“Expert persuasion” can decrease willingness to pay for sugar-containing food
Recent studies have revealed types of eating nudges that can steer consumers toward choosing healthier options. However, most of the previously studied interventions target individual decisions and are not directed to changing consumers’ underlying perception of unhealthy food. Here, we investigate...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-07-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Nutrition |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2022.926875/full |
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| author | Ioannis Ntoumanis Ksenia Panidi Yaroslava Grebenschikova Anna N. Shestakova Vladimir Kosonogov Iiro P. Jääskeläinen Iiro P. Jääskeläinen Dzerassa Kadieva Sofia Baran Vasily Klucharev |
| author_facet | Ioannis Ntoumanis Ksenia Panidi Yaroslava Grebenschikova Anna N. Shestakova Vladimir Kosonogov Iiro P. Jääskeläinen Iiro P. Jääskeläinen Dzerassa Kadieva Sofia Baran Vasily Klucharev |
| author_sort | Ioannis Ntoumanis |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Recent studies have revealed types of eating nudges that can steer consumers toward choosing healthier options. However, most of the previously studied interventions target individual decisions and are not directed to changing consumers’ underlying perception of unhealthy food. Here, we investigate how a healthy eating call—first-person narrative by a health expert—affects individuals’ willingness to pay (WTP) for sugar-free and sugar-containing food products. Participants performed two blocks of a bidding task, in which they had to bid on sweets labeled either as “sugar- free” or as “sugar-containing.” In-between the two blocks, half of the participants listened to a narrative by a dietary specialist emphasizing the health risks of sugar consumption, whereas the remaining participants listened to a control narrative irrelevant to food choices. We demonstrate that the health expert’s narrative decreased individuals’ WTP for sugar-containing food, but did not modulate their WTP for sugar- free food. Overall, our findings confirm that consumers may conform to healthy eating calls by rather devaluating unhealthy food products than by increasing the value of healthy ones. This paves the way for an avenue of innovative marketing strategies to support individuals in their food choices. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T16:04:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d9f23f8c4f024491ac43a3b08b380842 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-861X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T16:04:07Z |
| publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Nutrition |
| spelling | doaj.art-d9f23f8c4f024491ac43a3b08b3808422022-12-22T00:59:14ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Nutrition2296-861X2022-07-01910.3389/fnut.2022.926875926875“Expert persuasion” can decrease willingness to pay for sugar-containing foodIoannis Ntoumanis0Ksenia Panidi1Yaroslava Grebenschikova2Anna N. Shestakova3Vladimir Kosonogov4Iiro P. Jääskeläinen5Iiro P. Jääskeläinen6Dzerassa Kadieva7Sofia Baran8Vasily Klucharev9International Laboratory of Social Neurobiology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, HSE University, Moscow, RussiaInternational Laboratory of Social Neurobiology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, HSE University, Moscow, RussiaDepartment of Psychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, HSE University, Moscow, RussiaInternational Laboratory of Social Neurobiology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, HSE University, Moscow, RussiaInternational Laboratory of Social Neurobiology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, HSE University, Moscow, RussiaInternational Laboratory of Social Neurobiology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, HSE University, Moscow, RussiaBrain and Mind Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University School of Science, Espoo, FinlandInternational Laboratory of Social Neurobiology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, HSE University, Moscow, RussiaDepartment of Psychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, HSE University, Moscow, RussiaInternational Laboratory of Social Neurobiology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, HSE University, Moscow, RussiaRecent studies have revealed types of eating nudges that can steer consumers toward choosing healthier options. However, most of the previously studied interventions target individual decisions and are not directed to changing consumers’ underlying perception of unhealthy food. Here, we investigate how a healthy eating call—first-person narrative by a health expert—affects individuals’ willingness to pay (WTP) for sugar-free and sugar-containing food products. Participants performed two blocks of a bidding task, in which they had to bid on sweets labeled either as “sugar- free” or as “sugar-containing.” In-between the two blocks, half of the participants listened to a narrative by a dietary specialist emphasizing the health risks of sugar consumption, whereas the remaining participants listened to a control narrative irrelevant to food choices. We demonstrate that the health expert’s narrative decreased individuals’ WTP for sugar-containing food, but did not modulate their WTP for sugar- free food. Overall, our findings confirm that consumers may conform to healthy eating calls by rather devaluating unhealthy food products than by increasing the value of healthy ones. This paves the way for an avenue of innovative marketing strategies to support individuals in their food choices.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2022.926875/fullfood choiceshealthy eatingwillingness to paynarrativessugarneed for cognition |
| spellingShingle | Ioannis Ntoumanis Ksenia Panidi Yaroslava Grebenschikova Anna N. Shestakova Vladimir Kosonogov Iiro P. Jääskeläinen Iiro P. Jääskeläinen Dzerassa Kadieva Sofia Baran Vasily Klucharev “Expert persuasion” can decrease willingness to pay for sugar-containing food Frontiers in Nutrition food choices healthy eating willingness to pay narratives sugar need for cognition |
| title | “Expert persuasion” can decrease willingness to pay for sugar-containing food |
| title_full | “Expert persuasion” can decrease willingness to pay for sugar-containing food |
| title_fullStr | “Expert persuasion” can decrease willingness to pay for sugar-containing food |
| title_full_unstemmed | “Expert persuasion” can decrease willingness to pay for sugar-containing food |
| title_short | “Expert persuasion” can decrease willingness to pay for sugar-containing food |
| title_sort | expert persuasion can decrease willingness to pay for sugar containing food |
| topic | food choices healthy eating willingness to pay narratives sugar need for cognition |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2022.926875/full |
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