Subtle brainwashing may help people lose weight, noted University of California at Irvine researcher Elizabeth Loftus says.
In a paper published Tuesday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Loftus said her team turned people off to strawberry ice cream, pickles and hard-boiled eggs by planting false memories that the foods made them ill as a child.
The team successfully implanted positive opinions about asparagus.
However, it failed in efforts to implant negative memories about chocolate chip cookies and potato chips.
Loftus, who is well known for her conclusion that most childhood sex abuse memories are false, said the method could help people eat better -- if it is perfected.
Acknowledging that implanted memories are ethically tricky if applied beyond dieting, Loftus told the Los Angeles Times she and colleagues decided the issue is worth discussion.
"We're not taking a position on whether people ought to go out and do that or not," Loftus said. "People kind of cringe at the idea that anyone would suggest that they lie to their children, but they do it all the time when they tell them Santa Claus exists and so does the Tooth Fairy."
© Copyright 2005 by United Press International
