The Psychology of Hunger and Starvation

Hunger and starvation have significantly shaped the human condition. The imprints of past famines continue to cast lasting shadows on our evolutionary relationship with food, highlighting starvation as a powerful cognitive force. This book explores the nature of human hunger primarily from a psychological perspective, covering its basis in the brain, its critical dependence on learning and memory, and the dramatic effect of starvation on morality and behaviour. It connects the biology and psychology of hunger with historical and social examples including hunger strikers, hunger artists, disordered eating, and hunger as a weapon. Human experimental studies of deep starvation are also analysed, alongside case studies of the 'super hungers' in Prader-Willi syndrome, binge eating, and dementia. Delivering a comprehensive and interdisciplinary picture of human hunger and starvation, this book is an ideal resource for students and researchers interested in ingestive behaviour from a multidisciplinary perspective.