Psychological Basis of Food Wasting Behavior

Why do we waste food? One set of reasons is because it is so easy to do it. For most Americans, food is relatively cheap, and we are lazy. More importantly, we serve too much, so there are often leftovers. American portion sizes are much larger, than, for example, French portion sizes. A third, and perhaps the principal reason, is that there is something unsavory, for many people, about leftovers. They can be conceived of as “used” or “psychologically contaminated” food. Portion size and psychological contamination will be the focus of this presentation

Attachment to land: The case of the land of Israel for American and Israeli Jews and the role of contagion

This is a first study on attachment to national and sacred land and land as a protected value. A measure of attachment to the land of Israel is developed and administered to two groups, Jewish college students in Israel and the United States. Levels of land attachment are high and not significantly different in the two groups, with a great deal of variation. Land may become more important through being inhabited by a group over centuries. This is a positive contagion effect, and is opposed in some cases by negative contagion produced when the enemies live on the land for some period of time. We demonstrate a significant correlation of positive contagion sensitivity with attachment to the land of Israel. Unlike many other cases of the interaction of positive and negative contagion, negative contagion does not overwhelm positive contagion in the domain of land attachment. We also present evidence for linkages between political positions, religiosity, importance of Israel, Arab aversion, and vulnerability of Israel with attachment to land, but these do not fully account for the contagion effects. A number of significant differences between Israelis and Americans are described

Glad to be sad, and other examples of benign masochism

We provide systematic evidence for the range and importance of hedonic reversals as a major source of pleasure, and incorporate these findings into the theory of benign masochism. Twenty-nine different initially aversive activities are shown to produce pleasure (hedonic reversals) in substantial numbers of individuals from both college student and Mechanical Turk samples. Hedonic reversals group, by factor analysis, into sadness, oral irritation, fear, physical activity/exhaustion, pain, strong alcohol-related tastes, bitter tastes, and disgust. Liking for sad experiences (music, novels, movies, paintings) forms a coherent entity, and is related to enjoyment of crying in response to sad movies. For fear and oral irritation, individuals also enjoy the body's defensive reactions. Enjoyment of sadness is higher in females across domains. We explain these findings in terms of benign masochism, enjoyment of negative bodily reactions and feelings in the context of feeling safe, or pleasure at ``mind over body''. In accordance with benign masochism, for many people, the favored level of initially negative experiences is just below the level that cannot be tolerated

Broad Themes of Difference between French and Americans in Attitudes to Food and Other Life Domains: Personal Versus Communal Values, Quantity Versus Quality, and Comforts Versus Joys

Analysis of previous literature on the role of food in life in France and the United States suggests some fundamental differences in attitudes which may generalize outside of the food domain. Questionnaire results from French and American adults suggest that, compared to the French, Americans emphasize quantity rather than quality in making choices, Americans have a higher preference for variety, and Americans usually prefer comforts (things that make life easier) over joys (unique things that make life interesting). The American preference for quantity over quality is discussed in terms of the American focus on abundance as opposed to the French preference for moderation. The American preference for variety is reflective of Americans’ more personal as opposed to communal food and other values

Glad to be sad, and other examples of benign masochism

We provide systematic evidence for the range and importance of hedonic reversals as a major source of pleasure, and incorporate these findings into the theory of benign masochism. Twenty-nine different initially aversive activities are shown to produce pleasure (hedonic reversals) in substantial numbers of individuals from both college student and Mechanical Turk samples. Hedonic reversals group, by factor analysis, into sadness, oral irritation, fear, physical activity/exhaustion, pain, strong alcohol-related tastes, bitter tastes, and disgust. Liking for sad experiences (music, novels, movies, paintings) forms a coherent entity, and is related to enjoyment of crying in response to sad movies. For fear and oral irritation, individuals also enjoy the body’s defensive reactions. Enjoyment of sadness is higher in females across domains. We explain these findings in terms of benign masochism, enjoyment of negative bodily reactions and feelings in the context of feeling safe, or pleasure at “mind over body”. In accordance with benign masochism, for many people, the favored level of initially negative experiences is just below the level that cannot be tolerated

Nudge to Nobesity I: Minor Changes in Accessibility Decrease Food Intake

Very small but cumulated decreases in food intake may be sufficient to erase obesity over a period of years. We examine the effect of slight changes in the accessibility of different foods in a pay-by-weight-of-food salad bar in a cafeteria serving adults for the lunch period. Making a food slightly more difficult to reach (by varying its proximity by about 10 inches) or changing the serving utensil (spoon or tongs) modestly but reliably reduces intake, in the range of 8-16%. Given this effect, it is possible that making calorie-dense foods less accessible and low-calorie foods more accessible over an extended period of time would result in significant weight loss

Acidification des eaux de source et saturnisme dans le Massif vosgien.

Les recherches menées à  l'occasion du programme DEFORPA ont montré que les dépôts acides et la sylviculture avaient directement contribué à une acidification des sols et des eaux de surface du Massif vosgien. L'étude de la variation de l'acidité des eaux de source depuis 30 ans a confirmé une acidification progressive de l'eau captée sur les roches les plus pauvres, comme le grès vosgien. Nous avons expérimentalement vérifié que cette acidification a considérablement augmenté la teneur en plomb de l'eau chez les résidents dont les canalisations d'eau potable sont en plomb. Le nombre élevé de cas de saturnisme hydrique observés par les médecins au cours des années 1980 dans le Massif vosgien est attribué directement à  cette acidification des eaux, et indirectement et pour partie à la pollution acide atmosphérique

Towards edible interfaces:designing interactions with food

Food provides humans with some of the most universal and rich sensory experiences possible. For a long time technology was unable to recreate such experiences but now new innovations are changing that. Using the novel manufacturing technology of 3D printed food, I am developing ‘Edible Interfaces’. My research uses a user-centered research approach to focus on food as material for interactive experience in HCI. This will lead to development of Edible Interfaces that are built on the understanding and application of the experiential affordances of food. Designing with food allows the creation of forms of experience not possible through traditional interfaces. My studies so far have explored the perceptions of 3D printed food and potentials for food to advance affective computing. This knowledge is broadening on-going work in the field of multi-sensory HCI and delivering a new perspective on how we design for experience