While eating in response to emotional cues is associated with intake of unhealthy foods, less is known about the extent to which obesity and depression may differentially influence food intake in a buffet-style setting where low- and high-calorie foods are available to choose from. Using a counterbalanced design, 154 participants were grouped by depression and obesity categories, then asked to read a series of vignettes that were sad (on 1 day) and neutral (on a different day), followed by a buffet to eat until full. Food intake (in grams and calories) and food choice (number of high- or low-calorie food options) were recorded. Results showed that participants who were obese and depressed had significantly greater energy intake following the sad versus happy vignette, largely due to increased intake of high-calorie foods. The results corroborate recent theories on emotional eating and extend the ecological validity of such effects in a buffet-style setting.

One standard pedagogical approach in physical science courses engages students in making predictions about physical phenomena that elicit non-normative expectations, then make observations intended to provide counterevidence that sparks conceptual change. This article presents five experiments investigating conditions where observation and recall are impacted by incorrect expectations and how these theory-laden observational errors might be mitigated. Using the context of balancing, Experiments 1-3 examine how the ambiguity of the stimuli may allow observers to selectively attend to information that is consistent with prior beliefs, while discounting incongruent information. As ambiguity is removed, the biasing effects of conceptual expectations are reduced. Experiments 4 and 5 extend the findings to investigate whether the effect of conceptual expectations also applies to memory of one's own bodily experiences of balancing. The results suggest that the ambiguity-driven, theory-laden observation effects found for visual observation, do not necessarily translate to recall for an embodied action, even though the experience of balancing contained perceptuo-motor ambiguity. Taken altogether, these five experiments show how conceptual knowledge can impinge on accurate recall of observations or embodied experiences and that instruction engaging students with demonstrations or embodied experiences may not necessarily provide intended counterevidence that contradicts prior expectations. Public Significance StatementWhen an individual's prior beliefs about balancing are activated, they are more likely to misperceive the movements of other people balancing when the videos are ambiguous. Individuals appear to use their expectations to interpret their own body movements when balancing as well. These findings suggest that individuals use their expectations to selectively attend to perceptual stimuli, and this selective attention has the potential to impede learning from physical science demonstrations.

Based on behavioral and neurobiological data, we tested the hypothesis that viewing/drawing visual images of comfort foods in the absence of eating will increase positive mood and that this effect is augmented for those with clinical symptoms of depression. A counterbalanced design was used for 60 participants with and without clinical symptoms in two variations: food image and food art. In each variation, participants viewed/drew foods high or low in fat/sugar; pre-post mood was recorded. Results show a consistent pattern: viewing/drawing comfort foods [food image (95% confidence interval): 2.72-4.85; food art (95% confidence interval): 2.65-4.62] and fruits [food image (95% confidence interval): 1.20-2.23; food art (95% confidence interval): 1.51-2.56] enhanced mood. For comfort foods, mood was augmented for those with clinical symptoms of depression [food image (95% confidence interval): 0.95-3.59; food art (95% confidence interval): 0.97-3.46]. Findings corroborate previous data and reveal a novel finding of augmented mood increases for those with clinical symptoms.