Members in the Media
From: ABC News

Choosing Between Carrots and Cake Is a Snap Decision, Researchers Say

ABC News:

Whether you stick to your diet or give into temptation comes down to just milliseconds, a new study suggests.

Researchers from Caltech tested this theory by asking 28 volunteers to rate the health virtues of more than 150 foods after fasting for four hours. The subjects were then shown random pairings of foods on a computer screen, one healthier than the other, then invited to choose between two.

On average, information about taste begins influencing the decision making process about 200 milliseconds sooner than health information, according to findings published in the latest issue of the journal Psychological Science.

Lead researcher Nikki Sullivan said based on how quickly subjects navigated their computer mouse to click on their selections, the scientists could tell which factor was important in making a choice — taste or health.

Read the whole story: ABC News

More of our Members in the Media >


APS regularly opens certain online articles for discussion on our website. Effective February 2021, you must be a logged-in APS member to post comments. By posting a comment, you agree to our Community Guidelines and the display of your profile information, including your name and affiliation. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations present in article comments are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of APS or the article’s author. For more information, please see our Community Guidelines.

Please login with your APS account to comment.