Food accessibility and food choice. A test of Schachter's externality hypothesis
A. W. Meyers, A. J. Stunkard and M. Coll
A set of naturalistic observations was conducted to examine Schachter's
theory that obese individuals are more responsive to external food cues
than persons of normal weight. During six days of observation at a large
hospital cafeteria, experimenters manipulated the accessibility of high-
and low-calorie desserts. No differences in selection by obese, overweight,
and normal-weight individuals of meals or desserts were observed. All
weight groups were equally responsive to the experimental manipulation of
food cues.
