Ecological harshness cues modulate food preferences and visual attention: An eye-tracking study

Abstract

Food scarcity in an ancestral environment has led to an evolved psychology that shapes our decision making in eating. To buffer against times of uncertainty and food shortages, humans have a predisposition to prefer foods that are energy dense, and this may be explained by cognitive mechanisms that drive our search and preferences for foods. In the current study, the role of ecological harshness cues (e.g., safety, resource scarcity, violence) and anticipated food scarcity in desirability and visual attention to high vs. low-caloric food items. Participants (N = 142) were randomly assigned to an ecological scenario prime, and they were asked to view images of foods while their eye-movements were being tracked using an eye-tracker, followed by a desirability task. The findings showed that high-caloric foods were rated more desirable, and individuals were faster at recognizing high-caloric foods and directed their visual attention to them longer. More importantly, anticipated scarcity and ecological harshness cues were associated with desirability and visual attention, particularly for the resource scarce condition. In a resource scarce condition, participants with higher levels of anticipated food scarcity were more likely to view high-caloric foods longer and make more frequent visits to those images. The findings demonstrate that ecological harshness cues may prompt individuals to pay more attention to foods that are higher in energy content.