The experiment starts before anyone takes a bite. There’s no drive-thru. No cashier calling the next order. No glowing sign announcing the restaurant is open.
But there is something instantly familiar: the smell of French fries. Inside a tucked-away laboratory in East Hall at the University of Michigan, researchers recreated a fast-food restaurant—not to serve lunch, but to answer a question millions of people wrestle with every day: Why do people make different food choices in tempting environments than they intended?
U-M psychology professor Ashley Gearhardt said the answer may have less to do with willpower and more to do with the environments designed to shape behavior.
The Food and Addiction Science & Treatment (FAST) Lab was created by Gearhardt to explore the similarities between addictive and eating behaviors, using a simulated fast food restaurant to show how certain behaviors impact food cravings. To learn more about the FAST Lab, visit the website.
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