There is a large amount of research of this sort done by Dr. Brian Wansink, author of "Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think."  Dr. Wansink is the Director of the Food and Brand Lab at Cornell University and a world expert in eating behaviors.

You learn in this book the hidden cues that determine how and why people eat what they do through some fiendishly clever experiments such as "The Bottomless Soup Bowl."  

Dr. Brian Wansink worked very closely with the Mindless Team to design the ideal dinnerware, called Thinware,™ taking into account the size, shape, color, dimensions, and quality encouraging smaller food portions while leaving a person feeling completely satiated.

Dr. Wansink also has developed a weight loss plan called the Mindless Method based again on the book “Mindless Eating” combined  with his years of research on eating behaviors he call “Eating Scripts."  The Mindless Method is designed to promote weight loss by assigning proven solutions unique to each person’s eating scripts changing bad eating habits into positive eating habits, mindlessly.