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Influential Behavior

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Influential Behavior
Influential Behavior There are several influences that affect the choices people make. Group dynamics push and pull, as family and friends have influence on how an individual builds his or her identity. Circumstances arise to set a stage for behavior to play out. A social situation may be that of a large or small gathering. How an individual portrays himself or herself within a large group often differs from how he or she holds themselves in a one-on-one situation or even by himself or herself. It is true, human behavior changes with different social circumstances.
Overeating
Most industrialized countries today are facing an epidemic of citizens becoming overweight or even obese (McFerran, Dahl, Fitzsimmons, & Morales, 2010). Some theorize what is causing this is people being more sedentary in their lifestyle choices or possibly genetic factors (McFerran et al., 2010). Most research points toward the main reason behind the epidemic as over-consumption of both food and drink (McFerran et al., 2010). Certainly social circumstances highly influence humans’ eating behaviors. McFerran et al. (2010) asserts “food choice, like many other behaviors in consumption domains, is strongly subject to interpersonal influences, with people choosing larger (or smaller) portions after viewing another consumer doing likewise” (p. 915). In the United States, during the winter holiday season, there are many social situations full of delicious goodies to devour. Family gatherings, neighbors offering good wishes with a plate of gooey delightfulness, and the traditional holiday party, provide ample opportunity to overeat. Several websites and magazines provide tips and tricks to avoiding the additional holiday bulge. Mintle (n.d.) suggests eating a snack before the party to avoid eating too much while in attendance. Unfortunately, the snack beforehand may turn into the appetizer before the appetizers as multiple research projects confirm overeating is mainly

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