Case study & Article of

Consumer psychology
Case studies on Consumer psychology
and behavior
The psychology of food choice
There is a pandemic of obesity in the UK
and it is widely reported that ill-health is
often linked to poor diet. Yet, with such a
large variety of foods available people
habitually choose to eat the same things,
often with little regard for the
consequences of these choices to their
health.
Our researchers set out to understand
ways of intervening in peoples' food
choices via the psychology of 'behavior
change' to shift the choices consumers
make towards healthier eating.
Part of the research was to identify a
likely mechanism through which food
choice decisions could be modified.
Much of a person's food choice is
habitual. A review of existing research
into attitudes and beliefs around food
shows that a person's formative years,
and the influence of society, are powerful
determinants of that person's food
choices. Today, people do not take much
time thinking about their choices. In fact,
the key features of habitual behavior are
convenience, opportunity and
environmental cues, such as the pleasant
small of food cooking which leads to an
almost 'unconscious' selection of a
particular food.
The study found strong evidence for the
potential of a technique known as
'implementation intentions' to bring about
a change in peoples' behavior. Habits and
implementation intentions are in some
ways very alike, in that they could give
rise to a particular food choice. Whereas
habits can take years to develop to the
stage where an environment cue triggers
certain behaviors, implementation
intentions require only a small amount of
deliberate planning in advice of making a
choice, offering the potential to change
consumers' behavior.
Despite the relatively small amount of
effort required to make implementation
intentions, it is possible to generate target
behaviors spontaneously on identification
of particular environment stimulus -
consciously or otherwise. In conducting
the study, a potential gap in the market
has been identified in respect to
consumer behavior and a way to allow
those outside of the research environment
to form appropriate implementation
intentions.
From a commercial perspective, when
consumer behavior changes, in turn this
affects the decision to buy or not to buy
particular food products. We are well
placed to work with the food industry
and retailers to develop this area of
research.
ARTICLE ON CONSUMER
PSYCHOLOGY

· How and why we consume and how

our beliefs, ideas and senses influence
consumption.
PETER DRUCKER, the management
consultant, famously argued that about
80% of all products and services fail or
fall well short of targets within six
months of launching. Clearly markets
have little understanding of what
consumers want -- perhaps because
people have little clue themselves.