Predicting incidental and focal food consumption behaviors

Abstract

Purpose There has been contradictory evidence as to whether implicit attitudes are more indicative of food consumption behavior than explicit attitudes. The purpose of this paper is to clarify the predictive validity of implicit attitudes for food consumption behaviors with two popular indirect measures – the implicit association test (IAT) and the affective misattribution procedure (AMP). Design/methodology/approach The authors examined the predictive validity of the IAT and AMP for focal and incidental food consumption behaviors (n=277). Findings Results revealed that the IAT and the AMP were more context-dependent than initially expected. The IAT only predicted incidental consumption behaviors in Study 1, and the AMP only predicted incidental consumption behaviors when preceding the IAT. However, the indirect measures provided unique variance for predicting incidental consumption behaviors. Only a direct, self-report measure predicted focal behaviors. Research limitations/implications These findings suggest that both the AMP and the IAT can predict incidental consumption behaviors, but the presence and strength of these effects may be moderated by unsuspected variables such as task order. Practical implications The current study provides evidence for the benefits of utilizing implicit measures in addition to self-report measures during consumer and market research. Originality/value This research reevaluates the predictive validity of the IAT and AMP for food consumption behaviors and employs two measures of food consumption behaviors.