological systems regulating energy balance (i.e. caloric resources) may also be sensitive to perceived deprivation or imbalances in critical non-food resources (socioeconomic resources).

Prior research has revealed that flavors (sweetness) may metaphorically influence social judgements and behaviors (interpersonal ‘sweetness’). Given the inherently social nature of eating, other food related sensory signals beyond flavor may be conceptually mapped to social cognition and behavior. Here we tested the hypothesis that oral processing of foods with soft (vs. hard) textures may metaphorically facilitate (vs. inhibit) social behaviors conceptually associated with ‘tenderness’ or ‘soft-heartedness’. Two studies examined the influence of imagined (Study 1) and actual (Study 2) oral processing of soft (vs. hard foods) on prosocial tendencies. Study 1 revealed that greater magnitude of sensory characteristics associated with imagined consumption of a hard food (i.e., dryness) was predictive of decreased interpersonal trust. Using actual food consumption in an interpersonal context, Study 2 demonstrated increased interpersonal trust and charitable donation of time after oral processing of soft (vs. hard) food and suggested that this effect is a result of enhanced trust following consumption of soft food rather than suppression of trust following consumption of hard food. Although effects were modest, these findings provide initial suggestions that orosensory metaphors that shape social cognition are not limited to flavors (e.g., sweetness, spiciness), and that diverse properties of food may influence patterns of sociality. Accepted version

Prior research has revealed socioeconomic disparities in obesity and diabetes across developed nations, such that the burden of these disorders is disproportionately shouldered by socioeconomically disadvantaged populations. More recent research has demonstrated that independent of actual socioeconomic status (SES), the mere perception of scarcity, deprivation, or inferiority of socioeconomic resources is sufficient to stimulate increased preference for energy-dense foods and meals. This heightened motivation towards energy-dense foods when experiencing low subjective SES (SSES) may be accompanied by changes in perceptual discrimination between foods that differ in energy density, which may in turn shape later preference and selection for energy-dense foods. Conversely, the experience of high SSES and relative socioeconomic security may lead to de-prioritization of energy density during food selection, leading to suppressed detection of energy density. We tested these predictions by randomly assigning participants (n = 93) to experimental inductions of low, high, or neutral (control) SSES. Next, participants tasted and rated four different versions of soy milk that varied on energy density (low or high) and texture (thin or thick). While participants in control and low SSES conditions could perceptually discriminate between low and high energy versions of the beverages, those in the high SSES condition exhibited no differences in assessments of energy density of the beverages. Consistent with the notion that perceived deprivation (or satisfaction) of important non-food socioeconomic resources may stimulate/suppress appetite, our findings indicate that SSES may modulate perceptual discrimination of energy in foods, which may contribute to socioeconomic differences in food preferences and obesity risk independent of actual financial and economic constraints.

Cues and experiences of the deprivation of financial/material resources have been associated with increased caloric intake and risk for overweight/obesity. Given that social comparisons may serve as a powerful reference for the adequacy of one's standing and resources, the present research tested whether subjective feelings of personal relative deprivation (PRD) or “losing out” to others stimulates calorie selection and intake. Study 1 demonstrated that self-reported chronic experiences of PRD positively predicted calories selected for a portion and consumed during an ad-libitum meal. Study 2 revealed that experimentally-induced PRD resulted in an increase in the amount of calories selected on a portion selection task and a stronger desire to consume the foods. Consequently, these findings demonstrate that chronic and acute subjective deprivation of non-food resources may contribute to socioeconomic gradients in obesity, and that perceived social inequality may have inherently obesogenic properties that promote excess calorie intake. Accepted version

Perceived threat from outgroups is a consistent social-environmental antecedent of intergroup bias (i.e. prejudice, ingroup favoritism). The serotonin transporter gene polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) has been associated with individual variations in sensitivity to context, particularly stressful and threatening situations. Here, we examined how 5-HTTLPR and environmental factors signaling potential outgroup threat dynamically interact to shape intergroup bias. Across two studies, we provide novel evidence for a gene-environment interaction on the acquisition of intergroup bias and prejudice. Greater exposure to signals of outgroup threat, such as negative prior contact with outgroups and perceived danger from the social environment, were more predictive of intergroup bias among participants possessing at least one short allele (vs two long alleles) of 5-HTTLPR. Furthermore, this gene x environment interaction was observed for biases directed at diverse ethnic and arbitrarily-defined outgroups across measures reflecting intergroup biases in evaluation and discriminatory behavior. These findings reveal a candidate genetic mechanism for the acquisition of intergroup bias, and suggest that intergroup bias is dually inherited and transmitted through the interplay of social (i.e. contextual cues of outgroup threat) and biological mechanisms (i.e. genetic sensitivity toward threatening contexts) that regulate perceived intergroup threats.

Evidence suggests people may overestimate the effectiveness of future positive behaviour, leading to counterproductive behaviours in the present. Applied to weight-management, we hypothesize that inaccurate expectations about impending exercise may impede weight management by promoting overconsumption prior to exercise. This study aimed to determine how expectations about impending exercise and its potential ability to expend energy may influence i) energy intake before exercise and ii) overall energy balance (energy intake minus energy expended via exercise). Using a randomised, counterbalanced design, 21 inactive, overweight males, following a baseline session, completed two experimental trials: i) ad-libitum snack meal (potato-crisps) followed by an exercise session (SE) and ii) ad-libitum snack meal only (SO). There was no main effect of condition (SE vs. SO) on ad-libitum snack intake (p = .917). However, after accounting for dietary restraint (covariate), a difference in snack intake between SE and SO was revealed (p = .050). Specifically, participants who scored higher in dietary restraint consumed more in the SE (vs. SO) session (162 ± 359 kcal more) compared with participants who scored lower in dietary restraint (89 ± 135 kcal less). Among restrained eaters, the relative (net) energy consumed after accounting for energy expended from exercise in SE was not different from the energy consumed in the SO condition, suggesting that energy expended via exercise in SE does not appear to negate extra energy consumed in this condition compared with SO. Of interest, desire to eat and prospective food consumption ratings at the start of the trial were greater (p ≤ .029) in SE compared with SO. Findings suggest that restrained-eaters are at risk of adopting compensatory eating behaviour that may impede negative energy balance typically resulting from exercise (i.e. expending insufficient energy to negate compensatory energy intake). Accepted version

In 1906, Ramon y Cajal described the brain as “a world consisting of a number of unexplored continents and great stretches of unknown territory” (Santiago, 1920). Nearly a century later, human neur...

Among social animals, subordinate status or low social rank is associated with increased caloric intake and weight gain. This may reflect an adaptive behavioral pattern that promotes acquisition of caloric resources to compensate for low social resources that may otherwise serve as a buffer against environmental demands. Similarly, diet-related health risks like obesity and diabetes are disproportionately more prevalent among people of low socioeconomic resources. Whereas this relationship may be associated with reduced financial and material resources to support healthier lifestyles, it remains unclear whether the subjective experience of low socioeconomic status may alone be sufficient to stimulate consumption of greater calories. Here we show that the mere feeling of lower socioeconomic status relative to others stimulates appetite and food intake. Across four studies, we found that participants who were experimentally induced to feel low (vs. high or neutral) socioeconomic status subsequently exhibited greater automatic preferences for high-calorie foods (e.g., pizza, hamburgers), as well as intake of greater calories from snack and meal contexts. Moreover, these results were observed even in the absence of differences in access to financial resources. Our results demonstrate that among humans, the experience of low social class may contribute to preferences and behaviors that risk excess energy intake. These findings suggest that psychological and physiological systems regulating appetite may also be sensitive to subjective feelings of deprivation for critical nonfood resources (e.g., social standing). Importantly, efforts to mitigate the socioeconomic gradient in obesity may also need to address the psychological experience of low social status.

Culture defines how groups, and the individuals situated within them, conceptualize and navigate relationships with in-group and out-group members. How diversity in these group processes and their neural substrates emerge remains an open question. Diversity in intergroup processes may have arisen from perceived threats from the environment. Groups in environments that present greater collective uncertainties and threats may have been more likely to adopt shared norms, practices, and institutions that promote and reinforce cohesion, coordination, and the prioritization of the welfare of in-groups over out-groups—contributing to cultural diversity in intergroup bias. This cultural diversity is proposed to be supported by differential pressure across environments on neurobiological systems that regulate responsiveness to threats and facilitate affiliation with in-groups. These two processes may mutually reinforce and co-construct one another, functioning to translate perceived threats from the environment into the cultural variations observed in the neural and behavioral manifestations of intergroup bias.

Interpersonal pain perception is a fundamental and evolutionarily beneficial social process. While critical for navigating the social world, whether or not people rely on similar processes to perceive and respond to the harm of the non-human biological world remains largely unknown. Here we investigate whether neural reactivity toward the suffering of other people is distinct from or overlapping with the neural response to pain and harm inflicted upon non-human entities, specifically animals and nature. We used fMRI to measure neural activity while participants (n=15) perceived and reported how badly they felt for the pain or harm of humans, animals, and nature, relative to neutral situations. Neural regions associated with perceiving the pain of other people (e.g. dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, bilateral anterior insula) were similarly recruited when perceiving and responding to painful scenes across people, animals, and nature. These results suggest that similar brain responses are relied upon when perceiving the harm of social and non-social biological entities, broadly construed, and that activity within the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and bilateral anterior insula in response to pain-relevant stimuli is not uniquely specific to humans.

Hibbing et al. provide a comprehensive overview of how being susceptible to heightened sensitivity to threat may lead to conservative ideologies. Yet, an emerging literature in social and cultural neuroscience shows the importance of genetic and cultural factors on negativity biases. Promising avenues for future investigation may include examining the bidirectional relationship of conservatism across multiple levels of analysis.