Abstract
This research investigated whether people change their food preferences and eating behavior in response to health-based social norms. One hundred twenty participants rated a series of healthy and unhealthy food images. After each rating, participants sometimes viewed a rating that ostensibly represented the average rating of previous participants. In fact, these average ratings were manipulated to convey a particular social norm. Participants either saw average ratings that favored healthy foods, favored unhealthy foods, or did not see any average ratings. Participants then re-rated those same food images after approximately ten minutes and again three days later. After the norm manipulation, participants were given the chance to take as many M&Ms as they wanted. Participants exposed to a healthy social norm consistently reported lower preferences for unhealthy foods as compared to participants in the other two conditions. This preference difference persisted three days after the social norm manipulation. However, health-based social norm manipulations did not influence the amount of M&Ms participants took. Although health-based social norm manipulations can influence stated food preferences, in this case they did not influence subsequent eating behavior.
Highlights
People who primarily consume whole grains, fruits, and vegetables typically live healthier, longer lives than people who primarily consume saturated fat and added sugars [1]
The present study addressed these limitations by adopting a paradigm we and others have used to study social influence [20,21,22,23,24,25], including over food preferences [22]
The present study adds to our understanding of how social norms impact food preferences in several important ways
Summary
People who primarily consume whole grains, fruits, and vegetables typically live healthier, longer lives than people who primarily consume saturated fat and added sugars [1]. Remote confederate studies provide important demonstrations of descriptive norms influencing eating behavior, but the inferences scientists can draw from these paradigms are limited In these studies, participants are exposed to a social norm about one specific food item, as opposed to general “rules” governing their peers’ eating behavior. It remains unclear whether participants who learn that remote confederates ate a small amount of one food (e.g., cookies) would generalize this knowledge to a broader social norm and eat less of a second unhealthy food (e.g., pizza) These studies investigate only the immediate effects of social norm manipulations, and do not clarify the extent to which norm-based food preferences persist over time. Investigating how participants respond to health norms can teach us more about how descriptive norms are transmitted from a group to an individual
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