Psychology, Morality, and the Things You Choose to Eat
Discussion Lunch with Psychologist Paul Rozin
Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009 *
12:30-2 p.m. * Harlos House (1331 E. Tenth St.) * SIGN-UP
REQUIRED
Would you eat frogs or opossum or rattlesnake? Does your response
depend on the taste of those things, the look of them, or the culture or
environment you grew up in? Why do we find some foods disgusting and
others irresistible? Do you feel guilty about what you eat? Do you
judge other people by what they eat? Why do the French think of eating
as a pleasurable experience, while Americans always seem to be worrying
about the consequences —to their weight or their health? Does
someone who is French look at an egg differently than an American would?
Breakfast to one, cholesterol to the other? These are some of the
questions that have kept Paul Rozin, a professor of psychology at
the
University of Pennsylvania, studying food preferences for decades.
Join Rozin for a discussion of the work he has done on the
psychological, biological, as well as cultural influences on the food
choices we make—and other topics that spark your interest.
Described
as an "intellectual omnivore," Rozin is fascinated by
different cultural approaches to food, as well as the ways we have
transformed our food world and put it at odds with the adaptations
humans have to their ancestral environment. The author of more than 250
articles and books, he presents as his research interests cultural
psychology; the acquisition of likes and dislikes for foods and other
things; beliefs about risk; attitudes toward chocolate, meat, and water;
magical thinking; cultural evolution; disgust; morality; psychology of
music; positive psychology; negativity dominance; and the idea of
purity.
Rozin was the psychology advisor to the W. W. Norton
publishing company for more than 25 years and was on the advisory board
for the Children's Television Workshop (the producers of Sesame
Street).
He has been a consultant to various major food companies, including
Cadbury-Schweppes, Frito-Lay, General Foods, Kraft Foods, McCormick
Spices, Nestle's, and PepsiCo. He is on campus as a guest of the
Cognitive Science Program as part of the College of Arts and Sciences'
Themester on Evolution, Diversity, and Change, and will deliver a
public
lecture, "Living with Ancestral Food-environment Adaptations in the
Modern Western World," at 4 p.m. on Thursday, November 19, in Psychology
100.
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