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

Peggy J. Liu (), Kelly L. Haws (), Karen Scherr (), Joseph P. Redden (), James R. Bettman () and Gavan J. Fitzsimons ()
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Peggy J. Liu: Katz Graduate School of Business, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260
Kelly L. Haws: Owen Graduate School of Management, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37203
Karen Scherr: School of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708
Joseph P. Redden: Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455
James R. Bettman: Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708
Gavan J. Fitzsimons: Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708

Management Science, 2019, vol. 65, issue 7, 3353-3381

Abstract: 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).

Keywords: health goal; goal means; quantity; portion sizes; healthiness perceptions; calories; attribute evaluation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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