a Department of Marketing and International Business , Iona College , New Rochelle , NY , USA.
Psychol Health. 2014;29(9):999-1013. doi: 10.1080/08870446.2014.900682. Epub 2014 Mar 31.
Two studies examined the hypothesis that the presence vs. absence of holiday food cues leads dieters to bolster self-regulatory resources and reduce consumption of a snack food. Study 1 evaluated snack-food consumption on a holiday vs. a non-holiday and in Study 2, the proposed underlying mechanism--the bolstering of self-regulatory resources when facing holiday-related cues--was explored.
Study 1 followed a quasi-experimental design in which participants (N = 152) consumed candies either on a holiday or a non-holiday. Dieting behaviour was measured and the main outcome measure was consumption quantity. In Study 2, a true experiment, participants (N = 110) read primes associated with holiday eating, holiday history or a neutral topic. Self-regulatory bolstering was assessed as the main outcome measure.
Study 1 showed that dieters consume more of a food item on an ordinary day relative to a holiday; the consumption patterns of non-dieters did not vary based on holiday cues. Study 2 demonstrated that dieters, but not non-dieters, bolster self-regulatory resources to a greater extent in the presence vs. absence of a holiday food cue.
Dieters are better equipped to defend their diet-related goals when facing strong holiday-related temptations than weaker, everyday temptations.
两项研究检验了这样一个假设，即节日食物线索的存在与否会促使节食者增强自我调节资源，从而减少对零食的消费。研究 1 在节日和非节日期间评估了零食的消费情况，而在研究 2 中，探讨了假设的潜在机制——面对与节日相关的线索时，自我调节资源的增强。
研究 1 采用准实验设计，参与者（N=152）在节日或非节日期间食用糖果。测量节食行为，主要结果指标是消费数量。在研究 2 中，采用真正的实验，参与者（N=110）阅读与节日饮食、节日历史或中性话题相关的启动词。自我调节增强作为主要结果指标进行评估。
研究 1 表明，与节日相比，节食者在普通日消费更多的食物；非节食者的消费模式不受节日线索的影响。研究 2 表明，只有节食者，而不是非节食者，在面对节日食物线索时，会更强烈地增强自我调节资源。
与较弱的日常诱惑相比，节食者在面对强烈的与节日相关的诱惑时，更有能力捍卫与饮食相关的目标。
