A perspective on eating behaviors from the field of judgment and decision making

Abstract

Background: In this commentary, I review a key theme-the construction of preferences-that underlies the psychology of judgment and decision making and may influence eating behaviors. Its central idea is that, in many situations, we do not know what we prefer and, as a result, we construct our preferences "on the spot" based on internal and external cues available at the moment. Purpose: To understand the extent of construction processes, one has to know both the decision maker (and how he or she draws meaning from information) and the environment she or he faces. I consider possible roles for affect and deliberation in the construction of eating preferences and also examine some existing evidence for two potentially important individual differences-numeracy (number ability) and aging. Conclusion: Research implications concerning ways to improve eating behaviors are considered. © 2009 The Society of Behavioral Medicine.