{"id":442,"date":"2017-06-16T07:05:19","date_gmt":"2017-06-16T07:05:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thepoetryofscience.peachpuff-wolverine-566518.hostingersite.com\/?p=442"},"modified":"2017-06-16T07:05:19","modified_gmt":"2017-06-16T07:05:19","slug":"table-for-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/thepoetryofscience\/442\/table-for-one\/","title":{"rendered":"Table for One"},"content":{"rendered":"

When sat watching a movie,
\nDo you ever find
\nYou eat so much less popcorn
\nWhen friends are left behind?<\/p>\n

When eating at a bistro
\nDo you think the food tastes great;
\nYet a solo TV dinner,
\nNever leaves an empty plate.<\/p>\n

There was a time your certain
\nYou ate this chilli with your chum,
\nYet now you\u2019re eating it alone
\nThe taste feels oddly numb.<\/p>\n

Social facilitation
\nCan make your food taste grand,
\nBut what if you are on your own
\nAnd everything tastes bland?<\/p>\n

Simply get out a mirror
\nAnd put it in your sight;
\nYou\u2019ll find your appetite return,
\nYour food will taste alright.<\/p>\n

But if you have no mirror
\nYou can fake social appeal,
\nPut out a picture of yourself
\nAnd sit down to your meal.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
You never have to eat alone again (Photo Credit: Nagoya University).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This is a didactic poem<\/a>, inspired by recent research<\/a> which has found that people eating in front of a mirror, or (bizarrely) in front of a static picture of themselves eating, are likely to find that the food\u00a0tastes better, thereby encouraging more of it to be eaten.<\/p>\n

Previous research has demonstrated that food is perceived as tasting better and that people eat more of it when it is eaten in company rather than alone, a process that is known as the social facilitation of eating. It is not yet fully understood as to why this is the case, with most previous studies agreeing that this effect occurs because other people are eating at the same time. However, this research demonstrates that this effect can also be observed when participants eat alone, but whilst looking at an image of themselves eating.<\/p>\n

This study used popcorn, and researchers found that participants were likely to both eat more popcorn and rate it as better tasting if they were looking at themselves in a mirror whilst eating, in comparison to the control group who were asked to look at an image of a wall. This effect was observed in both elderly participants and younger adults, and a similar effect occurred when the participants were asked to eat the popcorn when stood in front of a static image of themselves projected on a monitor. However, whilst previous studies have demonstrated that significant changes in mood are often observed when people eat together in company, this study revealed that eating in front of a self-image was not found to affect the mood of the participant.<\/p>\n

The results of this study indicate a possible approach to improving the quality of food for people who want to, and yet are unable, to eat in the company of others, and is likely to have implications for other occasions that involve social facilitation.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

An audio version of the poem can be heard here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When sat watching a movie, Do you ever find You eat so much less popcorn When friends are left behind? 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