Comparison of explicit vs. implicit measurements in predicting food purchases

In this study, we aimed to investigate the relation between consumer purchases of three branded blueberry flavored quarks and respective responses of the same consumers to these products using 1) traditional explicit consumer surveys measuring verbalized impressions, 2) novel explicit pictorial emoji scores and 3) implicit behavioral responses produced during an approach-avoidance task (AAT). Explicit measures (n=134) were collected before product tasting (expectation condition) during an online survey, and after product tasting (perception condition) during a Central Location Test (CLT). Implicit measures were collected with a subset of 56 randomly selected subjects during the CLT. These included electroencephalographic (EEG) measures, joystick response speed and pupil size responses. During one month following the CLT, respondents registered their purchases via an online diary. Bivariate correlations indicated that explicit scores correlate better with product purchase amounts in the perception condition than in the expectation condition. Furthermore, verbalized ratings correlated better with product purchase amounts than pictorial emoji scores. Of the implicit responses, EEG responses produced the strongest correlations with purchase behavior, similar to those observed for verbalized explicit ratings in the expectation condition. Multiple linear regression modelling indicated that the best-fitting model consisted of an emoji score, purchase intention score, pleasantness score, brand relationship score, and implicit joystick response speed. Overall, purchase behavior was associated stronger with explicit responses than with implicit responses. Yet, the prominent role of implicit joystick response speed in the multivariate regression model suggests its unique contribution to the understanding of purchase behavior.Peer reviewe

How Does Choosing Fitness Labeled Food Affect Consumer’s Intention to Forgo Exercise

As one of the most widely used marketing techniques, the role and effects of food labels have received significant attention from researchers. Different labels have very different influences and implications. This dissertation focuses on a unique persuasive language label: fitness label. This dissertation starts with a discussion on self-regulation mechanisms and research on goals, and their implications on how choosing fitness labeled food affects subsequent intention to forgo exercise. This dissertation finds that the existence of response conflict in food choice, as well as the magnitude of the response conflict affect consumer’s reaction mechanisms, which in turn affect consumer’s exercise intention. To be more specific, choosing fitness labeled food vs. choosing non-fitness labeled food does not affect consumer’s subsequent exercise decision when response conflict is absent in food choice. When there is a mild response conflict involved in food choice, choosing fitness labeled food vs. choosing non-fitness labeled food decreases normal-weight consumer’s intention to forgo subsequent exercise. However, when the severity of response conflict increases to a stronger level, consumers who chose fitness labeled food exhibit higher intention to forgo exercise, this effect is present among all consumers. Moreover, this dissertation proposes that consumer’s self-control significantly and negatively affects intention to forgo exercise. The collective predicting power of self-control and choosing fitness labeled food increases as the severity of response conflict increases. Furthermore, this dissertation finds that fitness label is able to produce a health halo that makes fitness labeled food seem healthier, yet the health halo is not sufficient to affect consumer’s intention to forgo exercise. This dissertation has three major contributions. First, it introduces response conflict to address some inconsistent findings of previous research about persuasive language labels. It helps to understand consumer’s reaction mechanisms when different levels of response conflicts are involved. Second, this dissertation lays a solid theoretical foundation for future studies. It reviews and summarizes relevant theories that can be applied to the area of food label studies, and discusses the applicability of these theories. Finally, this dissertation responds to the ethical concerns about using fitness label as a marketing tool. It shows that the negative effect of fitness label can be very limited

Influència de les percepcions sensorials i altres factors inconscients en el comportament alimentari: Introducció a la neurogastronomia

En les darreres dècades s'ha detectat un increment, a nivell mundial, de malalties cròniques relacionades amb una mala alimentació. Governs, institucions i organismes públics de la mà de científics i investigadors, cerquen solucions per modificar els hàbits de la població cap a comportaments alimentaris saludables. D'aquesta necessitat, en neix una nova disciplina coneguda com a neurogastronomia. Aquest treball, és una revisió bibliogràfica per conèixer què és i quina aplicació té aquesta ciència. Els resultats indiquen com les investigacions revisades tenen en comú la intervenció de diversos professionals amb diferents coneixements i sensibilitats (neuròlegs, psicòlegs, antropòlegs, sociòlegs, cuiners, nutricionistes i dietistes, tècnics d'alimentació...) que donen llum als factors invisibles (inconscients) que afecten d'una manera significativa al comportament alimentari i conseqüentment, a la salut. En el cervell es combina la informació de les propietats del menjar i l'entorn, que provenen de tots els sentits (gust, vista, oïda, olfacte i tacte) i que creen el sabor des de les diferents experiències sensorials que determinen les preferències de consum. Les noves polítiques de nutrició públiques comencen a aplicar les descobertes en neurogastronomia, millorant així l'atractiu dels aliments i la percepció de plaer en els aliments saludables menys desitjats; gràcies als coneixements de la nova disciplina sobre el control dels factors inconscients que envolten l'experiència del menjar. Així doncs, s'estan obrint línies d'investigació i recerca en aquest camí per aconseguir frenar les malalties per la mala alimentació o disminuir el temps de recuperació d'aquestes malalties i convertir-ho en una fita obligada en el món de la nutrició i la salut.En las últimas décadas se ha detectado un incremento, a nivel mundial, de enfermedades crónicas relacionadas con una mala alimentación. Gobiernos, instituciones y organismos públicos de la mano de científicos e investigadores, buscan soluciones para modificar los hábitos de la población hacia comportamientos alimentarios saludables. De esta necesidad, nace una nueva disciplina conocida como neurogastronomía. Este trabajo, es una revisión bibliográfica para conocer qué es y qué aplicación tiene esta ciencia. Los resultados indican cómo las investigaciones revisadas tienen en común la intervención de varios profesionales con diferentes conocimientos y sensibilidades (neurólogos, psicólogos, antropólogos, sociólogos, cocineros, nutricionistas y dietistas, técnicos de alimentación ...) que dan luz a los factores invisibles ( inconscientes) que afectan de una manera significativa el comportamiento alimentario y consecuéntemente, la salud. En el cerebro se combina la información de las propiedades de la comida y el entorno, que provienen de todos los sentidos (gusto, vista, oído, olfato y tacto) y que crean el sabor desde las diferentes experiencias sensoriales que determinan las preferencias de consumo. Las nuevas políticas de nutrición públicas empiezan a aplicar los descubrimientos en neurogastronomía, mejorando así el atractivo de los alimentos y la percepción de placer en los alimentos saludables menos deseados; gracias a los conocimientos de la nueva disciplina sobre el control de los factores inconscientes que rodean la experiencia al comer. Así pues, se están abriendo líneas de investigación en este camino para lograr frenar las enfermedades por la mala alimentación o disminuir el tiempo de recuperación de estas enfermedades y convertirlo en un hito obligado en el mundo de la nutrición y la salud.In recent decades, there has been a worldwide increase in chronic malnutrition. Governments and public institutions are looking for solutions to change the habits of the population towards healthy eating behaviors with the help of scientists and researchers. From this need is born a new discipline known as neurogastronomy. This work is a bibliographic review to present what this science is and its application. The results show that the rewiewed research has the involvement of several professionals with different knowledges and sensibilities (neurologists, psychologists, anthropologists, sociologists, cooks, nutritionists and dietitians, nutritionists...) who shed light on the factors (unconscious) that have a significant effect on eating behavior and health. The brain combines information about the food properties and the environment, which come from all senses (taste, sight, hearing, smell and touch) and create the taste from the different sensory experiences that determine the consumer preferences. New public nutrition policies are beginning to implement discoveries in neurogastronomy, improving the attractiveness of food and the perception of pleasure in less-desired healthy foods; thanks to the control of the unconscious factors that surround the food experience. Therefore, researches lines are being opened in this direction to reduce malnutrition or reduce the recovery time of these diseases, making this a must in the world of nutrition and health

Top-down expectation effects of food labels on motivation

Labels on food packages inform our beliefs, shaping our expectations of food properties, such as its expected taste and healthiness. These beliefs can influence the processing of caloric rewards beyond objective sensory properties and have the potential to impact decision making. However, no studies, within or beyond the food domain, have assessed how written information, such as food labels, affect implicit motivation to obtain rewards, even though choices in daily life might be strongly driven by implicit motivational biases. We investigated how written information affects implicit motivation to obtain caloric rewards in healthy young adults. We used food labels (high- and low-calorie), associated with an identical fruit-flavored sugar-sweetened beverage, to study motivation for caloric rewards during fMRI. In a joystick task, hungry participants (N = 31) were instructed to make fast approach or avoid movements to earn the cued beverages. Behaviorally, we found a general approach bias, which was stronger for the beverage that was most preferred during a subsequent choice test, i.e., the one labeled as low-calorie. This behavioral effect was accompanied by increased BOLD signal in the sensorimotor cortex during the response phase of the task for the preferred, low-calorie beverage compared with the non-preferred, high-calorie beverage. During the anticipation phase, the non-preferred, high-calorie beverage label elicited stronger fMRI signal in the right ventral anterior insula, a region associated with aversion and taste intensity, than the preferred, low-calorie label. Together, these data suggest that high-calorie labeling can increase avoidance of beverages and reduce neural activity in brain regions associated with motor control. In conclusion, we show effects of food labeling on fMRI responses during anticipation and subsequent motivated action and on behavior, in the absence of objective taste differences, demonstrating the influence of written information on implicit biases. These findings contribute to our understanding of implicit biases in real-life eating behavior

Top-down expectation effects of food labels on motivation

Labels on food packages inform our beliefs, shaping our expectations of food properties, such as its expected taste and healthiness. These beliefs can influence the processing of caloric rewards beyond objective sensory properties and have the potential to impact decision making. However, no studies, within or beyond the food domain, have assessed how written information, such as food labels, affect implicit motivation to obtain rewards, even though choices in daily life might be strongly driven by implicit motivational biases. We investigated how written information affects implicit motivation to obtain caloric rewards in healthy young adults. We used food labels (high- and low-calorie), associated with an identical fruit-flavored sugar-sweetened beverage, to study motivation for caloric rewards during fMRI. In a joystick task, hungry participants (N = 31) were instructed to make fast approach or avoid movements to earn the cued beverages. Behaviorally, we found a general approach bias, which was stronger for the beverage that was most preferred during a subsequent choice test, i.e., the one labeled as low-calorie. This behavioral effect was accompanied by increased BOLD signal in the sensorimotor cortex during the response phase of the task for the preferred, low-calorie beverage compared with the non-preferred, high-calorie beverage. During the anticipation phase, the non-preferred, high-calorie beverage label elicited stronger fMRI signal in the right ventral anterior insula, a region associated with aversion and taste intensity, than the preferred, low-calorie label. Together, these data suggest that high-calorie labeling can increase avoidance of beverages and reduce neural activity in brain regions associated with motor control. In conclusion, we show effects of food labeling on fMRI responses during anticipation and subsequent motivated action and on behavior, in the absence of objective taste differences, demonstrating the influence of written information on implicit biases. These findings contribute to our understanding of implicit biases in real-life eating behavior

THE IMPACT OF CALORIC AND NON-CALORIC SWEETENER CONSUMPTION ON THE BEHAVIORAL, HORMONAL AND BRAIN RESPONSESTO FOOD

Sight is a primary channel conveying information about food, in turn influencing appetite control via homeostatic, hedonic and cognitive factors. Brain responses to visual food cues have been increasingly studied in the past decades. However, the influence of specific dietary factors such as caloric (sugar) and non-caloric sweetener (NNS) consumption on subsequent visual responses to food remains poorly understood. Yet, both sweeteners have been associated to long-term weight gain. The thesis at hand aims at a more integrative view to understand the impact of sugar and NNS consumption on visual food perception and intake behavior, by combining measures of behavioral, physiological and brain responses towards food. The first exploratory project (study A) investigated changes in behavioral and brain responses to food viewing via a 3-month replacement of sugar-sweetened beverages with NNS-sweetened beverages. We showed intervention-induced modulations in neural activity in response to high-fat, sweet food viewing that were mostly apparent in dorsal prefrontal and precentral cortices, i.e. brain areas associated with inhibitory control and attention. The decrease in activity within the dorsal prefrontal cortex was inversely correlated with changes in body weight, i.e. participants who failed to lose weight also showed decreased activity to palatable food cues in brain areas that have been related to food intake control. The second project (study B) investigated the acute effects of sucrose- and NNS-beverage consumption, as compared to water, on the subsequent brain responses to food viewing and later spontaneous food intake at an ad libitum buffet. Sucrose consumption elicited a differential pattern of neural activity to food viewing as compared to water, and a subsequent decrease in spontaneous food intake. NNS consumption, on the other hand, did not affect food intake, but modified post-prandial brain responses to food viewing, most pronounced in prefrontal areas and the insula, i.e. brain regions that have been associated with food intake control and nutrient-flavor conditioning. Altogether, the thesis at hand provides insights on the impact of caloric and non-caloric sweetener consumption on the visual perception of tempting food cues. This is of great relevance in our modern environment where visual cues are ubiquitous and guide consumption behavior in daily life. Detailed mechanisms as to how NNS might impact behavior when repeatedly consumed yet need to be investigated in more detail in the future, in particular to disentangle effects driven by NNS-containing foods and beverages as such, as opposed to individuals’ expectations related to the consumption of such non-caloric products. La vision est utilisée comme principal vecteur d’informations lorsqu’un individu est confronté à la nourriture, influençant de ce fait le contrôle de l’appétit par des facteurs homéostatiques, hédoniques et cognitifs. Les réponses cérébrales lors de la perception visuelle de nourriture ont été fortement étudiées dans les dernières décennies. Cependant, l’influence de facteurs alimentaires spécifiques tels que la consommation d’agents sucrants caloriques (les sucres) et non-caloriques (les édulcorants) sur les réponses visuelles ultérieures reste encore peu claire. Les sucres et édulcorants ont pourtant été associés à une prise de poids corporel sur le long terme. Cette thèse a pour but de mieux comprendre l’impact de la consommation de sucres et d’édulcorants sur la perception visuelle de nourriture et sur le comportement alimentaire, en combinant des mesures comportementales, physiologiques et cérébrales. Le premier projet (étude A) a exploré les changements dans les réponses cérébrales et comportementales à la vision de nourriture induits par un remplacement de la consommation de boissons sucrées par leurs équivalents édulcorés. A la suite de trois mois d’intervention, nous avons mis en évidence des modulations de l’activité neuronale lors de la vision d’aliments sucrés et riches en gras dans des aires cérébrales préfrontales dorsales et précentrales, associées au contrôle inhibiteur et à l’attention. Une diminution d’activité dans l’aire préfrontale dorsale était inversement corrélée au changement de poids corporel, c’est-à-dire que les participants qui n’ont pas perdu de poids ont aussi montré les plus grandes baisses d’activités dans cette aire cérébrale liée au contrôle inhibiteur de la prise alimentaire. Le deuxième projet (étude B) a étudié les effets aigus d’une consommation de boissons sucrées ou édulcorées, en comparaison à l’eau, sur les réponses cérébrales subséquentes à la vision de nourriture, ainsi que sur le comportement alimentaire lors d’un buffet ad libitum. La consommation de sucre, en comparaison à l’eau, a modifié l’activité cérébrale à la vue de nourriture. Ceci était associé à une moindre prise alimentaire lors du buffet. En revanche, la consommation d’édulcorants n’a pas affecté le comportement alimentaire, mais a modifié les réponses cérébrales postprandiales en particulier dans les aires préfrontales ainsi que dans l’insula, des régions associées aux habilités de contrôle de la prise alimentaire et au conditionnement goût-nutriment. Ensemble, les études réalisées dans le cadre de cette thèse ont fourni des indications sur l’impact d’une consommation de sucres et d’édulcorants sur la perception visuelle de nourriture appétissante. Ceci est particulièrement important dans notre environnement alimentaire moderne, dans lequel les stimuli visuels de nourriture sont omniprésents et guident notre comportement alimentaire quotidien. Les mécanismes d’action des édulcorants sur notre comportement lorsqu’ils sont consommés de manière répétée restent cependant à étudier de manière plus détaillée, en particulier dans le but de distinguer les effets des édulcorants eux-mêmes des attentes individuelles liées à la consommation de ces produits

Top-down expectation effects of food labels on motivation

Labels on food packages inform our beliefs, shaping our expectations of food properties, such as its expected taste and healthiness. These beliefs can influence the processing of caloric rewards beyond objective sensory properties and have the potential to impact decision making. However, no studies, within or beyond the food domain, have assessed how written information, such as food labels, affect implicit motivation to obtain rewards, even though choices in daily life might be strongly driven by implicit motivational biases. We investigated how written information affects implicit motivation to obtain caloric rewards in healthy young adults. We used food labels (high- and low-calorie), associated with an identical fruit-flavored sugar-sweetened beverage, to study motivation for caloric rewards during fMRI. In a joystick task, hungry participants (N = 31) were instructed to make fast approach or avoid movements to earn the cued beverages. Behaviorally, we found a general approach bias, which was stronger for the beverage that was most preferred during a subsequent choice test, i.e., the one labeled as low-calorie. This behavioral effect was accompanied by increased BOLD signal in the sensorimotor cortex during the response phase of the task for the preferred, low-calorie beverage compared with the non-preferred, high-calorie beverage. During the anticipation phase, the non-preferred, high-calorie beverage label elicited stronger fMRI signal in the right ventral anterior insula, a region associated with aversion and taste intensity, than the preferred, low-calorie label. Together, these data suggest that high-calorie labeling can increase avoidance of beverages and reduce neural activity in brain regions associated with motor control. In conclusion, we show effects of food labeling on fMRI responses during anticipation and subsequent motivated action and on behavior, in the absence of objective taste differences, demonstrating the influence of written information on implicit biases. These findings contribute to our understanding of implicit biases in real-life eating behavior

“Functional MRI Study of Human Gustatory Cortex: Technological Advancements and Applications to Basic and Clinical Neurosciences”

2017 - 2018The purpose of brain plasticity is generating adaptive behaviours while predicting, interpreting, and responding to more and more complex tasks. Some of the most riveting questions in neuroscience revolve around the relationship between neural circuit structure, neural dynamics, and complex behaviour. The capability to understand the mechanisms that govern the brain under certain conditions is extremely helpful to predict human behaviour and to find possible brain alterations caused by or determining specific pathologies. … [edited by Author]XVII n.s. (XXXI ciclo

The role of expectations in improving consumers’ oral and post-ingestive experience in the context of regular and non-alcoholic beer

What we experience is influenced not only by sensory inputs, but also by expectations. This thesis investigates, explains, and quantifies the relationship between product-related cues, expectancies, and consumers’ oral and post-ingestive experience in the context of regular and non-alcoholic beer. The first study, a series of four online experiments, investigated the role of extrinsic and intrinsic cues in the generation of expectancies. Overall, implicit cues such as design and colour were less effective in generating expectations than explicit cues such as sensory descriptor. Understanding the process of expectation generation, the second study aimed to answer the question of whether beer labelling and colour may be used to modify customers' expectations and, together with taste, alter perception of taste, flavour, and mouthfeel of beer. Results of mediation analysis showed that not only did beer colour and sensory descriptor change consumers’ perception, but that this effect was mediated by expectations. Study 3 then expanded on previous findings by investigating how beer colour, label-based sensory descriptors, and labelled alcohol content affect expected and perceived properties of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beers. Beer colour and some sensory descriptors did, indeed, influence ratings of expected and perceived beer properties. However, it appears that a sensory descriptor must be relevant and percept-specific in order to alter perception. The final experiment looked at whether and how consumer focus and alcohol content affect post-ingestive experience. The results confirmed the effects of alcohol on mood, cognitive performance, and satisfaction. The findings, however, did not show that consumer focus could improve sensory and hedonic perception or post-ingestive experience. Overall, it appears that extrinsic and intrinsic product cues can shape consumer sensory and hedonic experience in the context of regular and reduced alcohol beers, but the effect of product cues on post-ingestive experience, including consumer satisfaction appears to be limited