Unit bias
Abstract
Andrew B. Geier and Paul Rozin developed the concept of Unit Bias in 2006. This heuristic is the sense that a single entity (within reasonable ranges or sizes) is the appropriate amount to engage, consume, or consider. The number one, we argue, is a "natural unit," and in the realm of food and diet, that means one serving or one identifiable entity (e.g., one sandwich). Unit Bias also appears to play a role in gauging someone else's body weight. This paper discusses five studies and is divided into three chapters that each examine the concept of Unit Bias. In the first and second studies, smaller portions (units), with free availability of additional food, reduce food intake. In the third paper, we demonstrate that weight judgments of observed females, or calorie judgments of observed food portions, are overly influenced by norms of what is a unit.
Subject Area
Experimental psychology
Recommended Citation
Andrew B Geier,
"Unit bias"
(January 1, 2009).
Dissertations available from ProQuest.
Paper AAI3363358.
http://repository.upenn.edu/dissertations/AAI3363358
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