ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a grounded cognition theory of desire and motivated behaviour, along with empirical evidence that supports it, and discusses implications for self-regulation. The grounded cognition theory of desire suggests that desire arises when an internal or external cue triggers a simulation of an earlier appetitive experience that was rewarding and that has been stored as a situated conceptualization, incorporating information about the setting, actions, events, emotions, etc. Once part of this situated representation is cued, it can re-activate its other elements via pattern completion inferences, and lead to the experience of desire and motivated behaviour. The chapter will review studies supporting this account, using behavioural, physiological, and neuro-imaging methods. Research shows, for example, that food and drink cues (e.g., images, words) trigger spontaneous consumption and reward simulations (e.g., thoughts of eating and enjoying the food), that these simulations lead to desire and bodily preparations to eat (e.g., self-reported cravings, salivation), and that diffusing these simulations with mindfulness-based techniques reduces their effect on desire. The chapter also discusses related findings in research on marketing and food labelling, and addresses implications for interventions.
