| Title |
The rewarding effects of number and surface area of food in rats
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Learning & Behavior, December 2017
|
| DOI | 10.3758/s13420-017-0305-y |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Devina Wadhera, Lynn M. Wilkie, Elizabeth D. Capaldi-Phillips |
| Abstract |
Visual cues have an important role in food preference for both rats and humans. Here, we aim to isolate the effects of numerosity, density, and surface area on food preference and running speed in rats, by using a forced-choice maze paradigm. In Experiment 1, rats preferred and ran faster for a group of multiple smaller pellets rather than a single large pellet, corroborating previous research (Capaldi, Miller, & Alptekin Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 15(1), 75-80, 1989). Further experiments tested the prevailing hypothesis that multiple food pieces are more reinforcing because they occupy a larger surface area. Experiment 2 controlled for numerosity by utilizing a continuous food: mashed potatoes flattened to cover a larger surface area or rounded into a ball. The rats preferred and ran faster for the flattened potatoes, suggesting surface area plays a role in quantity estimations. Finally, in Experiment 3, rats displayed no preference or difference in running speed between a group of scattered and clustered pellets when number of pellets were kept constant. Taken together, these results suggest that density has an important role in food perception-that is, the rewarding effect of higher numerosity or larger surface area is removed when the food does not fill out the entire space. Alternative explanations and implications for human diet are discussed. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 7 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Germany | 1 | 14% |
| Netherlands | 1 | 14% |
| United States | 1 | 14% |
| United Kingdom | 1 | 14% |
| Unknown | 3 | 43% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 6 | 86% |
| Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 1 | 14% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 19 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | 19 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Researcher | 4 | 21% |
| Student > Bachelor | 3 | 16% |
| Student > Doctoral Student | 2 | 11% |
| Professor > Associate Professor | 2 | 11% |
| Student > Master | 2 | 11% |
| Other | 3 | 16% |
| Unknown | 3 | 16% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Psychology | 6 | 32% |
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 4 | 21% |
| Neuroscience | 3 | 16% |
| Engineering | 1 | 5% |
| Unknown | 5 | 26% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 4. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 04 September 2018.
All research outputs
#8,190,103
of 25,382,440 outputs
Outputs from Learning & Behavior
#210
of 904 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#151,586
of 447,689 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Learning & Behavior
#4
of 10 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 25,382,440 research outputs across all sources so far. This one has received more attention than most of these and is in the 67th percentile.
So far Altmetric has tracked 904 research outputs from this source. They typically receive more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 9.1. This one has done well, scoring higher than 75% of its peers.
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