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Social Science Popular Culture

How We Eat

Appetite, Culture, and the Psychology of Food

by (author) Leon Rappoport

Publisher
ECW Press
Initial publish date
May 2003
Category
Popular Culture, Food Science
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781550225631
    Publish Date
    May 2003
    List Price
    $19.95
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781554902415
    Publish Date
    May 2003
    List Price
    $11.95

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Description

Tracing culinary customs from the Stone Age to the stovetop range, from the raw to the nuked, this book elucidates the factors and myths shaping Americans' eating habits. The diversity of food habits and rituals is considered from a psychological perspective. Explored are questions such as Why does the working class prefer sweet drinks over bitter? Why do the affluent tend to roast their potatoes? and What is so comforting about macaroni and cheese anyway? The many contradictions of Americans' relationships with food are identified: food is both a primal source of sensual pleasure and a major cultural anxiety; Americans adore celebrity chefs, but no one cooks at home anymore; the gourmet health food industry is soaring, yet a longtime love affair with fast food endures. The future of food is also covered, including speculation about whether traditional meals will one day evolve into the mere popping of a nutrition capsule.

About the author

Contributor Notes

Leon Rappoport, is a professor specializing in personality and social psychology at Kansas State University. His research studies on food cognition have appeared in numerous journals, including The American Behavioral Scientist and Appetite. He is the author of The Holocaust and the Crisis of Human Behavior, Personality Development, and Zen Running. He lives in Manhattan, Kansas.