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Food Choice and Consumer Psychology

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A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Sensory and Consumer Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2020) | Viewed by 135221

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Gaëlle Arvisenet

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Guest Editor

Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation, AgroSup Dijon, CNRS, INRAE, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, F-21000 Dijon, France
Interests: consumer science; sensory evaluation; multisensory perception; crossmodal interactions; healthy and sustainable food choices

Dr. Stephanie Chambaron

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Guest Editor

Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation, AgroSup Dijon, CNRS, INRAE, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, F-21000 Dijon, France
Interests: cognitive psychology; consumer psychology; food choice decision making; implicit methods; priming; obesity

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

At present, many consumers are confronted with practically unlimited possibilities of food choice. Food choice plays an important role in symbolic, economic, and social aspects of life by expressing preferences, identities, and cultural meanings. The consequences of food choice on consumers’ health and on the environment are known better than ever. Nevertheless, how consumers “make” choices remains a major issue. In particular, understanding the psychology of food choice decision making is highly challenging. There is a broad range of factors potentially involved in food choice (i.e., habits, organoleptic properties, global product experience, individual’s culture and personal experience, lifestyle changes, reaction to environmental cues and available information, etc.). As a result, food choice decisions are not only made consciously but contain a part of automatic, not conscious, processes.

Aim and Scope: This Special Issue aims to bring together insights from interdisciplinary fields, with regard to food choice. Researchers in psychology (social, cognitive), sensory research, and consumer research are invited to submit original research and systematic reviews about the factors involved in food choice.

Prof. Gaëlle Arvisenet
Dr. Stephanie Chambaron
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Foods is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

cognitive psychology
consumer behavior
attitudes about food and diet
social representations
mental representations
multisensory perception
context of choice
healthy and sustainable food choices
food choice motivations
decision making

Published Papers (12 papers)

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Research

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11 pages, 1126 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Country and Gender Differences in the Color Association with Energy Drinks: A Survey in Taiwanese and Japanese Students

by Shigeharu Tanei, Wen-Tseng Chu, Toshimitsu Okamura, Fu-Shih Chen and Yukinori Nagakura

Foods 2020, 9(11), 1670; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9111670 - 15 Nov 2020

Viewed by 2761

Abstract

This study investigated differences in the color association with energy drinks between two populations in different cultures, i.e., Taiwanese and Japanese. An anonymous, self-administered paper questionnaire was administered to first- and second-year students at National Taiwan Normal University (Taiwan) and Naragakuen University (Japan). In our inter-country, gender-stratified comparison, the color selected most often in response to the question, “What color comes to your mind for energy drink label?” was red for the Taiwanese and blue for the Japanese. The color associations with energy drinks selected by 20% or more participants in at least one population and showing statistical difference were extracted as noticeable difference. The present study demonstrates that the color and energy drink functions are closely associated. Specifically, yellow and nourishment, black and stimulant, yellow and vitamin supplement, green and dietary fiber supplement, and red and iron supplement are tightly associated regardless of the country. The strong tie between cosmetic and white is specific to the Taiwanese consumers. This suggests that careful color selection based on consumers’ environmental and cultural backgrounds is important in communicating information regarding energy drink functions. It would be worth for energy drink manufacturers to consider those associations in designing labels for products. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Choice and Consumer Psychology)

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25 pages, 586 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Attracting Green Consumers as a Basis for Creating Sustainable Marketing Strategy on the Organic Market—Relevance for Sustainable Agriculture Business Development

by Boban Melović, Dragana Cirović, Tamara Backovic-Vulić, Branislav Dudić and Katarina Gubiniova

Foods 2020, 9(11), 1552; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9111552 - 27 Oct 2020

Cited by 31 | Viewed by 8298

Abstract

The aim of this paper was to analyze the main factors that affect green consumers’ choice regarding the purchase of organic agriculture products. The data collected through a survey of 559 green consumers were analyzed using explanatory factor analysis, the Relative Importance Index, and logistic regression. The results point out eleven main factors related to the offerings on the organic agriculture market that predominantly drive green consumers’ purchasing decisions. The Relative Importance Index identified health benefits that stem from a specific way of production as the main purchasing motive. This was also confirmed by the results of logistic regression, which showed that a respondent who buys organic agricultural products on a daily basis is approximately 71.5% less likely to disagree with the claim that organic products are healthier than non-organic, compared to a consumer who purchases organic products several times a week or month. However, as these benefits cannot be empirically confirmed, green consumers look for official labels on the product packaging. In order to assure the product quality, more than half of them find out very important information about producers: whether they have a product quality certificate (69.5%), how many years they are engaged in production (56.2%), and whether they have specific product packaging (54.9%). The Relative Importance Index also revealed that the main purchasing barriers that consumers face are scarce offerings and an insufficient development of the distribution channel, which were ranked in first and second place. The price as a barrier is of less importance. About 30.8% of the respondents are willing to pay up to 20% higher prices for organic food compared to conventional food, while 39.4% of them would pay even up to 40% higher prices. Based on the given results, there are clear suggestions for creating a sustainable marketing strategy for organic agriculture products as the main prerequisite for an increase of healthy food choices and fostering the future development of organic agriculture businesses at the local and global levels. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Choice and Consumer Psychology)

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16 pages, 680 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Role of Individual Knowledge in Functional Olive Oil Preferences: Does Self-Coherence Lead to Different Health Attributes Perception?

by Giuseppe Di Vita, Alfio Strano, Giulia Maesano, Giovanni La Via and Mario D’Amico

Foods 2020, 9(10), 1428; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9101428 - 09 Oct 2020

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2649

Abstract

This study examined whether health cues influence the choices of olive oil consumers with different degrees of knowledge about the nutritional properties of olive oil. To this end, a direct survey on the consumption of healthy extra-virgin olive oil was implemented by examining the stated preferences of a sample of consumers. Two econometric analyses were carried out to identify the drivers of the consumption of olive oil with high polyphenol content. The logistic model was chosen as the most suitable method to answer the research questions. The results revealed a general consensus among consumers regarding the beneficial properties of olive oil consumption. Moreover, the findings show that different degrees of individual knowledge act as distinctive drivers in influencing the health perception of olive oil consumers. Finally, this study verified that, even for healthy foods, consumers’ choices are strongly dependent on their own self-coherence. As a consequence, consumers’ knowledge or beliefs that orientate their attitudes are influenced by different motivations and attributes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Choice and Consumer Psychology)

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18 pages, 632 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Time Is Ripe: Thinking about the Future Reduces Unhealthy Eating in Those with a Higher BMI

by Betty P. I. Chang, Maria Almudena Claassen and Olivier Klein

Foods 2020, 9(10), 1391; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9101391 - 01 Oct 2020

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3103

Abstract

Research suggests that being oriented more towards the future (than the present) is correlated with healthier eating. However, this research tends to be correlational, and thus it is unclear whether inducing people to think about their future could increase healthy eating. Therefore, we investigated whether inducing people to think about their lives in the future versus the present would influence their intake of healthy (muesli) and unhealthy (Maltesers) food. Across two experiments, the effect of thinking about the future versus the present interacted with participants’ body mass index (BMI) to influence their consumption of unhealthy food, but no reliable effects were found for the consumption of healthy food. Among individuals with a higher BMI, thinking about their lives in the future resulted in lower consumption of the unhealthy food compared to thinking about their lives in the present. However, this effect was reversed for those with a lower BMI. In Experiment 2, we found no evidence that this effect was due to reduced impulsivity (as measured by a delay discounting task and a stop-signal task). This suggests that thinking about the future can reduce unhealthy eating among heavier people. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Choice and Consumer Psychology)

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18 pages, 3024 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Effects of Ethnically Congruent Music on Eye Movements and Food Choice—A Cross-Cultural Comparison between Danish and Chinese Consumers

by Danni Peng-Li, Raymond C. K. Chan, Derek V. Byrne and Qian Janice Wang

Foods 2020, 9(8), 1109; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9081109 - 12 Aug 2020

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 5811

Abstract

Musical fit refers to the congruence between music and attributes of a food or product in context, which can prime consumer behavior through semantic networks in memory. The vast majority of research on this topic dealing with musical fit in a cultural context has thus far been limited to monocultural groups in field studies, where uncontrolled confounds can potentially influence the study outcome. To overcome these limitations, and in order to explore the effects of ethnically congruent music on visual attention and food choice across cultures, the present study recruited 199 participants from China (n = 98) and Denmark (n = 101) for an in-laboratory food choice paradigm with eye-tracking data collection. For each culture group, the study used a between-subject design with half of the participants listening to only instrumental “Eastern” music and the other half only listening to instrumental “Western” music, while both groups engaged in a food choice task involving “Eastern” and “Western” food. Chi-square tests revealed a clear ethnic congruency effect between music and food choice across culture, whereby Eastern (vs. Western) food was chosen more during the Eastern music condition, and Western (vs. Eastern) food was chosen more in the Western music condition. Furthermore, results from a generalized linear mixed model suggested that Chinese participants fixated more on Western (vs. Eastern) food when Western music was played, whereas Danish participants fixated more on Eastern (vs. Western) food when Eastern music was played. Interestingly, no such priming effects were found when participants listened to music from their own culture, suggesting that music-evoked visual attention may be culturally dependent. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that ambient music can have a significant impact on consumers’ explicit and implicit behaviors, while at the same time highlighting the importance of culture-specific sensory marketing applications in the global food industry. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Choice and Consumer Psychology)

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16 pages, 1294 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Pleasure or Health? The Role of Mental Simulation in Desire and Food Choices

by Naomí C. Muñoz-Vilches, Hans C. M. van Trijp and Betina Piqueras-Fiszman

Foods 2020, 9(8), 1099; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9081099 - 12 Aug 2020

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 5240

Abstract

Many times, desire possesses us and impedes us from making healthier food choices. From a grounded cognition perspective, we investigated the role of two types of mental simulation (process and outcome) in desire and food choice to understand the processes that modulate them and find strategies that encourage healthier food choices. In addition to these explicit measures, we used two implicit methods to measure approach-avoidance tendencies and visual attention. Our results showed that imagining the consumption of vice and virtue foods increased desire for the product imagined and seemed to favor the choice of a vice food. However, at an implicit level, the motivation to approach and avoid food products was neutral. Imagining the post-consumption of a vice food decreased desire for the imagined food and although it tempted people at an implicit level, it made people more prone to choose a virtue food. When a vice food was imagined, attentional bias increased for all types of food regardless of the simulation. When a virtue food was imagined, there was no effect on choice, motivation nor attentional bias. In conclusion, simply imagining certain foods is a potential solution for promoting healthier and thoughtful choices. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Choice and Consumer Psychology)

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16 pages, 282 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Motivating Military Trainee Healthy Eating: Insight from Two Sites

by Anna Kitunen, Julia Carins and Sharyn Rundle-Thiele

Foods 2020, 9(8), 1053; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9081053 - 04 Aug 2020

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2134

Abstract

This paper investigates eating behaviours and motivations of early career military trainees from two pathways (officer cadets and army recruits) to understand whether, and to what extent, healthful eating behaviours were present, and what motivates eating in general and healthful habits specifically. The study also sought to understand whether groups need strategies that are pathway specific or are transferrable across different trainee populations. Participants were recruited via email to complete an online survey and through in-person invitations to ensure a diverse cross section of trainees (n = 195) and recruits (n = 297). Two-step cluster analysis revealed three distinct segments with education, opportunity and motivation being the most important variables within a wider multivariate segment formation and stepwise linear regression was performed to identify the most optimal model with the least number of predictors for each segment. The ideal model for the uninterested segment contained nine predictors, seven predictors for the Breakfast skippers segment and eight predictors for the Weight conscious segment. This study found that there is room for improvement in the eating habits of military trainees across military training pathways. Eating motivations, and their associations with healthful eating habits, indicate a need for strategies that are broader than instilling or reinforcing health motivations. Strategies that can be implemented to support healthful eating for military trainees include provision of food preparation and cooking skills training, coupled with provision of social support and environments that facilitate healthful eating. Furthermore, three distinct segments were discovered within the trainee population, indicating that strategies for positively changing trainees’ eating behaviours may not need to be pathway specific, rather it may be possible to introduce the same group of segmented strategies across both pathways. Future research directions and limitations are outlined. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Choice and Consumer Psychology)

19 pages, 1379 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Audiovisual Crossmodal Correspondence between Bubbles’ Size and Pouring Sounds’ Pitch in Carbonated Beverages

by Jérémy Roque, Jérémie Lafraire and Malika Auvray

Foods 2020, 9(8), 966; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9080966 - 22 Jul 2020

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3043

Abstract

Visual and auditory carbonation have been separately documented as being two sensory markers of perceived freshness in beverages. The aim of the present study is to investigate the cross-modal interactions between these two dimensions of carbonation. Three experiments focused on crossmodal correspondences between bubble size and pouring sound pitch, which have never been investigated with ecological stimuli. Experiment 1, using an implicit association test (IAT), showed a crossmodal correspondence between bubble size and pouring sound pitch. Experiment 2 confirmed this pitch-size correspondence effect by means of a Go/No-Go Association Task (GNAT). Experiment 3 investigated the mutual dependence between pitch, size, and spatial elevation as well as the influence of attentional factors. No dependence was found, however pitch-size correspondences were obtained only in the condition requiring attentional processes, suggesting that these effects might be driven by top-down influences. These results highlight the robustness of the pitch-size crossmodal correspondence across stimulus contexts varying in complexity. Thus, this correspondence might be fruitfully used to modulate consumers’ perceptions and expectations about carbonated beverages. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Choice and Consumer Psychology)

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19 pages, 2015 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Consumer Food Waste Behavior among Emerging Adults: Evidence from China

by Wang-Chin Tsai, Xuqi Chen and Chun Yang

Foods 2020, 9(7), 961; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9070961 - 21 Jul 2020

Cited by 28 | Viewed by 7005

Abstract

With the aggravation of global climate change, the issue of environmental protection has become the focus of global attention, and countries all over the world have devoted themselves to the sustainable development of resources to reduce the negative impact of the environment on human society. Reducing the resource waste is an important aspect of the sustainable development, among which food waste is a critical part. According to a report of the United Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 35% of food is wasted during consumption. Although households are the main contributors to food waste during consumption, the situation in university canteens cannot be ignored. As universities have a high degree of social influence, some policies and activities are piloted in universities, and then, promoted to society after achieving significant results. In future social development, the food waste behavior of consumers at the early stage of adulthood will have a significant impact on society. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the factors that lead to food waste by early adulthood consumers. This study focuses on food waste by end consumers and explores factors in the food waste behavior of the emerging adulthood consumer, which can be used as a reference for improving food waste in schools, governments, and other related industries in the future. The results show that the model of factors influencing the food waste behavior of emerging adulthood consumers established in this study is acceptable. According to the analysis results of the structural equation modeling (SEM), it can be seen that the influences of environmental concerns on the attitude toward behavior, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control are ranked first, second, and third, respectively. While emerging adulthood consumers have a high degree of independence and self-awareness, schools, governments, media networks, and other related industries also need to establish a more complete system and form of cherishing food, in order to encourage emerging adulthood consumers to change their behavior and attitude spontaneously. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Choice and Consumer Psychology)

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19 pages, 740 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

What Drives Customer Satisfaction, Loyalty, and Happiness in Fast-Food Restaurants in China? Perceived Price, Service Quality, Food Quality, Physical Environment Quality, and the Moderating Role of Gender

by Yongping Zhong and Hee Cheol Moon

Foods 2020, 9(4), 460; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9040460 - 08 Apr 2020

Cited by 117 | Viewed by 51606

Abstract

The fast-food service industry has been growing rapidly across China over the last few decades. In accordance with the rising consumption level in the country, Chinese customers care increasingly about their food choices. The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors that can influence customer satisfaction, loyalty, and happiness, with a particular focus on the moderating role of gender. Data were collected through an online survey completed by customers who visited Western fast-food restaurants (KFC, McDonalds, etc.) in China. The structural equation model was applied to test 12 hypotheses. Results showed that perceived price, food, service, and physical environment quality positively affected customer satisfaction. Perceived price can significantly influence customers’ judgement of the quality dimensions of a restaurant. Moreover, customer satisfaction and happiness can lead to a sense of loyalty. Happiness functions as a mediator between satisfaction and loyalty. Nonetheless, our findings indicated that customers’ perceptions of food quality based on price and satisfaction levels based on service quality differ significantly between the genders, which demonstrated that gender moderation exists in food consumption. This study will contribute to a better understanding of managerial and theoretical perspectives, which will be beneficial for subsequent research. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Choice and Consumer Psychology)

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13 pages, 1128 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Do French Consumers Have the Same Social Representations of Pulses as Food Industry Professionals?

by Juliana Melendrez-Ruiz, Gaëlle Arvisenet, Vincent Laugel, Stéphanie Chambaron and Sandrine Monnery-Patris

Foods 2020, 9(2), 147; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9020147 - 01 Feb 2020

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 3599

Abstract

Pulses present many advantages for human health, nutrition, sustainability, and the environment. Despite efforts in recent years by the pulse industry and national authorities to favor pulses, consumption in France remains relatively low, at 1.7 kg/per person in 2016, compared to 1920 when it was around 7.2 kg/per person. To understand social representations of pulses in France, 80 French nonvegetarian consumers and 35 professionals from the pulse industry were asked to say five words spontaneously evoked by the inductor “pulses”. They then had to rank these five words in order of importance and rate their valence. The structural approach was used to analyze social representations for each group independently. Our results highlight differences in the structure and content of social representations for pulses. Consumer responses suggested only vague impressions of pulses, but taste evocations were nevertheless rated positively. By contrast, professionals tended to focus specifically on protein content and culinary preparation. These differences could explain some barriers to pulse consumption, and improved communication should be a key target. Efficient communication must consider the concepts most frequently used by consumers when referring to pulses, and those ranked as most important. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Choice and Consumer Psychology)

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21 pages, 1280 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceReview

Conceptual Models of Food Choice: Influential Factors Related to Foods, Individual Differences, and Society

by Pin-Jane Chen and Marta Antonelli

Foods 2020, 9(12), 1898; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9121898 - 18 Dec 2020

Cited by 190 | Viewed by 38091

Abstract

Understanding individual food choices is critical for transforming the current food system to ensure healthiness of people and sustainability of the planet. Throughout the years, researchers from different fields have proposed conceptual models addressing factors influencing the food choice, recognized as a key leverage to improve planetary and human health. However, a multidisciplinary approach is needed to better understand how different factors are involved and interact with each other in the decision-making process. The present paper reviews and analyzes existing models, providing an intact point-of-view by integrating key elements into a bigger framework. Key determinants of general food choice are identified and categorized, including food-internal factor (sensory and perceptual features), food-external factors (information, social environment, physical environment), personal-state factors (biological features and physiological needs, psychological components, habits and experiences), cognitive factors (knowledge and skills, attitude, liking and preference, anticipated consequences, and personal identity), as well as sociocultural factors (culture, economic variables, political elements). Moreover, possible directions of influence among the factors towards final food choice were discussed. The need of multidisciplinary impulses across research field with the support of empirical data are crucial for understanding factors influencing food choice as well as for enriching existing conceptual models. The framework proposed here would serve as a roadmap for facilitating communications and collaborations between research fields in a structural and systematic way. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Choice and Consumer Psychology)

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