Center for Food and Hospitality Research, Paul Bocuse Institute, 69130 Écully, France; LEAD-CNRS UMR 5022, Université de Bourgogne-Franche Comté, 21078 Dijon, France.
LEAD-CNRS UMR 5022, Université de Bourgogne-Franche Comté, 21078 Dijon, France.
J Exp Child Psychol. 2023 Feb;226:105546. doi: 10.1016/j.jecp.2022.105546. Epub 2022 Sep 11.
Previous research established that children with poorer taxonomic knowledge in the food domain display increased levels of food rejection. However, the food domain heavily lends itself to script and thematic conceptual knowledge (e.g., pancakes at breakfast), to which young children already attend. This series of studies investigated the development of conceptual knowledge, specifically in the food domain, and the link with food rejection. Study 1 used a nonconflicting triad task testing children's knowledge of four subtypes of script and thematic associations (food-food pairs, food-utensil pairs, event scripts, and meal scripts) with children aged 3-6 years living in the United States (18 males and 14 females). Study 2 employed the same design along with a measure of food rejection in 3- to 6-year-olds living in France (67 males and 62 females). There was significant conceptual development in both groups, but thematic food concepts are acquired earlier than meal script concepts. Study 3 investigated the link between thematic and script cross-classification and food rejection in 39 females and 33 males living in France (4- to 7-year-olds). Results demonstrate that children as young as 3 years old are already attending to thematic and script structures to inform food-based decision making. Even more critically, Study 3 showed that increased food rejection tendencies are negatively related to script and thematic understanding in the food domain. Such seminal studies illustrate the importance of conceptual knowledge in children's interpretation and acceptance of food, highlighting promising avenues for knowledge-based interventions to foster dietary variety.
先前的研究表明，在食品领域分类知识较差的儿童表现出更高水平的食物拒绝。然而，食品领域非常倾向于脚本和主题概念知识（例如，早餐吃薄煎饼），而幼儿已经在关注这些知识。本系列研究调查了概念知识的发展，特别是在食品领域，以及与食物拒绝的联系。研究 1 使用非冲突三元组任务测试了 3-6 岁居住在美国的儿童（18 名男性和 14 名女性）对四种脚本和主题关联的子类型（食品-食品对、食品-餐具对、事件脚本和膳食脚本）的知识。研究 2 采用了相同的设计，以及对居住在法国的 3-6 岁儿童（67 名男性和 62 名女性）进行食物拒绝的测量。两组儿童都有显著的概念发展，但主题食品概念比膳食脚本概念更早获得。研究 3 调查了法国 39 名女性和 33 名男性（4-7 岁）的主题和脚本交叉分类与食物拒绝之间的联系。结果表明，年仅 3 岁的儿童已经开始关注主题和脚本结构，以影响基于食物的决策。更重要的是，研究 3 表明，食物拒绝倾向的增加与食品领域的脚本和主题理解呈负相关。这些开创性的研究说明了概念知识在儿童对食物的解释和接受中的重要性，为基于知识的干预措施提供了有前途的途径，以促进饮食多样性。
