Eating at a fast-food restaurant — A social-psychological analysis

Abstract

This study served two purposes 1) to determine the predictive accuracy of Fishbein's theory of decision making when applied to a food-related behavior, i.e., eating at a fast-food hamburger restaurant, and 2) to obtain information about beliefs associated with eating at this type of restaurant. A total of 154 students at a large mid-Atlantic university completed a questionnaire that measured the components of the Fishbein model. Two weeks later, we asked the respondents whether they had actually eaten at a fast-food hamburger restaurant during the past two weeks. The Fishbein model successfully predicted this food-related behavior. In addition, we found two factors underlying the respondents' beliefs and described them as organoleptic-nutritious and economic. Respondents who intended to eat at this type of restaurant differed in their beliefs from those who did not. The nonin-tenders believed more strongly than the intenders that they would receive a limited selection of lower quality food that would not be nutritious or tasty. Researchers and practitioners may use beliefs that discriminate the intenders from the nonin-tenders to understand food choice and should consider such factors when attempting to influence a food-related behavior.