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Ntoumanis I, Panidi K, Grebenschikova Y, Shestakova AN, Kosonogov V, Jääskeläinen IP, Kadieva D, Baran S, Klucharev V. "Expert persuasion" can decrease willingness to pay for sugar-containing food. Front Nutr 2022; 9:926875. [PMID: 35967796 PMCID: PMC9366858 DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2022.926875] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2022] [Accepted: 07/08/2022] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ioannis Ntoumanis
- International Laboratory of Social Neurobiology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, HSE University, Moscow, Russia
| | - Ksenia Panidi
- International Laboratory of Social Neurobiology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, HSE University, Moscow, Russia
| | | | - Anna N Shestakova
- International Laboratory of Social Neurobiology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, HSE University, Moscow, Russia
| | - Vladimir Kosonogov
- International Laboratory of Social Neurobiology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, HSE University, Moscow, Russia
| | - Iiro P Jääskeläinen
- International Laboratory of Social Neurobiology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, HSE University, Moscow, Russia.,Brain and Mind Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University School of Science, Espoo, Finland
| | - Dzerassa Kadieva
- International Laboratory of Social Neurobiology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, HSE University, Moscow, Russia
| | - Sofia Baran
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, HSE University, Moscow, Russia
| | - Vasily Klucharev
- International Laboratory of Social Neurobiology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, HSE University, Moscow, Russia
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