An analysis of mealtime situations in contrastive modes of dining and the psychology of diners

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This case study investigated what psychological effects different modes of dining (i.e. eating out in restaurants, eating store-bought meals, and eating self-prepared meals) may have on young people. It further revealed the nature of mealtime conversation that was usually carried on in the different modes. The participants were 64 female students aged 18 to 20 who were paired up to dine together in each of the modes, for a total of 96 mealtime situations (32 pairs x 3 meals). The meals were recorded on digital video and subsequently analysed with a focus on the nature of conversational exchanges had by the participants. When the three modes were compared in terms of the amount of conversation exchanged and the topics talked about, it was found that participants while eating out tended to talk less and on topics centering on course content and other school-related areas as opposed to those related to home and personal life, both suggesting a less relaxing mealtime atmosphere than while eating in (store-bought or self-prepared food). The breakdown of actual mealtime conversational topics found across the three modes is as follows : the food being eaten 8.4%, meals in general 15.5%, what is on the table 3.0%, daily home life 8.5%, special incidents at home 8.4%, daily school life 29.8%, special incidents at school 24.1%. In other words, 26.9% of the conversational topics were meal-related while 70.8% were non-meal-related. This result suggests that female students dining together attach a heavier significance to the social aspect of eating rather than to such other aspects as nutrition or table manners