Changing small factors that influence consumer choice may lead to healthier eating within control... more Changing small factors that influence consumer choice may lead to healthier eating within controlled settings, such as school cafeterias. This report describes a behavioral experiment in a college cafeteria to assess the effects of various payment options and menu selection methods on food choices. The results indicate that payment options, such as cash or debit cards, can significantly affect food choices. College students using a card that prepaid only for healthful foods made more nutritious choices than students using either cash or general debit cards. How and when individuals select their food can also influence food choices. College students who preselected their meals from a menu board made significantly different food choices than students who ordered their meals while viewing the foods in line.
In 2017-19, about 18 of my research articles were retracted. These retractions offer some useful ... more In 2017-19, about 18 of my research articles were retracted. These retractions offer some useful lessons to scholars, and they also offer some useful next steps to those who want to publish in the social sciences. Two of these steps include 1) Choose a publishable topic, and 2) have a rough mental roadmap of what the finished paper might look. That is, what’s the positioning, the study, and the possible contribution. The topics I’ve described here offer one set of roadmaps that could be useful. First, they were of interest to journals in medicine, behavioral economics, marketing, nutrition, psychology, health, and consumer behavior. Second, they each show what a finished paper might look like. They show the positioning, relevant background research, methodological tips, and key implications. I find all of these topics super interesting and of practical importance. This document provides a two-page template for each one that shows 1) An overview why it was done, 2) the abstract (or a...
The widespread use of in-store marketing strategies to induce unhealthy impulsive purchases has i... more The widespread use of in-store marketing strategies to induce unhealthy impulsive purchases has implications for shopping experience, food choice and possibly adverse health outcomes. The aim of this study was to examine consumer attitudes and evaluate sales effects of a healthy checkout supermarket intervention. The study was part of Project Sundhed & Lokalsamfund (Project SoL); a Danish participatory community-based health promotion intervention. Consumer attitudes towards unhealthy snack exposure in supermarkets were examined in a qualitative pre-intervention study (29 short in-store interviews, 11 semi-structured interviews and three focus group interviews). Findings were presented to food retailers and informed the decision to test a healthy checkout intervention. Sugar confectionery at one checkout counter was substituted with fruit and healthy snacking items in four stores for 4 weeks. The intervention was evaluated by 48 short exit interviews on consumer perceptions of the i...
Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, 2016
Boundary research can be risky, but it can also move academic disciplines into wider areas of inf... more Boundary research can be risky, but it can also move academic disciplines into wider areas of influence. Fittingly, this new journal's mission is to expand the boundaries of consumer behavior and to deepen its impact. Each issue focuses on having an impact both in consumer research and beyond. In the context of the behavioral science of eating, we outline the process for recruiting papers and coaching them through the review process so that authors think more precisely about the impact they want to have and think more broadly about how it illustrates a larger impactful theme.
Food packaging often pictures supplementary extras, such as toppings or frosting, that are not li... more Food packaging often pictures supplementary extras, such as toppings or frosting, that are not listed on the nutritional labelling. The present study aimed to assess if these extras might exaggerate how many calories† are pictured and if they lead consumers to overserve. Four studies were conducted in the context of fifty-one different cake mixes. For these cake mixes, Study 1 compared the calories stated on the nutrition label with the calories of the cake (and frosting) pictured on the box. In Studies 2, 3 and 4, undergraduates (Studies 2 and 3) or food-service professionals (Study 4) were given one of these typical cake mix boxes, with some being told that cake frosting was not included on the nutritional labelling whereas others were provided with no additional information. They were then asked to indicate what they believed to be a reasonable serving size of cake. Settings Laboratory setting. Undergraduate students and food-service professionals. Study 1 showed that the average...
Most of our research on eating behavior has no impact on health or public policy. Part is due to ... more Most of our research on eating behavior has no impact on health or public policy. Part is due to the nontranslational way we often conduct our studies; part is due to us not having a useful framework that organizes our conclusions. This paper's first purpose is to offer an organizing framework that shows how nearly all effective interventions on food choice either make healthy choices more convenient (physically or cognitively), more attractive (comparatively or absolutely), or more normal (perceived or actual). This paper's second purpose is to introduce the notion of activism research-an approach to designing and executing studies in a way that makes consumer psychology research more actionable, useful, effective, and scalable. Together these two tools could help expand both the relevance and reach, and impact of what we do.
Nearly all Americans (97%) report eating candy at least once per year; yet, on a given day, only ... more Nearly all Americans (97%) report eating candy at least once per year; yet, on a given day, only approximately one-fourth of the US population aged ≥2 y consumes candy. Among all Americans, candy contributes a relatively small proportion of calories, added sugars, and saturated fat to the total diet, and recent research suggests that current levels of candy consumption are not associated with risk of weight gain and cardiovascular disease in children and adults. Providing guidance for the consumption of candy in moderation requires an understanding of various behavioral health-related factors that influence candy consumption. A roundtable of behavioral nutrition experts, researchers, and nutrition educators met to discuss recent data on intakes of candy, health outcomes associated with usual candy intake, and the impact of behavioral strategies, including restriction, education, and environmental awareness, on modifying eating behaviors to achieve moderate intakes of candy. Restrict...
Objective: Each day, tens of millions of restaurant goers, conference attendees, college students... more Objective: Each day, tens of millions of restaurant goers, conference attendees, college students, military personnel, and school children serve themselves at buffets-many being all-you-can-eat buffets. Knowing how the food order at a buffet triggers what a person selects could be useful in guiding diners to make healthier selections. Method: The breakfast food selections of 124 health conference attendees were tallied at two separate seven-item buffet lines (which included cheesy eggs, potatoes, bacon, cinnamon rolls, low-fat granola, low-fat yogurt, and fruit). The food order between the two lines was reversed (least healthy to most healthy, and vise-versa). Participants were randomly assigned to choose their meal from one line or the other, and researchers recorded what participants selected. Results: With buffet foods, the first ones seen are the ones most selected. Over 75% of diners selected the first food they saw, and the first three foods a person encountered in the buffet comprised 66% of all the foods they took. Serving the less healthy foods first led diners to take 31% more total food items (p,0.001). Indeed, diners in this line more frequently chose less healthy foods in combinations, such as cheesy eggs and bacon (r = 0.47; p,0.001) or cheesy eggs and fried potatoes (r = 0.37; p,0.001). This co-selection of healthier foods was less common. Conclusions: Three words summarize these results: First foods most. What ends up on a buffet diner's plate is dramatically determined by the presentation order of food. Rearranging food order from healthiest to least healthy can nudge unknowing or even resistant diners toward a healthier meal, helping make them slim by design. Health-conscious diners, can proactively start at the healthier end of the line, and this same basic principle of ''first foods most'' may be relevant in other contexts-such as when serving or passing food at family dinners.
Jain [Jain, S. 2012. Marketing of vice goods: A strategic analysis of the package size decision. ... more Jain [Jain, S. 2012. Marketing of vice goods: A strategic analysis of the package size decision. Marketing Sci. 31(1) 36–51] examines the impact of consumers' self-control problem on the equilibrium package sizes offered by firms marketing vice goods. This series of discussions offers commentaries and a rejoinder that discuss competitive implications of firms offering small sizes and the impact of smaller sizes on the total consumer expenditure.
Do consumers eat more when they exercise more? If so, the implications could ripple through the m... more Do consumers eat more when they exercise more? If so, the implications could ripple through the multi-billion dollar fitness and food industries and have implications for both consumers and health-care providers. Three studies-two field experiments and one observational field study-triangulate on this potential compensatory mechanism between physical activity and food intake. The findings showed that when physical activity was perceived as fun (e.g., when it is labeled as a scenic walk rather than an exercise walk), people subsequently consume less dessert at mealtime and consume fewer hedonic snacks. A final observational field study during a competitive race showed that the more fun people rated the race as being, the less likely they were to compensate with a hedonic snack afterwards. Engaging in a physical activity seems to trigger the search for reward when individuals perceive it as exercise but not when they perceive it as fun. Key implications for the fitness industry and for health-care professionals are detailed along with the simple advice to consumers to make certain they make their physical activity routine fun in order to avoid compensation.
Background In the context of food, convenience is generally associated with less healthy foods. G... more Background In the context of food, convenience is generally associated with less healthy foods. Given the reality of present-biased preferences, if convenience was associated with healthier foods and less healthy foods were less convenient, people would likely consume healthier foods. This study examines the application of this principle in a school lunchroom where healthier foods were made more convenient relative to less healthy foods. Methods One of two lunch lines in a cafeteria was arranged so as to display only healthier foods and flavored milk. Trained field researchers collected purchase and consumption data before and after the conversion. Mean comparisons were used to identify differences in selection and consumption of healthier foods, less healthy foods and chocolate milk. Results Sales of healthier foods increased by 18% and grams of less healthy foods consumed decreased by nearly 28%. Also, healthier foods' share of total consumption increased from 33 to 36%. Lastly, we find that students increased their consumption of flavored milk, but flavored milk's share of total consumption did not increase. Conclusions In a school lunchroom, a convenience line that offered only healthier food options nudged students to consume fewer unhealthy foods. This result has key implications for encouraging healthy behavior in public schools nation wide, cafeterias and other food establishments.
Could taxation of calorie-dense foods such as soft drinks be used to reduce obesity? This policyl... more Could taxation of calorie-dense foods such as soft drinks be used to reduce obesity? This policylevel debate curiously neglects how an understanding of consumer behavior and marketing could offer insight to this question. To address this, a six-month field experiment was conducted in an American city of 62,000 where half of the 113 households recruited into the study faced a 10% tax on calorie-dense foods and beverages and half did not. The tax resulted in a short-term (1month) decrease in soft drink purchases, but no decrease over a 3-month or 6-month period. Moreover, in beer-purchasing households, this tax led to increased purchases of beer. To marketing scholars, this underscores the importance of investigating unexpected substitutions. To public health officials and policy makers, this presents an important empirical result and more generally points toward wide ranging contributions that marketing scholarship can make in their decisions.
decreased the number of frozen desserts they purchased by 26.1%. Conclusions and Implications: Th... more decreased the number of frozen desserts they purchased by 26.1%. Conclusions and Implications: This is an illustration of how small changes dramatically improve choice. Positive win-win changes can lead the way to better eating behavior. For parents, it shows how what one family member chooses to order or eat can powerfully influence others either for better or for worse. This is a useful lesson both at restaurants and at home.
In their commentary of our "Slim by Design" article, Herman and Polivy offer a simple and powerfu... more In their commentary of our "Slim by Design" article, Herman and Polivy offer a simple and powerful model of food intake which focuses on the mediating role of hunger, taste, and appropriateness. In their commentary, Roberto, Pomeranz, and Fisher review both new and classic interventions aimed at reducing obesity and raise the issue of whether they can be scalable and sustainable without regulatory oversight. In this rejoinder, we examine the few differences between the Chandon & Wansink and the Herman & Polivy frameworks to highlight critical areas for future research, including focusing on overeating vs. intake, refining the role of normative drivers, and studying lay theories of overeating. We then resolve the questions raised by Roberto, Pomeranz, and Fisher by providing concrete examples of low-cost design changes that are scalable and sustainable because they benefit both healthy eating and the overall sales and profitability of school and workplace cafeterias.
Changing small factors that influence consumer choice may lead to healthier eating within control... more Changing small factors that influence consumer choice may lead to healthier eating within controlled settings, such as school cafeterias. This report describes a behavioral experiment in a college cafeteria to assess the effects of various payment options and menu selection methods on food choices. The results indicate that payment options, such as cash or debit cards, can significantly affect food choices. College students using a card that prepaid only for healthful foods made more nutritious choices than students using either cash or general debit cards. How and when individuals select their food can also influence food choices. College students who preselected their meals from a menu board made significantly different food choices than students who ordered their meals while viewing the foods in line.
In 2017-19, about 18 of my research articles were retracted. These retractions offer some useful ... more In 2017-19, about 18 of my research articles were retracted. These retractions offer some useful lessons to scholars, and they also offer some useful next steps to those who want to publish in the social sciences. Two of these steps include 1) Choose a publishable topic, and 2) have a rough mental roadmap of what the finished paper might look. That is, what’s the positioning, the study, and the possible contribution. The topics I’ve described here offer one set of roadmaps that could be useful. First, they were of interest to journals in medicine, behavioral economics, marketing, nutrition, psychology, health, and consumer behavior. Second, they each show what a finished paper might look like. They show the positioning, relevant background research, methodological tips, and key implications. I find all of these topics super interesting and of practical importance. This document provides a two-page template for each one that shows 1) An overview why it was done, 2) the abstract (or a...
The widespread use of in-store marketing strategies to induce unhealthy impulsive purchases has i... more The widespread use of in-store marketing strategies to induce unhealthy impulsive purchases has implications for shopping experience, food choice and possibly adverse health outcomes. The aim of this study was to examine consumer attitudes and evaluate sales effects of a healthy checkout supermarket intervention. The study was part of Project Sundhed & Lokalsamfund (Project SoL); a Danish participatory community-based health promotion intervention. Consumer attitudes towards unhealthy snack exposure in supermarkets were examined in a qualitative pre-intervention study (29 short in-store interviews, 11 semi-structured interviews and three focus group interviews). Findings were presented to food retailers and informed the decision to test a healthy checkout intervention. Sugar confectionery at one checkout counter was substituted with fruit and healthy snacking items in four stores for 4 weeks. The intervention was evaluated by 48 short exit interviews on consumer perceptions of the i...
Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, 2016
Boundary research can be risky, but it can also move academic disciplines into wider areas of inf... more Boundary research can be risky, but it can also move academic disciplines into wider areas of influence. Fittingly, this new journal's mission is to expand the boundaries of consumer behavior and to deepen its impact. Each issue focuses on having an impact both in consumer research and beyond. In the context of the behavioral science of eating, we outline the process for recruiting papers and coaching them through the review process so that authors think more precisely about the impact they want to have and think more broadly about how it illustrates a larger impactful theme.
Food packaging often pictures supplementary extras, such as toppings or frosting, that are not li... more Food packaging often pictures supplementary extras, such as toppings or frosting, that are not listed on the nutritional labelling. The present study aimed to assess if these extras might exaggerate how many calories† are pictured and if they lead consumers to overserve. Four studies were conducted in the context of fifty-one different cake mixes. For these cake mixes, Study 1 compared the calories stated on the nutrition label with the calories of the cake (and frosting) pictured on the box. In Studies 2, 3 and 4, undergraduates (Studies 2 and 3) or food-service professionals (Study 4) were given one of these typical cake mix boxes, with some being told that cake frosting was not included on the nutritional labelling whereas others were provided with no additional information. They were then asked to indicate what they believed to be a reasonable serving size of cake. Settings Laboratory setting. Undergraduate students and food-service professionals. Study 1 showed that the average...
Most of our research on eating behavior has no impact on health or public policy. Part is due to ... more Most of our research on eating behavior has no impact on health or public policy. Part is due to the nontranslational way we often conduct our studies; part is due to us not having a useful framework that organizes our conclusions. This paper's first purpose is to offer an organizing framework that shows how nearly all effective interventions on food choice either make healthy choices more convenient (physically or cognitively), more attractive (comparatively or absolutely), or more normal (perceived or actual). This paper's second purpose is to introduce the notion of activism research-an approach to designing and executing studies in a way that makes consumer psychology research more actionable, useful, effective, and scalable. Together these two tools could help expand both the relevance and reach, and impact of what we do.
Nearly all Americans (97%) report eating candy at least once per year; yet, on a given day, only ... more Nearly all Americans (97%) report eating candy at least once per year; yet, on a given day, only approximately one-fourth of the US population aged ≥2 y consumes candy. Among all Americans, candy contributes a relatively small proportion of calories, added sugars, and saturated fat to the total diet, and recent research suggests that current levels of candy consumption are not associated with risk of weight gain and cardiovascular disease in children and adults. Providing guidance for the consumption of candy in moderation requires an understanding of various behavioral health-related factors that influence candy consumption. A roundtable of behavioral nutrition experts, researchers, and nutrition educators met to discuss recent data on intakes of candy, health outcomes associated with usual candy intake, and the impact of behavioral strategies, including restriction, education, and environmental awareness, on modifying eating behaviors to achieve moderate intakes of candy. Restrict...
Objective: Each day, tens of millions of restaurant goers, conference attendees, college students... more Objective: Each day, tens of millions of restaurant goers, conference attendees, college students, military personnel, and school children serve themselves at buffets-many being all-you-can-eat buffets. Knowing how the food order at a buffet triggers what a person selects could be useful in guiding diners to make healthier selections. Method: The breakfast food selections of 124 health conference attendees were tallied at two separate seven-item buffet lines (which included cheesy eggs, potatoes, bacon, cinnamon rolls, low-fat granola, low-fat yogurt, and fruit). The food order between the two lines was reversed (least healthy to most healthy, and vise-versa). Participants were randomly assigned to choose their meal from one line or the other, and researchers recorded what participants selected. Results: With buffet foods, the first ones seen are the ones most selected. Over 75% of diners selected the first food they saw, and the first three foods a person encountered in the buffet comprised 66% of all the foods they took. Serving the less healthy foods first led diners to take 31% more total food items (p,0.001). Indeed, diners in this line more frequently chose less healthy foods in combinations, such as cheesy eggs and bacon (r = 0.47; p,0.001) or cheesy eggs and fried potatoes (r = 0.37; p,0.001). This co-selection of healthier foods was less common. Conclusions: Three words summarize these results: First foods most. What ends up on a buffet diner's plate is dramatically determined by the presentation order of food. Rearranging food order from healthiest to least healthy can nudge unknowing or even resistant diners toward a healthier meal, helping make them slim by design. Health-conscious diners, can proactively start at the healthier end of the line, and this same basic principle of ''first foods most'' may be relevant in other contexts-such as when serving or passing food at family dinners.
Jain [Jain, S. 2012. Marketing of vice goods: A strategic analysis of the package size decision. ... more Jain [Jain, S. 2012. Marketing of vice goods: A strategic analysis of the package size decision. Marketing Sci. 31(1) 36–51] examines the impact of consumers' self-control problem on the equilibrium package sizes offered by firms marketing vice goods. This series of discussions offers commentaries and a rejoinder that discuss competitive implications of firms offering small sizes and the impact of smaller sizes on the total consumer expenditure.
Do consumers eat more when they exercise more? If so, the implications could ripple through the m... more Do consumers eat more when they exercise more? If so, the implications could ripple through the multi-billion dollar fitness and food industries and have implications for both consumers and health-care providers. Three studies-two field experiments and one observational field study-triangulate on this potential compensatory mechanism between physical activity and food intake. The findings showed that when physical activity was perceived as fun (e.g., when it is labeled as a scenic walk rather than an exercise walk), people subsequently consume less dessert at mealtime and consume fewer hedonic snacks. A final observational field study during a competitive race showed that the more fun people rated the race as being, the less likely they were to compensate with a hedonic snack afterwards. Engaging in a physical activity seems to trigger the search for reward when individuals perceive it as exercise but not when they perceive it as fun. Key implications for the fitness industry and for health-care professionals are detailed along with the simple advice to consumers to make certain they make their physical activity routine fun in order to avoid compensation.
Background In the context of food, convenience is generally associated with less healthy foods. G... more Background In the context of food, convenience is generally associated with less healthy foods. Given the reality of present-biased preferences, if convenience was associated with healthier foods and less healthy foods were less convenient, people would likely consume healthier foods. This study examines the application of this principle in a school lunchroom where healthier foods were made more convenient relative to less healthy foods. Methods One of two lunch lines in a cafeteria was arranged so as to display only healthier foods and flavored milk. Trained field researchers collected purchase and consumption data before and after the conversion. Mean comparisons were used to identify differences in selection and consumption of healthier foods, less healthy foods and chocolate milk. Results Sales of healthier foods increased by 18% and grams of less healthy foods consumed decreased by nearly 28%. Also, healthier foods' share of total consumption increased from 33 to 36%. Lastly, we find that students increased their consumption of flavored milk, but flavored milk's share of total consumption did not increase. Conclusions In a school lunchroom, a convenience line that offered only healthier food options nudged students to consume fewer unhealthy foods. This result has key implications for encouraging healthy behavior in public schools nation wide, cafeterias and other food establishments.
Could taxation of calorie-dense foods such as soft drinks be used to reduce obesity? This policyl... more Could taxation of calorie-dense foods such as soft drinks be used to reduce obesity? This policylevel debate curiously neglects how an understanding of consumer behavior and marketing could offer insight to this question. To address this, a six-month field experiment was conducted in an American city of 62,000 where half of the 113 households recruited into the study faced a 10% tax on calorie-dense foods and beverages and half did not. The tax resulted in a short-term (1month) decrease in soft drink purchases, but no decrease over a 3-month or 6-month period. Moreover, in beer-purchasing households, this tax led to increased purchases of beer. To marketing scholars, this underscores the importance of investigating unexpected substitutions. To public health officials and policy makers, this presents an important empirical result and more generally points toward wide ranging contributions that marketing scholarship can make in their decisions.
decreased the number of frozen desserts they purchased by 26.1%. Conclusions and Implications: Th... more decreased the number of frozen desserts they purchased by 26.1%. Conclusions and Implications: This is an illustration of how small changes dramatically improve choice. Positive win-win changes can lead the way to better eating behavior. For parents, it shows how what one family member chooses to order or eat can powerfully influence others either for better or for worse. This is a useful lesson both at restaurants and at home.
In their commentary of our "Slim by Design" article, Herman and Polivy offer a simple and powerfu... more In their commentary of our "Slim by Design" article, Herman and Polivy offer a simple and powerful model of food intake which focuses on the mediating role of hunger, taste, and appropriateness. In their commentary, Roberto, Pomeranz, and Fisher review both new and classic interventions aimed at reducing obesity and raise the issue of whether they can be scalable and sustainable without regulatory oversight. In this rejoinder, we examine the few differences between the Chandon & Wansink and the Herman & Polivy frameworks to highlight critical areas for future research, including focusing on overeating vs. intake, refining the role of normative drivers, and studying lay theories of overeating. We then resolve the questions raised by Roberto, Pomeranz, and Fisher by providing concrete examples of low-cost design changes that are scalable and sustainable because they benefit both healthy eating and the overall sales and profitability of school and workplace cafeterias.
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Papers by Brian Wansink