Sensory and social influences on ice cream consumption by males and females in a laboratory setting.

Both male and female undergraduates ate more ice cream when eating occurred in groups of three or four than when they ate alone. These subjects also ate more ice cream when offered three different flavors than when offered only one flavor of their own choosing. For women, both variety and eating in a group combined to enhance eating more than either variable did alone. For men, variety or eating in a group caused about the same enhancement of consumption but the combination of the two variables did not lead to further increases in intake. This latter result probably reflects a ceiling effect, but it could represent a true gender difference.