Health behaviours and their facilitation under depletion conditions: The case of snacking
Introduction: Previous research suggests that depletion (the state ensuing from self-control exertion) engenders lapses in health behaviours. The present study tested for that effect in relation to the health behaviour of limiting snacking, and investigated whether health goal-priming might facilita...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Published: |
2015
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/33624 |
| _version_ | 1848753998877687808 |
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| author | Sellahewa, D. Mullan, Barbara |
| author_facet | Sellahewa, D. Mullan, Barbara |
| author_sort | Sellahewa, D. |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Introduction: Previous research suggests that depletion (the state ensuing from self-control exertion) engenders lapses in health behaviours. The present study tested for that effect in relation to the health behaviour of limiting snacking, and investigated whether health goal-priming might facilitate such health behaviours even under depletion conditions. Method: A laboratory study was conducted involving an analytic sample of 85 undergraduates (mean age = 20.08, SD = 3.96; female: n = 63). Depletion was manipulated by having participants watch a humorous video while suppressing their responses (depletion condition) or remaining natural (non-depletion condition). The activation of participants' health goals was then manipulated by subtly exposing (goal-priming condition) or not exposing (non-priming condition) participants to health-related words in a Scrambled Sentence Task. Finally, snacking was measured using a bogus taste-test. Results and discussion: Controlling for initial hunger, snacking was higher among depleted compared to non-depleted participants. Snacking was lower among primed compared to non-primed participants. The interaction between depletion and goal-priming was not significant. These findings suggest that depletion should be recognised as a risk factor for lapses in health behaviours, and that health goal-priming may be a useful technique for facilitating such behaviours even when individuals are depleted. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T08:33:26Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-33624 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T08:33:26Z |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-336242017-09-13T15:35:34Z Health behaviours and their facilitation under depletion conditions: The case of snacking Sellahewa, D. Mullan, Barbara Introduction: Previous research suggests that depletion (the state ensuing from self-control exertion) engenders lapses in health behaviours. The present study tested for that effect in relation to the health behaviour of limiting snacking, and investigated whether health goal-priming might facilitate such health behaviours even under depletion conditions. Method: A laboratory study was conducted involving an analytic sample of 85 undergraduates (mean age = 20.08, SD = 3.96; female: n = 63). Depletion was manipulated by having participants watch a humorous video while suppressing their responses (depletion condition) or remaining natural (non-depletion condition). The activation of participants' health goals was then manipulated by subtly exposing (goal-priming condition) or not exposing (non-priming condition) participants to health-related words in a Scrambled Sentence Task. Finally, snacking was measured using a bogus taste-test. Results and discussion: Controlling for initial hunger, snacking was higher among depleted compared to non-depleted participants. Snacking was lower among primed compared to non-primed participants. The interaction between depletion and goal-priming was not significant. These findings suggest that depletion should be recognised as a risk factor for lapses in health behaviours, and that health goal-priming may be a useful technique for facilitating such behaviours even when individuals are depleted. 2015 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/33624 10.1016/j.appet.2015.03.009 fulltext |
| spellingShingle | Sellahewa, D. Mullan, Barbara Health behaviours and their facilitation under depletion conditions: The case of snacking |
| title | Health behaviours and their facilitation under depletion conditions: The case of snacking |
| title_full | Health behaviours and their facilitation under depletion conditions: The case of snacking |
| title_fullStr | Health behaviours and their facilitation under depletion conditions: The case of snacking |
| title_full_unstemmed | Health behaviours and their facilitation under depletion conditions: The case of snacking |
| title_short | Health behaviours and their facilitation under depletion conditions: The case of snacking |
| title_sort | health behaviours and their facilitation under depletion conditions: the case of snacking |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/33624 |