Extending Expectancy Theory to Food Intake: Effect of a Simulated Fast-Food Restaurant on Highly and Minimally Processed Food Expectancies. (November 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Cummings, Jenna R.; Hoover, Lindzey V.; Turner, Meredith I.; Glozier, Kalei; Zhao, Jessica; Gearhardt, Ashley N.
• Is Part Of: Clinical psychological science. Volume 9:Number 6(2021)
• Page Start: 1115
• Page End: 1127
• Publication Date: 2021-11
• Subjects: eating behavior -- emotions -- expectancies -- fast-food restaurant -- highly processed food -- open data -- preregistered; Clinical psychology -- Periodicals; 616.89
• DOI: 10.1177/21677026211004582
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2167-7026

Abstract

Unhealthy diets are widespread and linked to a number of detrimental clinical outcomes. The current preregistered experiment extended expectancy theory into the study of food intake; specifically, we tested whether a fast-food restaurant affects food expectancies, or the emotions one expects to feel while eating highly processed foods (e.g., pizza) and minimally processed foods (e.g., carrots). Participants ( N = 200, mean age = 18.79 years) entered a simulated fast-food restaurant or a neutral space, completed questionnaires, and engaged in a bogus taste test. The simulated fast-food restaurant increased positive highly processed food expectancies ( d = 0.29). Palatable eating coping motives scores did not moderate the effect; however, this clinically relevant pattern of eating behavior was associated with greater positive highly processed food expectancies. In addition, there was an indirect effect of the fast-food restaurant on ad libitum food intake through positive highly processed food expectancies. Reducing positive highly processed food expectancies may improve diet, which may broadly affect health.