HC Work hard, play hard. Neuropsychological correlates and behavioral implications of hedonic compensation.

• Applicants: Professorin Dr. Lotte van Dillen; Professor Dr. Wilhelm Hofmann; Henk van Steenbergen, Ph.D.
• Subject Area: Social Psychology, Industrial and Organisational Psychology ; Personality Psychology, Clinical and Medical Psychology, Methodology
• Term: from 2018 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 396787447

• Final Report Year: 2024

Final Report Abstract

There is a pressing need to better understand when and why people overconsume, especially in the realm of unhealthy eating. For instance, the recommended limit for the daily dose of sugar for improved health roughly lies at 5% of the daily calorie intake. Yet, 15-22% of the average European citizen’s energy intake now comes from sugar, with Germany and The Netherlands taking up the second and third position worldwide, respectively. Moreover, Europeans consume on average between 8 and 12 grams of salt per day with all countries exceeding the recommended maximum. At the same time, people often consume foods in non-optimal settings. Almost half of all weekly meals are reportedly consumed in a room with a television switched on and foods consumed away from home are typically higher in fat, sugar, and salt than foods consumed at home. This accords with experimental work showing that, when people are engaged in (mentally) taxing tasks, they tend to eat more, especially palatable foods. In the current project, we proposed that these two trends (consuming too much and consuming while engaged in other activities) have not developed independently, and that the latter trend may at least in part explain the first. To this end, we examined the concept of hedonic compensation - consuming more of a hedonic good in order to compensate for reduced pleasure from its consumption - and its contextual triggers from multiple angles. The primary objective of the research conducted at the Bochum partner site was to investigate the processes of overconsumption, particularly unhealthy eating, as they unfold in everyday life. We conducted a large-scale experience sampling project, a meta-analysis, a field study and re-analyses of existing data, and collaborated on multiple projects with our partner site at Leiden to understand the concept of hedonic compensation—consuming more of a hedonic good to compensate for reduced pleasure from its consumption—and its contextual triggers, next to further related phenomena. Overall, our research contributes to a better understanding of the relationship between mental capacity, hedonic experiences, consumption, and happiness, and of the problems resulting from an imbalance between these factors, such as overconsumption.

Publications

• Testing Buddha: Is Acute Desire Associated with Lower Momentary Happiness?. Journal of Happiness Studies, 22(7), 3241-3258.
  Murphy, Stephen L.; Ozaki, Yuka; Friese, Malte & Hofmann, Wilhelm
  
• Driven to Snack: Simulated Driving Increases Subsequent Consumption. Journal of Trial and Error, 3(1), 57-71.
  van Meer, Floor; Murphy, Stephen Lee; Hofmann, Wilhelm; van Steenbergen, Henk & Van Dillen, Lotte F.
  
• Room for Feelings: A “Working Memory” Account of Affective Processing. Emotion Review, 15(2), 145-157.
  van Dillen, Lotte F. & Hofmann, Wilhelm
  
• Underwhelming pleasures: Toward a self-regulatory account of hedonic compensation and overconsumption.. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 127(2), 312-334.
  Murphy, Stephen L.; van Meer, Floor; van Dillen, Lotte; van Steenbergen, Henk & Hofmann, Wilhelm