smell, taste, eat: the role of the chemical senses in eating behaviour

This edited collection synthesises recent research into smell and taste and relates it to eating behaviour. Olfaction - the sense of smell - together with taste are known as the ’chemical senses’ and are the oldest sensory system. It is paradoxical then that our knowledge (especially psychological) about these two systems remains far behind that of vision and audition. Nevertheless, the past twenty years has seen a significant increase in our understanding of these sensory systems and the contributors to this book, many of whom helped to reveal key findings in this research domain, explore theories which attempt to explain appetite control, associative odour learning and multisensory perception, among others. It further brings the reader up to date on the current state of knowledge on disordered eating and olfactory disorders. Finally, it bridges across different academic disciplines to reveal the importance of the chemical senses in indigenous people in Guyana.

Lorenzo Stafford is Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Portsmouth, UK, and a chartered member of the British Psychology Society. He is an active member of the British Feeding and Drinking Group(BFDG).