Using remote peers' influence to promote healthy food choices among preschoolers
Prior studies have demonstrated that social norms or cues of others' eating behaviors serve as powerful guides for one's own eating behaviors. Yet it remains underexplored whether young children are susceptible to social pressure by remote peers when faced with a conflict between what they...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2020
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/142952 |
| _version_ | 1811685108622557184 |
|---|---|
| author | Kim, Elizabeth B. Chen, Chuansheng Cheon, Bobby Kyungbeom |
| author2 | School of Social Sciences |
| author_facet | School of Social Sciences Kim, Elizabeth B. Chen, Chuansheng Cheon, Bobby Kyungbeom |
| author_sort | Kim, Elizabeth B. |
| collection | NTU |
| description | Prior studies have demonstrated that social norms or cues of others' eating behaviors serve as powerful guides for one's own eating behaviors. Yet it remains underexplored whether young children are susceptible to social pressure by remote peers when faced with a conflict between what they prefer and the healthy choices of a group majority. Here we examined whether preschool-aged children conformed to healthy food choices of remote peers. Following a modified Asch conformity paradigm, the present study used videos of remote confederates' food preferences to test whether 89 3- to 6-year-old Singaporean preschoolers conformed to remote peers' healthy food choices (fruits and vegetables). Participants were asked to make a series of food choices when faced with two food options (healthy, unhealthy), both independently and after having viewed remote peers make healthy food choices (fruits, vegetables). Results showed a significant level of conformity, such that participants altered their initially unhealthy food choices to match the healthy choices of remote peers for 29% of trials. Age and BMI z-scores were also associated with rates of food choice conformity. The finding that young children may conform to food-related behaviors of remote peers offers the potential promise of interventions involving remote peers in promoting healthier dietary choices of young children. |
| first_indexed | 2024-10-01T04:39:17Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | ntu-10356/142952 |
| institution | Nanyang Technological University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-10-01T04:39:17Z |
| publishDate | 2020 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ntu-10356/1429522020-07-15T06:37:28Z Using remote peers' influence to promote healthy food choices among preschoolers Kim, Elizabeth B. Chen, Chuansheng Cheon, Bobby Kyungbeom School of Social Sciences Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences. A*STAR Social sciences::Psychology Conformity food Choice Prior studies have demonstrated that social norms or cues of others' eating behaviors serve as powerful guides for one's own eating behaviors. Yet it remains underexplored whether young children are susceptible to social pressure by remote peers when faced with a conflict between what they prefer and the healthy choices of a group majority. Here we examined whether preschool-aged children conformed to healthy food choices of remote peers. Following a modified Asch conformity paradigm, the present study used videos of remote confederates' food preferences to test whether 89 3- to 6-year-old Singaporean preschoolers conformed to remote peers' healthy food choices (fruits and vegetables). Participants were asked to make a series of food choices when faced with two food options (healthy, unhealthy), both independently and after having viewed remote peers make healthy food choices (fruits, vegetables). Results showed a significant level of conformity, such that participants altered their initially unhealthy food choices to match the healthy choices of remote peers for 29% of trials. Age and BMI z-scores were also associated with rates of food choice conformity. The finding that young children may conform to food-related behaviors of remote peers offers the potential promise of interventions involving remote peers in promoting healthier dietary choices of young children. ASTAR (Agency for Sci., Tech. and Research, S’pore) Accepted version 2020-07-15T06:37:28Z 2020-07-15T06:37:28Z 2019 Journal Article Kim, E. B., Chen, C., & Cheon, B. K. (2019). Using remote peers’ influence to promote healthy food choices among preschoolers. Developmental Psychology, 55(4), 703-708. doi:10.1037/dev0000669 0012-1649 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/142952 10.1037/dev0000669 30525835 2-s2.0-85058047270 4 55 703 708 en Developmental Psychology © American Psychological Association, 2018. This paper is not the copy of record and may not exactly replicate the authoritative document published in the APA journal. Please do not copy or cite without author's permission. The final article is available, upon publication, at: https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000669 application/pdf |
| spellingShingle | Social sciences::Psychology Conformity food Choice Kim, Elizabeth B. Chen, Chuansheng Cheon, Bobby Kyungbeom Using remote peers' influence to promote healthy food choices among preschoolers |
| title | Using remote peers' influence to promote healthy food choices among preschoolers |
| title_full | Using remote peers' influence to promote healthy food choices among preschoolers |
| title_fullStr | Using remote peers' influence to promote healthy food choices among preschoolers |
| title_full_unstemmed | Using remote peers' influence to promote healthy food choices among preschoolers |
| title_short | Using remote peers' influence to promote healthy food choices among preschoolers |
| title_sort | using remote peers influence to promote healthy food choices among preschoolers |
| topic | Social sciences::Psychology Conformity food Choice |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/142952 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kimelizabethb usingremotepeersinfluencetopromotehealthyfoodchoicesamongpreschoolers AT chenchuansheng usingremotepeersinfluencetopromotehealthyfoodchoicesamongpreschoolers AT cheonbobbykyungbeom usingremotepeersinfluencetopromotehealthyfoodchoicesamongpreschoolers |