Abstract
Animal shape has been widely used in the food industry. However, previous research has not provided clear conclusions regarding the impact of animal shape on food perception. Thus, the aim of this study is to further investigate the influence of food design types (animal shape) on food consumption, thereby addressing the research gap in existing literature regarding animal shape and food consumption.In preliminary experiment, we utilized animal-shape cookies and non-animal-shape cookies. Participants were asked to taste the cookies on-site, rate the overall liking of taste perceptions, and indicate their eating intentions. Experiment 1a and 1b extended the research to include categorization of animals (edible and inedible). Experiment 2 then examined the role of animal shape, specifically investigating how the presence of eyes moderated the relationship between animal type and food perception.Results from Preliminary experiment showed that participants rated the overall liking of taste perceptions and eating intentions significantly lower for the animal-shape cookies compared to the non-animal-shaped cookies. In Experiment 1a and 1b, participants only rated lower overall liking of taste perceptions and eating intentions for the inedible animal cookies. Experiment 2 further revealed the moderating effect of eye presence on the relationship between animal types and eating intentions. For non-edible animal shaped cookies, the presence of eye led to diminished eating intentions.Overall, the study results indicate that food type does not positively enhance consumers' perception of food. Moreover, shape representing inedible animals elicits a more negative perception of food compared to shape depicting edible animals.
Published Version
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