Perceiving, wanting, and choosing: Consumer psychology of healthy food choice

Abstract

To help address the global obesity pandemic, extensive research in consumer psychology has studied what encourages (un)healthy food and portion choice. The present paper organizes this body of work into two predominant agendas: influencing (un)healthy food and portion choice through factors that shape healthiness perception or doing so through factors that modulate healthiness motivation and self‐control . Extant research has overwhelmingly relied on dichotomous choice measures (pitting healthy options against tasty but unhealthy alternatives) or on portion choice and intake (treating smaller amounts as healthier). Based on this observation, this review suggests at least two areas in which future research could provide important novel insights: first, investigating factors that impact the variety of foods that consumers choose (instead of dichotomous choice) as well as how the variety of food elements impacts perceptions and choice; and second, examining factors that enhance alignment of healthiness and tastiness perceptions (instead of forcing a tradeoff ).