SECTION 7: PSYCHOLOGY OF FOOD
Section 7: Psychology of Food
Resource management
Content
Elaboration
The Psychology of Food
Influence on food development
Influence on consumers
Consumer attitudes to food issues
Role/impact of the media
Consumer behaviour
Influence on food development and consumers
‘What will I eat today?’ How often have we asked ourselves that question?
Before we begin to answer this question we need to think a bit about what it
means. Food choice is influenced by many inter -related factors. The key
reason for eating is hunger and satiety but what we choose to eat is not solely
decided by physiological or nutritional needs.
The first thing to consider is that we have a choice of food. In affluent,
developed countries such as the UK there is an abundant variet y of food.
Most people make a choice of food at least two or three times a day. All
human beings require food to survive. The availability of a wide choice of
foods makes it easier to choose foods that are nutritionally good for us.
However, the opposite of this is also true: having a wide choice may
encourage less healthy choices.
The factors which influence food development and consumer choice are
shown below.
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Human factors
Cultural influences,
psychological
influences, age, sex
Personal factors
Appetite emotions,
peer, pressure, family
pressure, personality,
expectation
Religious and cultural factors
Beliefs, traditions, culture and race
Socio-economic factors
Social background and
status, disposable family
income, food costs
Factors that
influence
food
preferences
Factors inherent in food
Flavour, texture, smell, quality,
temperature, appearance,
preparation, presentation
Educational factors
Health education,
hygiene education,
family influences,
nutrition education
External factors
Environment, seasonal
influences, media
advertising, social
pressures
Physiological and psychological attributes
Most people, if asked why they eat, would respond ‘to stay alive’ or ‘because
of hunger’. Both of these are appropriate answers : the body has a
physiological need for food and when deprived for even a short period of
time a sensation of hunger is experienced. This is a normal physiological
response, designed to balance output and storage of nutrients with their input
from food.
In addition, however, people eat for a number of reasons:
 In the west, eating is a matter of habit because food is usually widely
available, often at all hours of the day or night.
 There are socially accepted mealtimes when there is an expectation of
eating, regardless of hunger.
 There are social norms associated with eating, which define what
behaviour is and is not acceptable.
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Food provides us with sensory satisfaction, it is usually pleasant to eat, and
this aspect of certain foods can induce people to eat when they have no
physiological need do so.
We have a very personal relationship with food. It is something that we
deliberately take into our body, which becomes part of us. This can have very
profound meanings for some people, but for everyone it implies that there are
psychological influences on eating.
How do we appreciate food?
Eating is a very individualistic activity but generally there are several ways in
which to appreciate food:
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Eating is a pleasure.
Eating satisfies hunger.
We appreciate the appearance of food.
We appreciate the aroma of food.
We appreciate the flavour of food.
We appreciate the texture of food.
These sensations are often inter-related.
Appearance is probably the first sensation that we judge food by: does it look
fresh and attractive? When we look at food we judge both colour and texture.
Early experiences of food condition us to relate certain colours with certain
foods. If the food is an unfamiliar colour we may reject it. The colour of food
is a good guide to its freshness. Stale food looks dull. Certain colours are also
associated with certain flavours, eg lemon -flavoured desserts are usually
coloured yellow. Many manufactured products contain permitted chemical
colourings to make them look attractive. We also judge the appearance of
food by its aroma, texture and taste. All these qualities are important in our
appreciation of food. They are the qualities we remember food by and recall
to mind when choosing food. If the food looks attractive, smells appetising
and tastes good we are likely to want it.
What motivates us to eat food?
Frequently we eat food to satisfy one or more of the following reasons:
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Eating is a comfortable habit.
Eating soothes inner tensions.
Eating soothes anxieties.
For a baby, food is a symbol of love, comfort and security.
All our lives, having food available when we need it satisfies our need for
security. Being without food, even for a short while, will cause anxiety. For
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some people eating food can provide an emotional outlet for loneliness,
boredom and depression. At other times, some people eat almost absent mindedly whilst doing something else, such as watching television o r sports.
Food is sometimes used as a reward, for example to reward a child for good
behaviour. Adults also reward themselves with food and drink.
If food is used to often to satisfy these psychological needs: it is easy to eat
too much.
Why do we buy the food we do?
Although our food may be controlled by the factors already described, it is
also affected by how foods are sold to us.
The convenience, hygienic conditions and the quality of food in local shops,
markets and supermarkets influence discrimi nating consumers in the choice
of food.
Research has shown that, apart from the cost, the attributes that consumers
look for when buying food are:
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safety
sensory appeal
convenience
added value
authenticity
luxury
novelty
ethical production
functional, nutritional and compositional quality.
Of all these attributes, the most important to consumers would seem to be
convenience, safety and sensory quality (although this is largely subjective
and dependent on individual preferences).
Consumer attitudes to food issues
One major shift in attitudes in the West is the move away from concern about
price to concern about quality and health. Market research shows that many
people are trying to eat healthily or believe that they are eating more
healthily. However, we often have misconceptions about what this means, eg
the belief that polyunsaturated-rich margarines have less fat than butter.
One national health survey concluded that there has been a shift in emphasis
from concern with the diet as a whole. People’s r atings of the healthiness of
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have meat declined, and the survey identified that 45% of women reported
having cut down on consumption. Healthiness rating for low -fat spreads
increased over the 5 years of the survey; those for butter and hard margarine
declined. The main components of healthy food are seen as vitamins, non starch polysaccharides, protein and freshness along with a low amount of fat.
Additives seem to be a declining concern.
Another recent and fast-growing development is the concern with the
environment and the emergence of the ‘green consumer’. Organic and fair
trade products are the best established of the environmentally friendly foods.
The genetic modification of foods has caused much debate.
Another major issue in the UK over the last few years is that of food safety.
This has been prompted by the scares associated with microbiological
problems such as E. coli, salmonella and listeria, diseases in animals,
chemical contamination through accidents in production, and criminal
tampering with packaged food. The public may feel that they have little
control over food safety issues like these and there is evidence to suggest that
we are complacent about our own personal susceptibility to diet -related risks
but safety will undoubtedly remain of basic importance to consumer
confidence in the food industry.
The role/impact of the media in food choice
Information is essential to choice. We need full, reliable relevant information
about the products on supermarket shelves before we decide which o nes are
right for us. Much of this information comes from the industry itself – in
television, radio, magazine and poster advertising, as well as food labels and
packages. How useful and reliable is this information? How much does it
influence our choice as consumers?
Every year around 10,000 new products are launched on to the market. Only
one in 10 will survive for 12 months, while only one in 20 are still on the
market after 2 years. Only a portion of these new products will be heavily
advertised with lavish design budgets for the label and packaging, but it
shows that consumers will not accept uncritically any food product on the
market. Even those new products that are advertised on television will find a
far from uncritical audience.
Studies have demonstrated convincingly that television viewers take the
advertising as a cue to make a cup of tea, go to the toilet or make a phone
call. There appears to be no comparable research for printed advertising or
radio but some psychological theories suggest th at human beings do not
normally pay much attention to detail. This is borne out by research on food
labelling, some of which indicates that consumers rarely read ingredients lists
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or nutrition information or have difficulty interpreting the information. This
is not to say that we as consumers ignore everything that appears on a food
label or advert.
Evidence suggests that we take notice of simple messages, especially those
that confirm what we believe or want to believe. In other words advertising
and labelling may not change our food choice, they might simply reassure us
that the choice we have made is the right one. However, can we really believe
that the food and soft drinks industry spend s £500 million on TV advertising
just to entertain us? Or that food labels, for most of us, have no more
significance than attractive wrapping paper?
Techniques used by manufacturers to persuade consumers to buy their
products
Information about products is provided by a variety of media : television,
radio, internet, text messages, magazines, poster advertising, packaging, food
labelling and adverts.
Food manufacturers often target young children. Advertisers are well aware
of children’s vulnerability and some target their advertising and labelling at
children quite deliberately. Yet the media could be used in a positive way to
encourage children in particular to improve their food choices.
Packaging and labelling
 By apparently providing reliable relevant information on packaging about
products, consumers can decide for themselves.
 Revamping the package design of foods, eg milk is available in plastic
bags to fit into fridge jugs to suit needs.
 Changing the image of foods, eg soups are now heavily promoted as a way
to achieve the Scottish dietary target of 400 g of fruit and vegetables
required daily
 Changing the name of an existing product to revamp or enhance the appeal
of a product.
Adverts on television, radio, magazines, poster
 Ensuring adverts are aimed at the correct target group , for example by
timing them appropriately.
 Adverts for unhealthy/junk foods are not allowed to be broadcast during
the hours when popular children’s programmes are on TV. However ,
children watch TV at other hours of the day so may still see adverts for
products high in fat, sugar or both. These foods are precisely the ones
which children should be eating less frequently.
 The use of simple messages in adverts which reassure consumers that they
have made the correct choice, eg Special K breakfast cereal advert presents
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a very positive health image by using a slim female to advertise the
product.
Appealing to brand loyalty – consumers will stay with an existing brand
name they recognise and will choose new products based on brand loyalty.
Children are very susceptible to brand name adverts so manufacturers take
advantage of this. Research has shown that children were three times more
likely to remember brand adverts than adults, needing to see less
advertising than adults to produce the same response.
Adverts which appeal to snobbery, sentimentality or sex appeal.
Use of celebrities to promote products, eg sports people, supermodels,
celebrity chefs and soap stars will create a glamorous image to adults and
so encourage sales.
Advertisers target young children by using well -known characters to sell
food. Food adverts and labelling will make use of familiar cartoon
characters that are already familiar to children. The Simpsons and Disney
characters are some of the famous media ‘personalities’ used to appeal to
children and sell food and soft drinks to children. Children’s affection and
loyalty to these characters and the accompanying songs and jingles will
help to sell the products.
Older children are attracted by a product ’s social appeal – one
manufacturer targets their drinks to adoles cent and young adult consumers,
who enjoy entertainment, music and sports. An emotional connection to
the brand of drink is increased by visiting their website , which has
interactive functions, including downloads and online games.
Promotional characters, films and free gifts are used to entice children into
fast-food outlets to encourage consumption of these products. A series of
collectible toys attract children, who may then pester their parents to
revisit and so continue purchasing the rest of the serie s.
Advertising and sponsorship at events such as football matches allows
manufacturers to advertise their products, eg posters round the pitch.
Adverts put pressure on children to pester parents into buying foods.
Manufacturers rely on the ‘pester power’ of children to persuade parents to
buy their food products. One survey on television advertising found that
85% of children surveyed had asked a parent to buy them something they
had seen advertised on television. Two-thirds of these children claimed
they got what they asked for and given the ‘pester power’ of children this
is not hard to believe.
Although parents feel that they ought to resist, the certainty that the
purchase will not be wasted is a powerful motivator , especially for
families on low incomes.
Children’s magazines/comics are particularly used to target children.
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Health promotion
 Promoting the product as contributing to ‘healthy eating’ given consumers’
concern over diet as a whole.
 Concerns over public health issues, eg concern over additiv es, has
encouraged manufacturers to jump on the band wagon for additive -free
food promotion on packages.
 Emphasising the health and environmental benefits of organic and
functional foods.
Lifestyle factors
 Promoting the convenience of food products in today’s busy lifestyles, eg
microwave pasta sauces.
 Promotions in supermarkets.
 Special offers and special introductory offers by manufacturers to
encourage customers to try the product, eg buy one get one free/buy two
get third free.
 Demonstrations and taste sessions in supermarkets to allow customers to
taste before buying and so encourage sales.
 Product placement within the supermarket to encourage sales, eg sweets
placed near the checkout at child height often lead to additional purchase,
popular products placed at eye level.
 Use of competitions, tokens for promotional gifts and money-off coupons
will also encourage purchase and repurchase.
 Adverts, coupons and recipes ideas may be offered in supermarkets ’ own
magazines to promote products.
 Promotion of free schools equipment through purchase of foods can
encourage children to buy or parents to buy for children.
The use of information technology
As controls are placed on television advertising of the less healthy foods,
companies are finding new ways to promote their products to children and
adults by using techniques more suited to the technology of today .
 Campaigns such as ‘text2win’ competitions can be found printed on food
packaging.
 Companies create a branded presence in chat rooms by forming onl ine
communities in which children can eat and drink cyber versions of the
junk foods whose advertising is now banned during popular children’s
programmes on television.
 Manufactures own websites give up-to-date information that allows
consumers to make informed choices.
 Junk food can also be placed in the background of many popular computer
games.
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Advertising and labelling can therefore do more than reinforce existing
spending patterns. They can push at the boundaries of what consumers
believe they want to eat. This is not to say that the food industry alone can
change the eating habits of a nation. The recent trend towards healthier eating
owes at least some debt to other forms of the media such as:
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health and consumer groups
food and drink programmes
celebrities from popular soaps recommending a healthy diet
celebrities from the world of sport or music endorsing products
food game shows like ‘Ready Steady Cook’
cookery skills programmes like ‘Can’t Cook, Won’t Cook’ and ‘Come
Dine with Me’.
For many of us, choosing food that will enhance our diet and lifestyle can be
a daunting thought because we don’t know what foods to choose and, once we
have made our selection, what to do with them or how to make them taste
good. The media has a contribution to make by encouraging and enabling
people to choose, prepare and cook food through lively and entertaining
programmes. In this way the media can play its part in helping to achieve
current dietary targets.
Consumer behaviour
Most people think that they have a good enough diet. We know about healthy
eating advice, but do not think that the messages contained in it imply that we
ourselves need to change. Although we are exposed to many messages about
nutrition, diet and health throughout the week, some are more l ikely to
persuade us than others. The effectiveness of a message is determined by its
wording.
Messages need to be:
 reasonable (we should understand the message and the reason for it)
 practical (we should find the change possible)
 compelling (we should want to do it).
We are likely to be influenced by advice that fits in with our existing beliefs
and behaviour rather than that which seems alien to us. What then are these
beliefs and behaviour patterns?
Culture
The major factors influencing the eating habits within a culture are the food
available and the foods acceptable to that culture. What and when we eat can
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reflect who we are, the society we live in, our upbringing and how we
perceive ourselves. Acquisition of food habits is established at an ear ly age
from our parents. Our tastes and preferences are often those handed down
through generations of our family. However, changes in eating habits can
come from cultures. One example is the increase in female employment ,
which has led to a dramatic increase in the development and consumption of
convenience foods to cater for the lifestyle of the working mum.
Availability
The increase in microwave and freezer ownership means that meals can be
ready in minutes. The growth in popularity of dishes from diff erent cultures
and the introduction of new foods as a result of the advances in technology
such as irradiated, genetically engineered and cook -chill foods and modern
packaging have all increased the shelf life of foods and made a much wider
choice easily available to consumers.
Cost
People can eat what they can afford. There is an increasing number of
marketing techniques used by food retailers that can be accessed by the
prudent consumer to make the budget for food go further , for example buying
in bulk, buying supermarket own brands, taking advantage of special offers,
eg three for the price of two, and using in-store loyalty cards to save points
which can help reduce the food bill. Unfortunately, consumers see the food
budget as one of the more flexible items in the household expenditure. If
income is small or decreased for some reason then food cuts are made and the
variety of food eaten becomes smaller, with the result that the diet can
become monotonous.
Preference
Most people select food from a relatively small number of items that appear
frequently in their diet. New foods may be tried on occasions, often as a
result of advertising or the promotion of the product in the media.
Moral
Special diets may be adopted for moral reasons and these can imp ose
constraints on individual food choice. The most prevalent in Britain in recent
years is the vegetarian diet.
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Social
Different foods have different status: those that are more expensive or
difficult to get, such as caviar, grouse or venison, are perc eived as being high
status. On the other hand food such as tripe has a low status because of its
association with low-income diets. The status of food can change with time.
In the last century, wholemeal or brown bread was considered coarse and fit
only for the lower classes, whereas now it is seen as a healthy and desirable
in the diet and its status has increased considerably.
Gender
The food preferences of men and women can often differ. In some cultures
most men eat more meat and women eat more fruit and vegetables. Women
tend to eat more foods that are regarded as ‘healthy’. These differences may
be associated with the different gender roles that still exist in society. Women
generally remain in charge of food-related activities and therefore know mor e
about food. Information about healthy diets tends to be seen more by women
as it features in women’s magazines or leaflets available in supermarkets.
Despite there being greater knowledge, decisions about what is eaten in the
home are shown to be dictated in many families by the men and children
rather than the women.
Security
For most of us, food represents security from an early age, so much so that in
times of stress it can form an important support. Anxiety can provoke eating
as a means of coping with tension, although in some people stress can result
in a loss of appetite and an inability to eat. Abnormal eating patterns have
also been linked with uncertainty about a person’s role or position in society.
It has been suggested that both obesity and a norexia might originate from
confusion about the socially desirable body image and that with which the
individual feels psychologically at ease. In the case of obesity it has been
argued that overeating can occur as a deliberate attempt to add substance to
the body in an effort to cope with the demands of the world. With anorexia,
the body size is deliberately reduced to escape from the pressures of society
on the adult female and return to the child shape.
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