The Primacy of What over How Much: How Type and Quantity Shape Healthiness Perceptions of Food Portions

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Liu, Peggy J.; Haws, Kelly L.; Scherr, Karen; Redden, Joseph P.; Bettman, James R.; Fitzsimons, Gavan J.
• 署名单位: Pennsylvania Commonwealth System of Higher Education (PCSHE); University of Pittsburgh; Vanderbilt University; Duke University; University of Minnesota System; University of Minnesota Twin Cities; Duke University
• 刊物名称: MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0025-1909
• DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2018.3098
• 发表日期: 2019
• 页码: 3353-3381
• 关键词: health goal; goal means; quantity; portion sizes; healthiness perceptions; calories; attribute evaluation

摘要

Healthy eating goals influence many consumer choices, such that evaluating the healthiness of food portions is important. Given that both the type and quantity of food jointly contribute to weight and overall health, evaluations of a food portion's healthiness ought to consider both type and quantity. However, existing literature tends to examine food type and food quantity separately. Across seven studies, we show that consumers treat type as a primary dimension and quantity as a secondary dimension, such that a change in type (versus quantity) has a greater impact on perceived healthiness or health goal impact, even when holding objective impact constant in terms of calories. We also examine whether one reason this effect occurs is because most consumers consider type (a categorical attribute) before quantity (a continuous attribute). We conclude by discussing extensions of these ideas to other perceptual assessments involving both type and quantity (e.g., price perceptions).