Political ideology and health risk perceptions of food

Abstract

RationaleAlthough food companies increasingly refer to moral values, such as patriotism and social justice, in their marketing efforts, little is known about how appealing to consumers' political leanings may affect food perceptions. ObjectivesContributing to research on both consumer psychology and health risk communication, the current research addresses this issue and demonstrates how the use of incongruent political appeals decreases the effectiveness of food health claims. Method and resultsTwo experiments (N1 = 699; N2 = 702) conducted in the U.S. show that health claims framed with political appeals that do not match consumers' values (incongruent appeals) result in higher health risk perceptions by decreasing the feeling of fluency. When referring to patriotism and traditional values, health claims are less effective and result in higher health risk perceptions for liberals. Similarly, references to social justice and sense of community increase health risk perceptions for conservatives. ConclusionWhile the factors influencing consumer response to health claims remain largely unclear, these results contribute to our understanding by providing evidence that appealing to individuals' moral foundations can affect the effectiveness of health claims.