Raising the prospect of weight loss
through mind control, researchers report they may have successfully
planted false memories about bad food experiences into the
minds of ordinary people.
Only about a third of those
tested showed any indication of actually falling for the ruse,
and there's no evidence that the new memories will make anyone
actually alter what they eat.
Even so, the findings raise
plenty of interesting questions, said study co-author and
memory specialist Elizabeth Loftus, a professor of psychology
at the University of California at Irvine. "If this would
work for fattening foods, we may be on the brink of a new
approach to dieting," she said.
In the study, Loftus and her
colleagues tested the power of food-related suggestion. The
results are to appear in the February issue of Social Cognition.
In one experiment in the study,
the researchers asked 180 undergraduates about their food
preferences. Each student ranked 62 different foods on a scale
of one to five.
Later, the students returned
to view a "profile," supposedly produced by a computer, of
their food preferences as children. Half were told they had
gotten sick from dill pickles as kids, and the other half
were told hard-boiled eggs did the same thing.
Then, the students took several
more tests that, among other things, asked about their early
food experiences and which foods they'd eat at a barbecue.
After analyzing the new round
of test and survey results, researchers found that 25 percent
of the students in the pickle group appeared to think -- thanks
to the planted memories -- that they had indeed gotten sick
from the food as children. The number was 31 percent among
students told they got sick from hard-boiled eggs.
The planted memories also affected
the willingness of the susceptible subjects to eat the food
at a barbecue or even eat a related food (such as egg salad).
Most of the subjects didn't
fall for the fake memories, but previous research suggests
those susceptible to implanted memories may share traits in
common, Loftus said. "If you're somebody who tends to have
lapses in memory and attention, you might be more susceptible,"
she explained. People who are adept at visual imagery may
be more prone to suggestion, too.
The next step is to figure
out whether implanted memories would actually change behavior
and make people eat differently, Loftus said. "We'd like to
continue the experiment on and get some handle on how long
the suggestion will last."
The power of suggestion might
not work for every food, however, A previous study found that
people couldn't be convinced to avoid potato chips, perhaps
because they had plenty of experience with the food, Loftus
said.
Jeannie Moloo, a spokeswoman
for the American Dietetic Association, said the findings are
intriguing, especially considering the long-lasting effects
of memories about food.
"If you grow up in an environment
where foods are talked about negatively, or you've experienced
getting sick with a particular food, that can carry into adulthood,"
she said. "The concern is if it leads to the exclusion of
an entire food group in the diet. That potentially may be
a problem."
More information
Learn more about false memories
from this Scientific
American article by Elizabeth Loftus.
