Psychological induction of interoceptive hunger cues and their effect on food desire

Certain interoceptive hunger cues are caused by gut physiology. These interoceptive cues may have psychological consequences, namely an ability to enhance the desire to eat, which are independent of their physiological cause. Testing this idea is difficult because the physiological processes are normally linked to any consequence. In this preliminary report we attempted to induce an interoceptive hunger cue (a stomach rumble), to examine its psychological consequences independent from its physiological cause. In three online Studies (1–3), participants viewed images of food while listening to different sounds including quiet stomach rumbles and judged the source of the sound, and their desire to eat the depicted foods. In Studies 1–3, irrespective of when they last ate and their reported level of hunger, and relative to control sounds, stomach rumble sounds enhanced desire to eat depicted foods, especially when they were mislocalised to the participants’ own stomachs. In Study 1 49% of participants reported some degree of mislocalisation, 74% in Study 2, and 77% in Study 3. Overall, around 40% reported mimicry, where they felt that hearing the computer-generated stomach rumble sound induced the same in themselves. In Study 3 heart beat sounds were included. These too were mislocalised, and enhanced desire to eat depicted foods. In sum, this preliminary report suggests it may be possible to psychologically induce interoceptive cues, including one specific to hunger, and that these cues may then enhance food desire when mislocalised to self. In addition, the findings support the idea that interoceptive hunger cues may have associative properties that augment desire to eat.