The Influence of Food Aesthetics and Source Attractiveness on Vegetable Appeal Ratings
Location
FA 202
Department
Psychology
Abstract
Vegetable consumption is a concern in many countries such as the UK, Europe, and U.S. Many adults and children are not consuming the recommended amounts of daily vegetables to prevent life threatening diseases and therefore falling victims to unhealthy diets. Attractive sources have been reported to be more persuasive than ordinary people as they are associated with more positive attributes such as healthiness and beauty (Hagen et. al., 2018). Through the use of advertisements they could highly influence the health perceptions people have towards vegetables. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the effects that food aesthetics (“pretty food”) and source attractiveness have on vegetable preferability. In a 2 (pretty vs. ugly veggies) x 2 (attractive vs. unattractive model) factorial study, approximately 50 Northeastern Illinois University students will be invited to rate one of four images of a green pepper presented by a female model. To measure preferability, the green pepper will be rated on appeal, taste, healthiness, and marketing price using a 5-point Likert-type scale. There are three hypotheses being proposed for this study. The first hypothesis proposes that the combination of the pretty green pepper and attractive model will result in the most preferability by participants. The second hypothesis is that the pretty vegetable will be perceived as more healthy and therefore more preferable than the ugly vegetable. Lastly, the third hypothesis proposes that the attractive model will have greater influence on vegetable preferability than an unattractive model. These results obtained will be analyzed by using a 2 x 2 ANOVA which will identify the unique and combined effects that food aesthetics and source attractiveness have on vegetable preferability. This study is of great relevance to companies marketing vegetables and other healthy food products as it has the potential to shift the focus away from the simple promotion of vegetables, to now putting emphasis on desirable traits surrounding them. Creating a positive effect of the perceived benefits of consuming vegetables and in turn influencing the attitudes towards them, which could increase vegetable intake and corresponding health benefits.
Faculty Sponsor
Amanda Dykema-Engblade, Northeastern Illinois University
The Influence of Food Aesthetics and Source Attractiveness on Vegetable Appeal Ratings
FA 202
Vegetable consumption is a concern in many countries such as the UK, Europe, and U.S. Many adults and children are not consuming the recommended amounts of daily vegetables to prevent life threatening diseases and therefore falling victims to unhealthy diets. Attractive sources have been reported to be more persuasive than ordinary people as they are associated with more positive attributes such as healthiness and beauty (Hagen et. al., 2018). Through the use of advertisements they could highly influence the health perceptions people have towards vegetables. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the effects that food aesthetics (“pretty food”) and source attractiveness have on vegetable preferability. In a 2 (pretty vs. ugly veggies) x 2 (attractive vs. unattractive model) factorial study, approximately 50 Northeastern Illinois University students will be invited to rate one of four images of a green pepper presented by a female model. To measure preferability, the green pepper will be rated on appeal, taste, healthiness, and marketing price using a 5-point Likert-type scale. There are three hypotheses being proposed for this study. The first hypothesis proposes that the combination of the pretty green pepper and attractive model will result in the most preferability by participants. The second hypothesis is that the pretty vegetable will be perceived as more healthy and therefore more preferable than the ugly vegetable. Lastly, the third hypothesis proposes that the attractive model will have greater influence on vegetable preferability than an unattractive model. These results obtained will be analyzed by using a 2 x 2 ANOVA which will identify the unique and combined effects that food aesthetics and source attractiveness have on vegetable preferability. This study is of great relevance to companies marketing vegetables and other healthy food products as it has the potential to shift the focus away from the simple promotion of vegetables, to now putting emphasis on desirable traits surrounding them. Creating a positive effect of the perceived benefits of consuming vegetables and in turn influencing the attitudes towards them, which could increase vegetable intake and corresponding health benefits.