Courtney Szocs

Something to Chew On: The Effects of Oral Haptics on Mastication, Orosensory Perception, and Calorie Estimation

This research examines how oral haptics (due to hardness/softness or roughness/smoothness) related to foods influence mastication (i.e., degree of chewing) and orosensory perception (i.e., orally perceived fattiness), which in turn influence calorie estimation, subsequent food choices, and overall consumption volume. The results of five experimental studies show that, consistent with theories related to mastication and orosensory perception, oral haptics related to soft (vs. hard) and smooth (vs. rough) foods lead to higher calorie estimations. This “oral haptics–calorie estimation” (OHCE) effect is driven by the lower mastication effort and the higher orosensory perception for soft (vs. hard) and smooth (vs. rough) foods. Further, the OHCE effect has downstream behavioral outcomes in terms of influencing subsequent food choices between healthy versus unhealthy options as well as overall consumption volume. Moreover, mindful calorie estimation moderates the effects of oral haptics on consumption volume.

Shining Light on Atmospherics: How Ambient Light Influences Food Choices

Retail atmospherics is emerging as a major competitive tool, and it is especially notable in the restaurant industry, where lighting is used to create the overall ambience and influence consumer experience. In addition to influencing overall experience, can ambient light luminance have unintended consequences in terms of influencing what diners order? The results of a field study at multiple locations of a major restaurant chain and a series of lab studies robustly show that consumers tend to choose less healthy food options when ambient lighting is dim (vs. bright). Process evidence suggests that this phenomenon occurs because ambient light luminance influences mental alertness, which in turn influences food choices. While restaurant and grocery store managers can use these insights and their ambient light switches to nudge consumers toward targeted food choices, such as healthy or high-margin signature items, health-conscious consumers can opt for dining environments with bright ambient lighting.

Forks over Spoons: The Impact of Cutlery on Calorie Estimates

Forks and spoons are present at nearly every meal in Western societies, and many foods can be appropriately consumed with either type of cutlery. We focus on foods that can be appropriately consumed with either a fork or a spoon and examine how eating with one piece of cutlery (vs. the other) influences consumers’ calorie estimates and consumption decisions. Holding bite size constant, we find that eating with a spoon (vs. a fork) leads consumers to estimate the number of calories in the food as being lower and also desire a greater volume of the food. The effect of cutlery on calories is attenuated when consumers focus on the oral sensations they experience while eating, as well as when foods do not adhere to the cutlery surface. Overall, our findings suggest that eating with a fork might be one way to encourage healthful consumption.

Making Choices for a Sequence of Healthy and Unhealthy Options

When making food choices, consumers sometimes decide between simultaneously presented options, such as when choosing from items in a self-serve display case at a convenience store or coffee shop (i.e., Starbucks). However, in many instances, consumers choose from sequentially presented items, such as when navigating up and down the aisles of a supermarket or when progressing through the food line at a cafeteria/buffet. As these examples suggest, it is not only common for consumers to choose between sequentially presented food options, it is also practically relevant (Biswas et al. 2014; Biswas et al. 2010; O’Brien and Ellsworth 2012).

The Influence of Posture on Taste: An Abstract

Sometimes, consumers eat while sitting down (e.g., at restaurants, on the couch). However, at other times consumers eat while standing (e.g., at cocktail parties). Would eating the same food while sitting (vs. standing) influence the perceived taste of the food? That is, how does posture influence taste evaluations?

Champagne and Sensory Cues: The Influence of Haptic Sensations on Alcohol-Induced Hedonic Feelings, An Abstract

While alcohol can lead to hedonic effects when consumed at low levels, high levels of alcohol consumption can lead to potentially negative outcomes. In light of these potential negative consequences, there is a need to identify surrogates for alcohol consumption in terms of inducing pleasurable hedonic feelings without necessarily increasing the volume of alcohol consumption.

The Effects of Plate Presentation on Calorie Estimates and Consumption Decisions—An Abstract

The way that food is presented on a plate (i.e., plate presentation) can influence consumers’ judgments and decisions. Not surprisingly, some restaurants have started to use plate presentation strategically. This research investigates unintended consequences of plate presentation in terms of influencing consumers’ portion size perceptions and consumption. We ask: would presenting a portion of food vertically (i.e., stacked up on a plate) versus horizontally (i.e., spread out on the plate) influence consumers’ portion size perceptions? And how might vertical (vs. horizontal) plate presentation influence consumers’ consumption volume?

Effects of Environmental Factors in Nudging School Children Towards More Healthful Food Choices in School Cafeterias

We examine how queuing pattern, in terms of how children line up at school cafeterias, influences their eating behavior. To elaborate, we compare single-line queuing, in which students stand in one central line and the student at the head of the line is sent to the first available cashier, with multi-line queuing, where a separate queue is formed in front of each cashier; we investigate how these two types of queuing influence students’ healthful food choices.

“Don’t Drink and Drive”: Can Sensory and Experiential Factors Influence Effectiveness of Alcohol Warning Messages?

Every day, almost 30 people in the United States die in motor vehicle crashes that involve an alcohol-impaired driver. This amounts to one death every 48 minutes. The annual cost of alcohol-related crashes totals more than

Cheers to Haptic Sensations and Alcohol Consumption: How Glassware Weight Impacts Perceived Intoxication and Positive Emotions

51 billion… In 2010, 10,228 people were killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes, accounting for nearly one-third (31%) of all traffic-related deaths in the United States. (CDC.gov report)