Abstract
This paper investigates how social influence can alter physiological, psychological, and functional responses to a placebo product and how such responses influence the ultimate endorsement of the product. Participants consumed a product, “AquaCharge Energy Water,” falsely-labeled as containing 200 mg of caffeine but which was actually plain spring water, in one of three conditions: a no social influence condition, a disconfirming social influence condition, and a confirming social influence condition. Results demonstrated that the effect of the product labeling on physiological alertness (systolic blood pressure), psychological alertness (self-reported alertness), functional alertness (cognitive interference), and product endorsement was moderated by social influence: participants experienced more subjective, physiological and functional alertness and stronger product endorsement when they consumed the product in the confirming social influence condition than when they consumed the product in the disconfirming social influence condition. These results suggest that social influence can alter subjective, physiological, and functional responses to a faux product, in this case transforming the effects of plain water.
Highlights
We are told, “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” decades of psychological research establishes that the sensory properties of an object or substance are not the sole determinant of how we experience it
Results demonstrated that the effect of the product labeling on physiological alertness, psychological alertness, functional alertness, and product endorsement was moderated by social influence: participants experienced more subjective, physiological and functional alertness and stronger product endorsement when they consumed the product in the confirming social influence condition than when they consumed the product in the disconfirming social influence condition
To assess changes in blood pressure and heart rate over time, as a function of condition, we used longitudinal modeling that enabled us to account for both changes in level and changes in slope at multiple measurements, focusing on the time period beginning after they started drinking the water to before they took the second stroop test
Summary
“a rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” decades of psychological research establishes that the sensory properties of an object or substance are not the sole determinant of how we experience it. This is especially true for shaping experiences of food and beverage consumption, in which case altering the name or label of a food can literally make the product taste sweeter. Transforming Water: Social Influence Moderates Psychological, Physiological, and Functional Response and behavior, mindsets and expectations can alter more objective outcomes such as sensory experience and physiological processing. Participants who thought they were drinking an indulgent, high-calorie milkshake showed steeper declines in ghrelin, a hunger-inducing hormone, than when they thought that the same shake was a sensible, low-calorie milkshake [6]
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