History and Psychology in Proust’s “The Cookie”

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Historical Events
Psychological Perspective
Personal Experience
Conclusion
References

Introduction

Sometimes, food can be a reason for inspiration and tend to remind us of interesting events, which took place in our life. Similar situations happened in my life, and many situations related to this matter are present in the past. Choosing this research topic is inspired by Proust’s “The Cookie”, as, according to the story, as the cookie reminded the researcher of his past and caused the continuous flow of exciting memories from his childhood (Lehrer, 2007). I was highly encouraged by the story and could assume that the cookies had the psychological and emotional power to bring back memories and feelings. I can claim that this phenomenon is present in everyday life, history, and experience.

The primary goal of this paper is to address this aspect from the historical point of view and evaluate it from the psychological perspective, as it will assist in the understanding of this matter from diverse sides. In turn, it is necessary to refer to the personal experience related to this emotional ability of food. In this case, my personal stories and observations will be described. In the end, the conclusions are drawn to evaluate the significance of the findings.

Historical Events

It is clear that one of the inspiring stories is Proust’s “The Cookie”, Proust was chewing the cookie, and it was reminding him of his past (Lehrer, 2007). The memories were quickly flying in his head, and he was able to remember his childhood. It could be said that it was not about the taste but about the memories, which the cookie helped him to acquire. In turn, it was one of the important historical events, which changed the flow in psychology and neuroscience, as the anchor between the taste and memory was revealed.

In turn, similar situations occurred in history several times, as this phenomenon is rather common in the world and everyday life. It could be said that this example refers to the animation and underlines the presence of this matter in history. According to the story, Anton Ego tasted Ratatouille and was brought back to his childhood (Rosing, 2015). The taste of Ratatouille was the anchor to his past and was associated with his childhood memories. It could be said that food can play the role of the bridge between the present and past as one can easily be transported to the joyful and happy moments in the past.

It could be said that various stories related to the similar matter are also present in history, films, and animation, as having associations between emotions and food is common. In turn, similar situations happen in real life, and the importance of this phenomenon cannot be underestimated. Lastly, these situations can inspire and help people remember vital matters.

Psychological Perspective

Nonetheless, the presence of this aspect has to be evaluated from the psychological perspective. It could be said that this matter is related to the psychological functioning of the brain. In this instance, the words such as ‘memory’, ‘emotion’, and ‘anchoring’ have to be defined as they are significant components while associating the flavor of the food with the particular moment in the past.

Firstly, an individual experiences a particular emotion, which can be defined as a particular reaction to certain circumstances, people, actions, and behavior (Rolls, 2005). After that, the memory in the brain is created, as people tend to remember both positive and negative situations, which influenced them emotionally. Furthermore, the memory can be portrayed as the process of coding the information with the future ability for storage and retrieval (Dudai, 2004). For example, several years ago, I was riding a bicycle in the forest, the sun was shining, and the birds were singing. I felt happy, joyful, and pleased with the weather. I still remember it and have the same feelings as in the past.

In turn, the anchoring can be defined as “creating the association between a specific emotional state and a simple trigger” (Reddy, 2012). It could be said that in this instance, it establishes a connection of the particular flavor with a particular period in the past. Nonetheless, anchoring is a complicated mechanism, as the anchoring is the internal reaction to the external influence (Law, 2013). It creates associations between visual (see), auditory (hear), kinesthetic (touch), or gustatory (taste) senses and the memory (Law, 2013). It could be said that a similar situation occurred with Proust, as his childhood memory was associated with the flavor of the cookie. Nonetheless, this situation can help the individual to control the emotions, as the anchors help change to the particular emotional state with the assistance of touch or taste.

In the end, it could be said that the association of the food flavor with the particular memory is highly related to the psychological processes in the brain. Nonetheless, this section helped me understand that anchoring involves emotions and memory. Lastly, anchoring might be a useful tool in terms of emotion control.

Personal Experience

As it was mentioned earlier, a similar situation related to the anchoring of the particular events to the food tends to happen in the life of every individual. The primary goal of this section is to describe my personal experience of the association of the flavor and taste of the food with particular emotions. These observations will help understand the process of anchoring in more details, as I am able to express my feeling and emotions freely.

The first story is the fact that eating lasagne reminds me of having an evening at my grandparents’ house. The taste and smell of lasagne help me transfer to the time when I was sitting at the dinner table with my grandparents, having a delicious dinner, and listening to interesting stories about the past. The feeling of warmth and happiness fills my body, as I loved to spend time with my grandparents when I was a child. It could be said that it is a bright example of the anchoring from my past, as the taste of the lasagne is associated with the wonderful evenings with my grandparents.

Nonetheless, I also have another story, which underlines the existence of anchoring in my life. In this case, eating vanilla ice cream also reminds me of my childhood. Its flavor brings me back to the past when I was a little child, who liked to spend a lot of time outdoors. It makes me very happy, as, back then, I was carefree and excited about the moments in my life. I played different games with my friends and climbed trees. It remains evident that the association of the food with a particular moment in the past is present, and the anchoring takes place.

In turn, my friends and relatives also experienced similar situations, when they smelled or tasted particular food. The observations from my personal life helped me discover the functioning of anchoring and experience it. I can highly claim that anchoring is an effective and powerful psychological tool, which helps build associations.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it could be said that the association of food with different events from the past tends to happen due to anchoring. The example of Proust’s “The Cookie” inspired to conduct the research in this field, as the cookie brought him back to his childhood. In turn, a similar situation is present in animations, cartoons, films, and books. Additionally, I was able to discover the presence of this phenomenon in my life, as tasting the lasagne and vanilla ice cream brings me back to my childhood. Furthermore, I explored that it happens among my relatives and friends, and it is a widespread phenomenon in the modern world.

Nonetheless, it was discovered that anchoring is a psychological phenomenon, which helps build an association of the internal emotional states and the external factors and circumstances. Taste and smell are not the only ways to create associations with emotions, as they can also be visual, audial, and kinesthetic. Lastly, anchoring is an essential element of modern psychology, and it helps control emotions and feelings. It remains evident that the food is able to play the role of the bridge between the emotions and bring a person to the exciting moments of the past due to anchoring.

References

Dudai, Y. (2004). Memory from A-Z: Keywords, concepts, and beyond. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Law, H. (2013). Couching psychology: A practitioner’s guide. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Lehrer, J. (2007). Proust was a neuroscientist. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Reddy, N. (2012). Love food and be slim: Motivational secrets for the body you desire and the success you crave. Bloomington, IN: Balboa Press.

Rolls, E. (2005). Emotion explained. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Rosing, L. (2015). Pixar with Lacan: The hysteric guide to animation. London, UK: Bloomsbury.

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