Have you ever wondered how people can always “make room for dessert?” Or why people might say their full even when they aren’t? Sometimes you might think you’re full, but when handed a plate of desert, you can eat it all. That is because of Sensory Specific Satiety (sah-tie-eh-tee). It is how we often mistake ourselves for feeling full. Basically after eating the same food for a while, your brain gets bored, and so you think you’re full. You might be interested in eating something, but after having a bunch of it, eh… not so much.

So, after “finishing” a meal, when you are offered dessert, it is something different than what you had just been eating. It is something “new” and “exciting,” so of course you have room to eat it. The people at Vox did a test where they fed some people mac and cheese. Before they fed them, they asked them how excited they were about eating mac and cheese. After they ate it, they asked them again. The people’s interests in mack and cheese had gone down. So, if your brain gets uninterested in the food you’re eating, you might just think you’re full.

What if it is your favorite food?

What about when people have a multi-coursed meal?

What if they eat their dessert first?

Vox Video