Food psychology
Updated about 10 hours ago
Food psychology is the psychological study of how people choose the food they eat, along with food and eating behaviors. Food psychology is an applied psychology, using existing psychological methods and findings to understand food choice and eating behaviors.
Factors studied by food psychology include food cravings, sensory experiences of food, perceptions of food security and food safety, price, available product information such as nutrition labeling and the purchasing environment.
Food psychology also encompasses broader sociocultural factors such as cultural perspectives on food, public awareness of "what constitutes a sustainable diet", and food marketing including "food fraud" where ingredients are intentionally motivated for economic gain as opposed to nutritional value.
These factors are considered to interact with each other along with an individual's history of food choices to form new food choices and eating behaviors.