SELF-CONTROL AND IMPULSIVENESS IN ADULT HUMAN FEMALES - EFFECTS OF FOOD PREFERENCES

Two experiments explored the effects of food preferences on humans' ch oice in a self-control paradigm. Reinforcers consisted of programmed p eriods of access time to drinking juice during the experimental sessio n. Experiment 1 used 14 adult women and Experiment 2 used 9 adult wome n. In Experiment 1, the women demonstrated significantly less sensitiv ity to reinforcer amount relative to sensitivity to reinforcer delay ( a measure of self-control) when they reported a higher preference for the juice received as the less delayed, smaller reinforcer than for th e juice received as the more delayed, larger reinforcer. Conversely in Experiment 2, the women demonstrated significantly more sensitivity t o reinforcer amount relative to sensitivity to reinforcer delay when t hey reported a higher preference for the juice received as the more de layed, larger reinforcer than for the juice received as the less delay ed, smaller reinforcer. Together, the results show that participants' food preferences can influence self-control for food reinforcers. (C) 1997 Academic Press.