Psychological Factors

Psychological influences of food may be associated with moods and events. Many people eat simply because they 'feel' like eating. This is known as emotional eating. For instance, if a person ends a relationship, they often will turn to food to satisfy an emotional need of comfort. Have you ever eaten simply because you are bored or you have developed the habit of eating certain foods at a certain time? For instance, do you have to have popcorn to watch a movie? This is eating out of habit.

What you eat influences your mood, but it is also the other way round. It means that you are likely to eat different things when you are feeling different emotions. You may even have an emotional connection with a certain type of food that often serves as a source of comfort when you are distressed or sad. It means conditions, such as stress, depression, and anxiety, have a big role to play in food choices. These emotions may not just have an impact on what you eat, but they will also influence how much you eat.

Appetite is the desire for food even when the body is not hungry. Appetite can be triggered by the sight of appetizing food, the aroma of food in preparation, and even the mention of food in conversation. Appetite is a psychological desire for food.

Sensory Attributes

The taste, texture and appearance of foods can also affect food choices. Our five senses affect our food choices. The way your senses respond to food affect your appetite (psychological desire to eat). Just the slight aroma, taste or visual of your favorite food can make you hungry. Your tongue is covered with papillae, or tiny bumps that contain taste buds. Each papilla has hundreds of taste buds, which distinguish sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami tastes. Umami is the brothlike taste in meat, vegetables and cheese. When people talk about taste, they often mean flavor. Flavor is the combination of a food's taste, smell and texture. When one of your senses is altered, the flavor of food may be altered as well. For example: illnesses and medications can dull sensations. When you have a cold and you can't smell, it alters your taste of food.[CC BY 4.0] UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED | IMAGES: LICENSED AND USED ACCORDING TO TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION