Trigger Foods: The Influence of ``Irrelevant'' Alternatives in School Lunchrooms

Andrew Hanks, David Just and Brian Wansink
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Brian Wansink: Cornell University

No 5, Working Papers from Cornell Center for Behavioral Economics in Child Nutrition Programs

Abstract: Rational choice theory commonly assumes that the presence of unselected choices cannot impact which among the remaining choices is selected-often referred to as independence of irrelevant alternatives. We show that such seemingly irrelevant alternatives influence choice in a school lunch setting. In these lunchrooms, we provide evidence that the presence of specific side dishes - trigger foods - can strongly increase the sales of unhealthy a la carte options, even when the trigger foods are not selected. This behavioral anomaly can be exploited to lead children to healthier choices. We also offer a method that can be used to identify such foods.

Pages: 29 pages
Date: 2012-04
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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Journal Article: Trigger Foods: The Influence of “Irrelevant” Alternatives in School Lunchrooms (2012)
Journal Article: Trigger Foods: The Influence of “Irrelevant” Alternatives in School Lunchrooms (2012)
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