The influence of perceptual and cognitive factors in the development of food preferences

Despite a considerable amount of research investigating factors that influence the development of food preferences, there is very little research considering factors associated with food items themselves and the cognitive processes used by children to determine acceptance or rejection of a novel food. When offered a new food, children will see what colour, size and shape it is and may be able to determine its texture. In addition, they will be able to smell the food and may even be informed of what the food is called by their parents labelling it. Hence children will have a significant amount of knowledge of what the food they are being offered is like. It may therefore be reasonable to suggest children will use this knowledge and make comparisons to prior experience with 'similar' foods. This thesis presents three experimental chapters which aim to explore the role of perceptual (e.g. colour, texture and size) and cognitive (categorisation) factors on the development of food preferences. Chapter 2 presents an Explicit Preference Task, which enables children to self-report on their food preferences, complemented by parental report Food Preference and Frequency questionnaires. Chapter 3 presents a Longitudinal Food Diary method exploring the relationship between preference and exposure. Finally in Chapter 4 using a series of match-to-sample experiments to consider if children use colour as a basis for categorisation of food objects, a comparison is made against non-food objects. Results indicated children to dislike food colours particularly associated with vegetables more so than other food colours. This was found to be related to the amount of exposure they had to those foods and specifically results indicated children to use food colour as a basis for rejection of novel foods. It was also observed that whilst children use shape as a basis for categorisation of non-food objects, they are more inclined to categorise foods on the basis of colour

The influence of perceptual and cognitive factors in the development of food preferences

Despite a considerable amount of research investigating factors that influence the development of food preferences, there is very little research considering factors associated with food items themselves and the cognitive processes used by children to determine acceptance or rejection of a novel food. When offered a new food, children will see what colour, size and shape it is and may be able to determine its texture. In addition, they will be able to smell the food and may even be informed of what the food is called by their parents labelling it. Hence children will have a significant amount of knowledge of what the food they are being offered is like. It may therefore be reasonable to suggest children will use this knowledge and make comparisons to prior experience with 'similar' foods. This thesis presents three experimental chapters which aim to explore the role of perceptual (e.g. colour, texture and size) and cognitive (categorisation) factors on the development of food preferences. Chapter 2 presents an Explicit Preference Task, which enables children to self-report on their food preferences, complemented by parental report Food Preference and Frequency questionnaires. Chapter 3 presents a Longitudinal Food Diary method exploring the relationship between preference and exposure. Finally in Chapter 4 using a series of match-to-sample experiments to consider if children use colour as a basis for categorisation of food objects, a comparison is made against non-food objects. Results indicated children to dislike food colours particularly associated with vegetables more so than other food colours. This was found to be related to the amount of exposure they had to those foods and specifically results indicated children to use food colour as a basis for rejection of novel foods. It was also observed that whilst children use shape as a basis for categorisation of non-food objects, they are more inclined to categorise foods on the basis of colour

Evaluation of the Welsh School-based Counselling Strategy : Final Report

The Welsh Government's School-based Counselling Strategy (the Strategy), implemented from April 2008 in secondary schools across Wales and a pilot selection of primary schools, was evaluated. A range of research tools were used, including desk research, analysis of client outcomes, qualitative interviews and surveys of key stakeholders' views. Implementation of the Strategy and its counselling services was generally perceived as successful by all stakeholders, including counselling clients, with evidence that all key recommendations for its development were implemented. Across six terms, 11,043 episodes of counselling were attended. Participation in counselling was associated with large reductions in psychological distress; with levels of improvement that, on average, were somewhat greater than those found in previous evaluations of UK school-based counselling. Key recommendations are that permanent funding mechanisms should be established to embed counselling in the Welsh secondary school sector, with consideration given to its roll-out into primary schools. Service managers and schools should also look to ensuring equal opportunities of participation in school-based counselling from all sectors of the community, that adequate accommodation is available in schools for the delivery of counselling, and that a system of regular outcome monitoring is established

The nature of emotional support and counselling provision for people with sight loss in the United Kingdom

People with sight loss in the United Kingdom are known to have lower levels of emotional wellbeing and to be at higher risk of depression. Consequently ‘having someone to talk to’ is an important priority for people with visual impairment. An on-line survey of the provision of emotional support and counselling for people affected by sight loss across the UK was undertaken. The survey was distributed widely and received 182 responses. There were more services offering ‘emotional support’, in the form of listening and information and advice giving, than offered ‘counselling’. Services were delivered by providers with differing qualifications in a variety of formats. Waiting times were fairly short and clients presented with a wide range of issues. Funding came from a range of sources, but many felt their funding was vulnerable. Conclusions have been drawn about the need for a national standardised framework for the provision of emotional support and counselling services for blind and partially sighted people in the U

Practitioners’ experiences of learning and implementing Counselling for Depression (CfD) in routine practice settings

Aim: Counselling for Depression (CfD) is a person-centred experiential therapy developed for implementation in the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme. Training in this model has been available across England since 2011. This study aims to investigate counselling practitioners’ experiences of learning the CfD model and implementing CfD in practice settings. Method: Participants were recruited by an email sent to the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy’s (BACP) CfD Practice Research Network (PRN). Of the 53 CfD practitioners belonging to BACP’s CfD PRN, 18 participated in this mixed-methods piece of research. All 18 participants completed an online questionnaire, and one hour follow-up semi-structured interviews were conducted with six of the participants. Results: Descriptive analyses from the online questionnaire indicated a positive experience of CfD training, with practitioners indicating a positive impact on sense of self, practice and skill set. Although a degree of challenge was encountered when training in the CfD model, thematic analysis from the six semi-structured interviews revealed factors contributing to the positives and challenges experienced on the course. Themes also revealed a predominately negative experience of CfD in practice and service settings, although this was service dependent. Conclusions and implications for practice: The findings can inform future recruitment of trainees to CfD training programmes and the training programme itself. They can also be used to achieve greater congruence between training in CfD and the delivery of the model. Future research may need to focus on the service level factors influencing practitioners’ experiences, and whether this experience is specific to the CfD modality in IAPT

The influence of perceptual and cognitive factors in the development of food preferences

Despite a considerable amount of research investigating factors that influence the development of food preferences, there is very little research considering factors associated with food items themselves and the cognitive processes used by children to determine acceptance or rejection of a novel food. When offered a new food, children will see what colour, size and shape it is and may be able to determine its texture. In addition, they will be able to smell the food and may even be informed of what the food is called by their parents labelling it. Hence children will have a significant amount of knowledge of what the food they are being offered is like. It may therefore be reasonable to suggest children will use this knowledge and make comparisons to prior experience with 'similar' foods. This thesis presents three experimental chapters which aim to explore the role of perceptual (e.g. colour, texture and size) and cognitive (categorisation) factors on the development of food preferences. Chapter 2 presents an Explicit Preference Task, which enables children to self-report on their food preferences, complemented by parental report Food Preference and Frequency questionnaires. Chapter 3 presents a Longitudinal Food Diary method exploring the relationship between preference and exposure. Finally in Chapter 4 using a series of match-to-sample experiments to consider if children use colour as a basis for categorisation of food objects, a comparison is made against non-food objects. Results indicated children to dislike food colours particularly associated with vegetables more so than other food colours. This was found to be related to the amount of exposure they had to those foods and specifically results indicated children to use food colour as a basis for rejection of novel foods. It was also observed that whilst children use shape as a basis for categorisation of non-food objects, they are more inclined to categorise foods on the basis of colour.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Editorial

The need for emotional support services for children and young people has been illustrated through reports of rising levels of distress (Collishaw, Maughan, Goodman, & Pickles, 2004; Green, McGinnity, Meltzer, Ford & Goodman, 2004), the prevalence of abuse and neglect (Cawson, Wattam, Brooker, & Kelly, 2000) and increased prescription of psychopharmaceutical medication (Timimi, 2009). One of the responses to this growing need for emotional support has been the establishment of school-based counselling. Since the min-1990s, services have become more prevalent and it has been estimated that 75% of UK schools may provide individual therapeutic counselling (Jenkins & Polat, 2005). A recent meta-analysis of international studies of school based therapeutic interventions found moderate improvements in the psychological well-being of young people (Baskin eta al., 2010). Similarly, Cooper (2009) reported large reductions in psychological distress for school-based counselling as practiced in the UK

Lessons from Wales

Summary of findings from the evaluation of the Welsh Government School-based Counselling Strategy

Practitioners’ experiences of learning and implementing Counselling for Depression (CfD) in routine practice settings

Aim: Counselling for Depression (CfD) is a person-centred experiential therapy developed for implementation in the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme. Training in this model has been available across England since 2011. This study aims to investigate counselling practitioners’ experiences of learning the CfD model and implementing CfD in practice settings. Method: Participants were recruited by an email sent to the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy’s (BACP) CfD Practice Research Network (PRN). Of the 53 CfD practitioners belonging to BACP’s CfD PRN, 18 participated in this mixed-methods piece of research. All 18 participants completed an online questionnaire, and one hour follow-up semi-structured interviews were conducted with six of the participants. Results: Descriptive analyses from the online questionnaire indicated a positive experience of CfD training, with practitioners indicating a positive impact on sense of self, practice and skill set. Although a degree of challenge was encountered when training in the CfD model, thematic analysis from the six semi-structured interviews revealed factors contributing to the positives and challenges experienced on the course. Themes also revealed a predominately negative experience of CfD in practice and service settings, although this was service dependent. Conclusions and implications for practice: The findings can inform future recruitment of trainees to CfD training programmes and the training programme itself. They can also be used to achieve greater congruence between training in CfD and the delivery of the model. Future research may need to focus on the service level factors influencing practitioners’ experiences, and whether this experience is specific to the CfD modality in IAPT