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Positive-incentive value is the anticipated pleasure involved in the performance of a particular behavior, such as eating a particular food or drinking a particular beverage. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] It is a key element of the positive-incentive theories of hunger .
Hunger is a sensation that motivates the consumption of food. The sensation of hunger typically manifests after only a few hours without eating and is generally considered to be unpleasant. Satiety occurs between 5 and 20 minutes after eating. [1] There are several theories about how the feeling of hunger arises. [2]
The reward system (the mesocorticolimbic circuit) is a group of neural structures responsible for incentive salience (i.e., "wanting"; desire or craving for a reward and motivation), associative learning (primarily positive reinforcement and classical conditioning), and positively-valenced emotions, particularly ones involving pleasure as a core component (e.g., joy, euphoria and ecstasy).
Hedonic hunger or hedonic hyperphagia is the "drive to eat to obtain pleasure in the absence of an energy deficit". [1] Particular foods may have a high "hedonic rating" [2] or individuals may have increased susceptibility to environmental food cues. [3] Weight loss programs may aim to control or to compensate for hedonic hunger. [4]
For example, the sight or smell of food can trigger hunger sensations even in the absence of true physiological need, a phenomenon that has important implications for understanding overeating and obesity in food-rich environments. The role of learning and memory in hunger and eating behavior has also been extensively studied.
For example, food deprivation changes the value of food, making it more reinforcing, and it also evokes learned behaviors that have obtained food. Likewise, food satiation reduces both the reinforcing effect of food and the probability of food-getting behaviors. Note that a motivating operation differs from a discriminative stimulus (Sd).
Incentive salience is a cognitive process that grants a "desire" or "want" attribute, which includes a motivational component to a rewarding stimulus. [1] [2] [3] [9] Reward is the attractive and motivational property of a stimulus that induces appetitive behavior – also known as approach behavior – and consummatory behavior. [3]
Incentive theory distinguishes itself from other motivation theories, such as drive theory, in the direction of the motivation. In incentive theory, stimuli "attract" a person towards them, and push them towards the stimulus. In terms of behaviorism, incentive theory involves positive reinforcement: the reinforcing stimulus has been conditioned ...