2. McFerran et al. (2010): I’ll have what she’s having: effects of social influence and body type on the food choices of others

Question 1

his research examines

Answer 1

how the body type of consumers affects the food consumption of other consumers around them

Question 2

3 main findings

Answer 2

1. consumers anchor on the quantities others around them select but that these portions are adjusted according to the body type of other consumers
   2we find that people choose a larger portion following another consumer who first selects a large quantity but that this portion is significantly smaller if the other is obese than if she is thin
   3we also find that the adjustment is more pronounced for consumers who are low in appearance self-esteem and that it is attenuated under cognitive load

Question 3

food choice, like many other behaviors in consumption domains, is strongly subject to

Answer 3

interpersonal influences, with people choosing larger (or smaller) portions after viewing another consumer doing likewise

Question 4

How does presence influence food consumption? 2

Answer 4

anchors serve as reference points that are difficult for even exports to ignore, and they represent a relatively simple way to model consumers’ choices of how much to purchase or consume
other consumers can also set up norms of purchase that serve as anchors that consumers use in deciding how much to consume

Question 5

in the domain of food consumption, studies have found that social influence can have

Answer 5

either a facilitating or attenuating effect on eating behavior, depending on the context

Question 6

when a confederate sets up a norm, other participants tend to

Answer 6

eat more (or less) than the confederate does

Question 7

when does a participant eat less or more than the confederate?

Answer 7

those who are naturally inclined to eat large potions eat less in the presence of others, and those who would normally eat very little end up eating more

Question 8

Study 1
tested using a 2 (……) x 2 (……) + 2 (…..)

Answer 8

Study 1
tested using a 2 (confederate body type: thin vs. obese) x 2 (food: healthy vs. unhealthy) + 2 (controls: non conferee, M&Ms vs. granola)

Question 9

Study 1 result

Answer 9

people eat less in the condition where they were eating next to the obese confederate, both in the healthy and non-healthy food condition, in both conditions eating more than the control condition

Question 10

Study 2
what do they want to know?

Answer 10

what is the reason for eating less?

Question 11

study 2 tested using a 2 (…….) x 2 …….) + 1 (……)

Answer 11

tested using a 2 (confederate body type: thin vs. heavy) x 2 (confederate quantity taken: little vs. lots) + 1 (no confederate control)

Question 12

study 2 when confederate eat large portion

Answer 12

when the confederate was observed taking a large quantity of food, participants again chose and ate less when that confederate was heavy than when she was thin

Question 13

study 2 when confederate eat small portion

Answer 13

when the confederate was observed taking a small quantity of food, participants chose and ate more when the confederate was heavy than when she was thin

Question 14

study 2 result conclusion

Answer 14

people always try to differentiate themselves from the obese confederate

Question 15

study 3 what they wanted to know

Answer 15

whether the choice is deliberate and whether it required a certain degree of cognitive effort and see how self-esteem influences choice

Question 16

study 3 tested using a using a 2 (………) x 2 (…..)

Answer 16

using a 2 (………) x 2 (…..)
study 3 tested using a 2 (body type of person in front of you: thin vs. obese) x 2 (cognitive load: low vs. high

Question 17

Study 3 general result

Answer 17

conscious effort is required for participants to adjust their consumption downward following an obese person setting a high anchor

Question 18

study 3 effect low cognitive load

Answer 18

n the low cognitive load condition, appearance self-esteem had impact on how much candy people ate
when they are low in self-esteem, they tend to eat less when the confederate was obese compared to thin
this effect was not there in the high self-esteem condition; less subject to body type

Question 19

study 3 high cognitive load

Answer 19

high cognitive load condition; no effect whatsoever > when the mind is busy, the effect disappears

Question 20

What did we learn?

Answer 20

Consumers and their body types can influence choice of products > it is not simply eating with heavy people that makes you eat more (or less); it depends on what these other consumers choose