The Effect of Familiarity on Consumer Ratings of the Scientific Support of Health Claims on Food

Abstract

This article examines how consumer familiarity with product-concepts and functional ingredients as well as inferences about an advertiser’s manipulative intent affect ratings about the level of scientific support of health claims on food. Three claim conditions reflecting the sufficient levels of support within the WHO framework (“possible,” “probable,” and “convincing”) have been tested in a survey conducted in the German language. Though consumers do not completely disregard the level of claim support as respondents rated “convincing”-level claims slightly higher than “probable”-and “possible”-level claims, consumers’ misevaluations of health claims in terms of their scientific substantiation were found to be high. Knowledge structures are more indicative of consumer inferences about claim support. Product-concept familiarity positively affects claim substantiation ratings. No effect of ingredient familiarity has been observed. Inferences of manipulative intent negatively affect claim support ratings. Thus, marketers are advised to raise consumer awareness about their product-concepts as well as advertiser credibility in order to prevent the inappropriate ascription of low levels of support to health claims.