Effects of a model on eating behavior: the induction of a restrained eating style.

An experiment was conducted to assess the effects of a same-sex model on females' eating behavior. The model ate either a large or small quantity along with the subject in an ad lib satiation context, and either did or did not identify herself as a dieter. Subjects were 86 female undergraduates, split into normally dieting or nondieting subgroups. Number of sandwich quarters consumed ad lib following a small fixed preload was found to vary as a function of (a) model's consumption (b) model's dieter status and (c) subject's dieter status; there were no significant interactions. A subsequent taste-rating assessment of nut consumption, in which the model was present but could neither see nor be seen by the subject, indicated that the three factors which had previously affected sandwich consumption independently combined to affect nut consumption interdependently. The results were interpreted in terms of the effect of the model on the quantity and pattern of consumption, and conclusions were drawn about the dynamics of restrained and unrestrained eating and implications for therapy.