Carnegie Mellon University researchers believe the answer lies in the fact that extended exposure to a stimulus (the sandwich) decreases the physiological and behavioral responses (wanting to eat it). In other words, seeing the sandwich get made over time makes it feel less novel and thus less desirable. A similar phenomenon works with repeated exposure to the same food: a fifth bite of chocolate is less desirable than the first.⁠ ⁠ _____⁠ ⁠ In a series of five experiments, the CMU researchers showed that the more often people imagined eating a food, the less likely they were to eat it later. In addition, people who repeatedly imagined eating a specific food ate less of that food than people who repeatedly imagined eating a different food. According to the research, they ate less because they felt less hungry, not because they thought the food was less appetizing.⁠ ⁠ ⁠ ⁠ #sandwich #yummy #cooking #biology #science⁠