Front-of-pack images can boost the perceived health benefits of dietary products
Front-of-pack images can boost the perceived health benefits of dietary products
Images on dietary supplement packaging can help identify the products' supposed function. However, research shows that these images can also lead people to infer additional health benefits of consuming the products. The present research investigated the extent to which front-of-pack imagery affects people's perceptions of the health risks and benefits of fictional products. In three randomized experiments, participants saw fictitious dietary supplement packages. Some of the packages included a health-related image (e.g. a heart), whereas others did not. Participants were asked to infer the products' intended purpose and then to rate the perceived risks and benefits of consuming the product. In Experiment 1 (N = 546), the inclusion of a health-related image increased the perceived benefits of consuming the product, with minimal effect on the perceived risks. This finding was replicated in Experiment 2 (N = 164), but was contingent on whether each product's assumed health function was confirmed or disconfirmed. In Experiment 3 (N = 306), which used a pre-registered design and analysis plan, the inclusion of a health-related image increased the perceived benefits and decreased the perceived risks of consuming the product. Again, these effects were contingent on whether the assumed health functions were confirmed or disconfirmed. These findings indicate that health-related imagery could lead consumers to infer additional health properties from non-diagnostic information featured on a product's packaging, perhaps as a consequence of increased processing fluency. This research underscores the importance of regulating the use of imagery in health marketing, to protect consumers from the effects of potentially misleading claims.
Benefits, Health claims, Imagery, Processing fluency, Risks
Delivett, Christopher P.
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Klepacz, Naomi A.
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Farrow, Claire V.
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Thomas, Jason M.
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Raats, Monique M.
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Nash, Robert A.
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1 December 2020
Delivett, Christopher P.
6bb3e69e-e0bf-4f17-a843-1c714d0b10e0
Klepacz, Naomi A.
31061121-a4ac-4a6b-a110-bcc6afd554fd
Farrow, Claire V.
1125fc3b-02f7-42df-bc7f-c800e90a1a28
Thomas, Jason M.
a70c9458-58cc-46f7-891e-a6f34ffcad05
Raats, Monique M.
50c792ae-b24d-4e84-b9e6-5e7d475c7126
Nash, Robert A.
28d1a208-2a3e-485a-bc03-255daca55b0e
Delivett, Christopher P., Klepacz, Naomi A., Farrow, Claire V., Thomas, Jason M., Raats, Monique M. and Nash, Robert A.
(2020)
Front-of-pack images can boost the perceived health benefits of dietary products.
Appetite, 155 (12), [104831].
(doi:10.1016/j.appet.2020.104831).
Abstract
Images on dietary supplement packaging can help identify the products' supposed function. However, research shows that these images can also lead people to infer additional health benefits of consuming the products. The present research investigated the extent to which front-of-pack imagery affects people's perceptions of the health risks and benefits of fictional products. In three randomized experiments, participants saw fictitious dietary supplement packages. Some of the packages included a health-related image (e.g. a heart), whereas others did not. Participants were asked to infer the products' intended purpose and then to rate the perceived risks and benefits of consuming the product. In Experiment 1 (N = 546), the inclusion of a health-related image increased the perceived benefits of consuming the product, with minimal effect on the perceived risks. This finding was replicated in Experiment 2 (N = 164), but was contingent on whether each product's assumed health function was confirmed or disconfirmed. In Experiment 3 (N = 306), which used a pre-registered design and analysis plan, the inclusion of a health-related image increased the perceived benefits and decreased the perceived risks of consuming the product. Again, these effects were contingent on whether the assumed health functions were confirmed or disconfirmed. These findings indicate that health-related imagery could lead consumers to infer additional health properties from non-diagnostic information featured on a product's packaging, perhaps as a consequence of increased processing fluency. This research underscores the importance of regulating the use of imagery in health marketing, to protect consumers from the effects of potentially misleading claims.
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More information
Accepted/In Press date: 11 August 2020
e-pub ahead of print date: 15 August 2020
Published date: 1 December 2020
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
This research was funded in part by funding from the European Commission's Seventh Framework Programme , within the PlantLIBRA project (Plant Food Supplements: Levels of Intake, Benefit and Risk Assessments). The European Commission had no role in the experimental design, analysis, or writing of this paper. The content of this paper reflects only the views of the authors; the European Commission is not liable for any use that may be made of the information contained in this paper. N.A.K. and M.M.R.‘s research center provides consultancy to, and received travel funds to present research results from, organizations supported by food and drink companies. The authors acknowledge the input from the PlantLIBRA project team at the University of Surrey (Bernadette Egan, Charo E. Hodgkins, Lada Timotijevic, Adrian P. Banks, Matthew Peacock) who contributed to research design discussions for Experiment 1. They are also grateful to staff and students at King Edward VI College, Stourbridge, for their involvement in Experiment 2.
Funding Information:
This research was funded in part by funding from the European Commission's Seventh Framework Programme, within the PlantLIBRA project (Plant Food Supplements: Levels of Intake, Benefit and Risk Assessments). The European Commission had no role in the experimental design, analysis, or writing of this paper. The content of this paper reflects only the views of the authors; the European Commission is not liable for any use that may be made of the information contained in this paper. N.A.K. and M.M.R.‘s research center provides consultancy to, and received travel funds to present research results from, organizations supported by food and drink companies. The authors acknowledge the input from the PlantLIBRA project team at the University of Surrey (Bernadette Egan, Charo E. Hodgkins, Lada Timotijevic, Adrian P. Banks, Matthew Peacock) who contributed to research design discussions for Experiment 1. They are also grateful to staff and students at King Edward VI College, Stourbridge, for their involvement in Experiment 2.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Elsevier Ltd
Keywords:
Benefits, Health claims, Imagery, Processing fluency, Risks
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 471732
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/471732
ISSN: 0195-6663
PURE UUID: 11998773-78ae-4fb3-9775-ef3323418c2e
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Date deposited: 17 Nov 2022 17:38
Last modified: 18 Mar 2024 04:07
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Contributors
Author:
Christopher P. Delivett
Author:
Naomi A. Klepacz
Author:
Claire V. Farrow
Author:
Jason M. Thomas
Author:
Monique M. Raats
Author:
Robert A. Nash
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