How food overconsumption has hijacked our notions about eating as a pleasurable activity

The negative effects of overconsumption of food have been extensively studied, with a focus on overweight and negative food attitudes. In this overview, we argue that this negative perspective has spilled over to food consumption in general, which is in contrast with eating as a pleasurable activity that contributes to people's well-being. We review four areas of research that have recently emerged: (de)moralization of food consumption, moderate eating for pleasure, intuitive and mindful eating, and the social benefits of eating. Throughout these four themes, it becomes clear that there needs to be a clear distinction between overconsumption of food, bearing negative consequences, and normal levels of food consumption. The latter is positively associated with enjoyment, contentment, and our social and psychological well-being

Make it a habit: how habit strength, goal importance and self-control predict hand washing behaviour over time during the COVID-19 pandemic

Objective: Hand washing has been at the core of recommendations and guidelines that aim to curb infectious diseases in general, and COVID-19 in particular. As hand washing comes down to an individual’s behaviour, we aimed to study how individual psychological variables influence hand washing over time during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design: Over the course of 20 weeks, participants answered questions about their hand washing behaviour, goal importance, habit strength and self-control. Participants from an experimental and a control condition completed a baseline and final measurement, and the experimental condition was invited to bi-weekly measurements through reminders. Main outcome measure: Hand washing behaviour over the past 14 days was assessed by self-report at baseline and final measurement, and additionally repeatedly over the course of 20 weeks in the experimental condition. Results: Hand washing behaviour decreased over time, but this decrease was buffered by habit strength and goal importance. The decrease was smaller in the experimental condition that received reminders every 2 weeks. Conclusion: Sending personal reminders on hand washing behaviour contributes to hand washing behaviour. Moreover, taking habit strength and goal importance, and to a lesser extent self-control into account is important when designing interventions to promote hand washing behaviour

The effect of nudges on autonomy in hypothetical and real life settings

Nudges have repeatedly been found to be effective, however they are claimed to harm autonomy, and it has been found that laypeople expect this too. To test whether these expectations translate to actual harm to experienced autonomy, three online studies were conducted. The paradigm used in all studies was that participants were asked to voluntarily participate in a longer version of the questionnaire. This was either done in a hypothetical setting, where participants imagined they were asked this question, but did not answer it, and reported their expectations for autonomy; Or in an actual choice setting where participants answered the question and then reported their actual autonomy. The first study utilized the hypothetical setting and tried to replicate that laypeople expect nudges to harm autonomy with the current paradigm. A total of 451 participants were randomly assigned to either a control, a default nudge, or a social norm nudge condition. In the default nudge condition, the affirmative answer was pre-selected, and in the social norm nudge condition it was stated that most people answered affirmative. The results showed a trend for lower expected autonomy in nudge conditions, but did not find significant evidence. In Study 2, with a sample size of 454, the same design was used in an actual choice setting. Only the default nudge was found to be effective, and no difference in autonomy was found. In Study 3, Studies 1 and 2 were replicated. Explanation of the nudge was added as an independent variable and the social norm nudge condition was dropped, resulting in six conditions and 1322 participants. The results showed that participants indeed expected default nudges to harm their autonomy, but only if the nudge was explained. When actually nudged, no effect on autonomy was found, independent of the presence of an explanation

Misperceived eating norms: Assessing pluralistic ignorance in the food environment

The current food environment communicates the social norm that it is normal to consume large amounts of unhealthy and unsustainable foods. However, it is unknown whether people endorse this norm because they agree with it, or whether they endorse it because they overestimate the degree to which other people agree with this norm – a phenomenon that is labeled as ‘pluralistic ignorance’. We examined the possible presence of pluralistic ignorance by corroborating previous pluralistic ignorance literature in the food environment among a large representative sample of community residents (N = 433). In addition, we aimed to better assess pluralistic ignorance by comparing multiple dimensions, including how participants perceived themselves and other people in the importance, frequency, normalcy, and intentions of consuming healthy and sustainable food. We analyzed the perceptions with paired t-tests and our findings show that participants considered themselves to be healthier and more sustainable eaters than other people on all four dimensions. However, they did not think that other people were eating unhealthy or unsustainable. Participants themselves held low intentions to eat more healthily or sustainably and believed others had similar low intentions. Together, these findings reveal that there is a discrepancy between the perception of oneself and others regarding healthy and sustainable eating norms, which may suggest pluralistic ignorance. However, it is unclear whether this discrepancy would actually influence behavior, as suggested by the pluralistic ignorance literature, since people consider themselves healthier and more sustainable consumers who may not adjust their standards to perceptions of other people. We speculate they may use this discrepancy as justification in order to be complacent. In the discussion we consider these implications and next steps for future researc

Personal values, motives, and healthy and sustainable food choices: Examining differences between home meals and restaurant meals

People are increasingly eating out in restaurants, where meals tend to be higher in calories, less nutritious, and contain more meat. In this paper, we argue that differences in the motivational processes underlying people’s food choices could help to explain why food choices made in restaurants are typically unhealthier and less sustainable than at home. Using online survey data from 301 Dutch participants, we compared the influence of stable personal values and transient food choice motives on the healthiness and sustainability of meals chosen in a hypothetical choice task, which was geared to the home and restaurant consumption contexts. As expected, participants opted for unhealthy and meat-based meals more often in the restaurant than the home context. Conservation values related negatively and self-transcendence values positively to choosing sustainable meals both in the home and in the restaurant context, although the relation with self-transcendence values was significantly weaker in the restaurant context. Also, taste and social eating were considered more important for choosing restaurant meals, while health was a more important motive for food choices at home. Finally, model comparisons revealed that motives were better predictors of healthy meal choices in both contexts, while the influence of values and motives on sustainable meal choices was more similar. In conclusion, the results from the present study enhance our understanding of differences between choosing home and restaurant meals by providing an account of the values and motives associated with the healthiness and sustainability of home and restaurant meal choices

The effect of nudges on autonomy in hypothetical and real life settings

Nudges have repeatedly been found to be effective, however they are claimed to harm autonomy, and it has been found that laypeople expect this too. To test whether these expectations translate to actual harm to experienced autonomy, three online studies were conducted. The paradigm used in all studies was that participants were asked to voluntarily participate in a longer version of the questionnaire. This was either done in a hypothetical setting, where participants imagined they were asked this question, but did not answer it, and reported their expectations for autonomy; Or in an actual choice setting where participants answered the question and then reported their actual autonomy. The first study utilized the hypothetical setting and tried to replicate that laypeople expect nudges to harm autonomy with the current paradigm. A total of 451 participants were randomly assigned to either a control, a default nudge, or a social norm nudge condition. In the default nudge condition, the affirmative answer was pre-selected, and in the social norm nudge condition it was stated that most people answered affirmative. The results showed a trend for lower expected autonomy in nudge conditions, but did not find significant evidence. In Study 2, with a sample size of 454, the same design was used in an actual choice setting. Only the default nudge was found to be effective, and no difference in autonomy was found. In Study 3, Studies 1 and 2 were replicated. Explanation of the nudge was added as an independent variable and the social norm nudge condition was dropped, resulting in six conditions and 1322 participants. The results showed that participants indeed expected default nudges to harm their autonomy, but only if the nudge was explained. When actually nudged, no effect on autonomy was found, independent of the presence of an explanation.Public Health and primary carePrevention, Population and Disease management (PrePoD

The influence of nudge transparency on the experience of autonomy

While nudges have been shown to be effective and are already being implemented, there is still a debate on the ethics of nudging. This debate specifically refers to the potential of nudges negatively affecting autonomy. It has been suggested that making a nudge transparent may resolve this issue. Whereas previous research has already demonstrated that transparency does not violate nudge effectiveness, it is unknown how transparency affects autonomy and related decision satisfaction and experienced pressure. In an online study with 905 participants, we investigated whether two variations of transparency influence the decision maker’s experience of autonomy, as well as their choice satisfaction and the experienced pressure to choose the nudged option. The results show that autonomy and satisfaction were high–and pressure low–across all conditions, and were therefore not influenced by transparency. Suggesting that nudges do not negatively affect autonomy and that transparency does also not increase it

Місто як екзистенційна пастка (на матеріалі сучасної поезії)

Осмислюється специфіка екзистенційно зумовленого сприймання урбаністичного простору в творчості сучасних українських поетів. Окреслюється своєрідне осмислення символів дороги, лабіринту, човна, мосту, що є елементами просторової символіки художнього світу. Стверджується, що урбаністичний простір сприймається сучасними митцями як екзистенцій на пастка, духовно мертвий простір “недоіснування”, вихід з якого потребує духовного зусилля. Ключові слова: хронотоп, топос, екзистенційний, ліричний герой, постмодернізм, символ.Осмысливается специфика экзистенциально преопределенного восприятия урбанистического пространства в творчестве современных украинских поэтов. Анализируется своеобразное осмысление символов дороги, лабиринта, лодки, моста, который является элементами пространственной символики художественного мира. Утверждается, что урбанистическое пространство воспринимается современными художниками как экзистенциальная ловушка, духовно мертвое пространство “недосуществования”, выход из которого требует в духовном усилии. Ключевые слова: хронотоп, топос, экзистенциальный, лирический герой, постмодернизм, символ.A specific is comprehended ekzistenciаl the predefined perception of urbanism space in creation of the modern Ukrainian poets. The original comprehension of symbols of road, labyrinth, boat, bridge which is the elements of spatial symbolism of the artistic world is outlined. It becomes firmly established that urbanism space is perceived modern artists as ekzistencial on trap, spiritually dead ground, an exit from which needs spiritual effort. Keywords: khronotop, topos, ekzistencial, lyric hero, postmodernizm, symbol

Motivated by default - how nudges facilitate people to act in line with their motivation

Nudges are defined as small adjustments in the choice architecture that help people perform desirable behavior. How nudges interact with individuals' motivation has not been studied empirically. We conducted three studies with different types of defaults in three different behavioral domains and investigated how defaults and different types of motivation affect choice outcomes. In Study 1, we investigated the effectiveness of a default to stimulate healthy eating choices implemented in a hypothetical online supermarket setting. In Study 2, we used a scenario in which participants could choose from a list of green amenities (either preselected or not). In Study 3, we asked participants whether they wanted to participate in a basic or longer version of our questionnaire, with the longer version option set as the default in the nudge condition. Across these three studies we show that defaults are effective in promoting desirable behavior and that goal strivings and autonomous motivation have additional positive main effects. We did not find evidence that controlled motivation affected behavioral outcomes. Exploratory analyses revealed that amotivation negatively affected behavior, but the measure had poor reliability. No significant interaction effects were observed. Together, these studies imply that both defaults and motivation have main effects on behavior, such that the default sets the anchor from which people can adjust according to the type and strength of their motivation. Implications for the practice and ethics of nudging are discussed.Public Health and primary carePrevention, Population and Disease management (PrePoD

Do nudges make use of automatic processing? Unraveling the effects of a default nudge under type 1 and type 2 processing

Nudges have become increasingly popular among policymakers as a tool to stimulate desirable behavior for individuals or society. One of the most prevailing assumptions of nudges is that they make use of automatic processing. Yet, this assumption has received little attention in experimental research. In two preregistered and high powered studies, we investigated this hypothesized working mechanism by using a nudge that has most typically been described as a Type 1nudge: defaults. In both studies, we used a scenario in which participants could choose from a list of green amenities, which were either preselected (opt-out condition) or not (opt-in condition). In Study 1, we investigated the effectiveness of this default nudge under Type 1 processing by manipulating cognitive load. In Study 2, we investigated its effectiveness under Type 2 processing by explicitly instructing half of the participants to deliberate upon their choice. Both studies revealed strong and robust evidence for the default effect. Study 1 further revealed that this default effect was statistically equivalent under cognitive load. Study 2 revealed that the default effect was not attenuated when participants deliberated upon their decision, but instead showed a main effect of deliberation. Together, this implies that default nudges are not dependent on elaborate processing in order to be effective, but that deliberation can in parallel lead to different choice outcomes