How Images of Other Consumers Influence ...

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each of four food categories (chips, almonds, apples, and .... featuring the healthy food (apples). ..... hash tag #food on Instagram (an online photo-sharing ser-.
Morgan Poor, Adam Duhachek, & H. Shanker Krishnan

How Images of Other Consumers Influence Subsequent Taste Perceptions Images of food are seemingly everywhere, and yet the influence that such images have on important consumer outcomes is not weii understood. The authors propose that the effect that image exposure has on taste perceptions largely depends on the interaction between the type of food (healthy vs. unhealthy) and whether the image shows the food alone (food image) or the food being consumed by a person (consummatory image). Specifically, the authors show that exposure to consummatory images of unhealthy (vs. healthy) foods increases taste perceptions relative to food images. To explain this effect, the authors argue that seeing an image of someone else indulging in an unhealthy food serves as social proof of the appropriateness and acceptability of indulgent consumption. As such, images of consumers eating act as a justification agent for real consumers, thereby reducing the conflict associated with the subsequent indulgent consumption experience and, in effect, increasing taste perceptions. The authors test this effect across five studies and eliminate rival explanations pertaining to emotional contagion, goal contagion, and source attractiveness. Keywords: images, taste, conflict, justification effects, social norms Online Supplement http://dx.doi.org/10.1509/jm.12.0021

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ppetizing food images beckon to consumers from seemingly everywhere, from paid media (e.g., advertising) to owned media (e.g., product packaging, restaurant menus, websites), and now even in earned media (e.g., social media websites). Yet, although an increasing body of research has examined the various ways external food cues can influence consumers' perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors (e.g., Chernev 2011; Mishra and Mishra 2011; Raghunathan, Naylor, and Hoyer 2006; Scott et al. 2008; Shiv and Fedorikhin 1999; Wansink and Chandon 2006), researchers still know little about whether, when, and how exposure to images of food can influence important consumer outcomes. For example, consider the two pizza ads in Figure 1. The image in the ad on the left shows the food with a nonperson contextual background (a "food image"), whereas the image in the ad on the right shows a person interacting with the food in a way that suggests consumption (a "consummatory image"), in this case, eating the food. A content analysis of the June 2011 issues of the top 20 circulating consumer magazines revealed that the use of both types of images is common (for further information, see the "Content Analysis" section in the Web

Appendix). Specifically, of the 195 food and beverage ads published, 60% showed an image of the food alone (i.e., food images). The other 40% showed an image of the food and a person or persons; of those images, 60% could be classified as consummatory images (24% of the total images). Because of the overwhelming use of images in food advertising and other media (both owned and earned) and this clear divergence in the type of images used in practice (food images vs. consummatory images), it is important for marketers to understand the impact that such images have on important consumer outcomes, particularly taste perceptions. Previous research has shown that the use of images in marketing materials can influence a host of important consumer outcomes, including attitude toward the advertisement and the brand (e.g., Mitchell 1986), information-processing strategies (e.g., Edell and Staelin 1983), emotional responses (e.g., Chowdhury, Olsen, and Pracejus 2008), product inferences (e.g.. Underwood and Klein 2002), and consumption volume (e.g., Madzharov and Block 2010). Recent research has also shown that a variety of visual strategies differentially influence such outcomes, such as visual complexity (Pieters, Wedel, and Batra 2010), the combination of positively and negatively valenced images (Chowdhury, Olsen, and Pracejus 2008), the number of product units depicted (Madzharov and Block 2010), camera angle (Yang, Zhang, and Peracchio 2010), and the use of visual artwork versus nonart images (Hagtvedt and Patrick 2012). Although researchers have yet to investigate the relative impact of images featuring a product alone versus one being used by a consumer, we know from research on social norms and food

Morgan Poor is Assistant Professor of Marketing, School of Business Administration, University of San Diego (e-mail: poormorgan@sandiego. edu). Adam Duhachek is Associate Professor and Nestié-Hustad Professor of Marketing (e-mail: [email protected]), and H. Shanker Krishnan is Professor of Marketing and Whirlpool Facuity Fellow (e-mail: skrishna® indiana.edu), Keiley School of Business, Department of Marketing, Indiana University. Wayne Hoyer served as area editor for this articie. © 2013, American Marketing Association ISSN: 0022-2429 (print), 1547-7185 (electronic)

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Journal of Marketing Vol. 77 (September 2013), 124-139

FIGURE 1 Food Image Versus Consummatory Image

consumption that the mere presence of other consumers can affect both consumption choices and amount (e.g., Ariely and Levav 2000; McFerran et al. 2010a, b; Ratner and Kahn 2002). Combining and extending both of these literature streams, we show that exposure to images of others can also influence important consumer outcomes, even those related to the actual consumption experience (i.e., taste). In the present research, we explore the relationship between image exposure and taste perception and propose that this relationship depends on the interaction between the type of image (food image vs. consummatory image) and type of food (healthy vs. unhealthy). Specifically, we argue that for unhealthy foods (vs. healthy foods), exposure to consummatory images leads to increased taste perception relative to food images. To explain this effect, we integrate research on justification effects and social norms research to contend that seeing an image of someone else indulging in an unhealthy food can serve as social proof for the appropriateness and acceptability of such behavior and can therefore be used to justify indulgent consumption. As such, images of consumers eating act as a justification agent for real consumers, thereby reducing the conflict associated with the subsequent indulgent consumption experience and, in effect, increasing taste perceptions.

This research has important implications for both theory and practice. With regard to theory, we view this research as making the following key contributions. First, we extend research on visual strategies in marketing by introducing a new image factor (i.e., whether the image focuses on the product or consumption of the product) and show when it is more effective to use one strategy versus the other in the context of food advertising. Second, we extend research on social influence and food consumption by showing that merely seeing images of other people indulging in unhealthy food can influence consumers' experience during their own subsequent indulgent consumption. Third, we extend research on justification effects to demonstrate that consumers in images can also serve as justification agents and that the effects of justification go beyond choice to influence evaluations of the actual consumption. With regard to practice, our research provides guidance to food marketers on when to use consummatory images versus food images to maximize consumers' taste perceptions and drive other key marketing outcome variables, such as desire for more, purchase intent, and word of mouth. In contrast, public policy makers might consider protecting vulnerable or at-risk populations (e.g., children) from exposure to consummatory images of unhealthy foods, because we reveal that such

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images can reduce the conflict associated with consuming these foods and, as a result, increase taste perceptions.

The Justification of Indulgence We propose that exposure to consummatory images, compared with food images, will lead to increased taste perceptions during subsequent consumption, but only if the food is unhealthy. We posit that this effect stems from the conflict associated with the consumption of unhealthy foods and the justification that consummatory images provide. That is, we argue that seeing an image of a person consuming an unhealthy food can serve as social proof of the appropriateness and acceptability of indulging in unhealthy foods, thereby reducing consumption conflict and, in effect, increasing taste perceptions. We draw from the relevant research on conflict in food consumption, conflictreducing justification effects, and social norms to create a theory that explains how images of others influence taste perceptions.

Confiict and Food Consumption Previous research has shown that people tend to categorize foods according to a good/bad dichotomy, in which foods are either good for one's health (e.g., fruits, vegetables, whole grains) or bad for one's health (e.g., fried foods, desserts, candy) (Rozin, Ashmore, and Markwith 1996). Although both healthy and unhealthy foods offer benefits to the consumer and can provide pleasure in the form of taste enjoyment, unhealthy foods are typically more difficult to justify because the pleasure and enjoyment they provide come at the expense of long-term health (McClure et al. 2007; Okada 2005; Prelec and Loewenstein 1998; Shiv and Fedorikhin 1999). Consequently, consumption or even expected consumption of unhealthy food can evoke an enhanced sense of conflict, defined as the existence of both positive and negative thoughts and feelings (Kivetz and Simonson 2002a, b; Okada 2005; Prelec and Loewenstein 1998; Strahilevitz and Meyers 1998). Recent research has shown that even mere exposure to images of unhealthy foods can incite this conflict. For example, Kilgore et al. (2003) demonstrate that the visual presentation of highcalorie foods versus visually similar low-calorie foods produces significantly greater activation in brain regions involved in emotion, motivation, and anticipation of reward as well as greater activation in brain regions linked to the monitoring of behavioral consequences and behavior regulation. In addition, Fletcher et al. (2007) show that exposure to visual images of chocolate, an unhealthy food, provokes both food cravings and negative affect, such as guilt and depression. In contrast, consumption of healthy foods is easier to justify and, thus, not associated with conflict (Okada 2005; Prelec and Loewenstein 1998).

Justifying indulgence Through Sociai Proof Reduces Confiict Consumers typically seek justification for their behavior; justification can be defined as reasons that support the reasonableness or acceptability of a behavior (Okada 2005; Simonson 1989). Fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately).

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consumers are adept at justifying their own behavior, often pursuing opportunities or interpreting information that enables them to indulge themselves in ways that mitigate any resultant conflict (Xu and Schwartz 2009). For example, Mishra and Mishra (2011) demonstrate that whereas consumers preferred a bonus pack to a price discount for healthy foods, they preferred a price discount to a bonus pack for unhealthy foods. The authors argue that consumers could not justify buying unhealthy foods when a bonus pack was offered because this would mean consuming more of the food. However, the price discount acted as a conflictmitigating mechanism and thus could be justified for the indulgence. Similarly, Wansink and Chandon (2006) find that consumers eat more when foods are labeled as low-fat versus regular, in part because such labeling reduced anticipated conflict. Aydinoglu and Krishna (2011) also show that consumers are more willing to believe a food label professing an item to be a smaller (vs. larger) size in the range associated with that item as a way of minimizing conflict. In each of these instances, the justiflcations provided for indulgence reduced the conflict consumers experienced and shifted preferences (Mishra and Mishra 2011), perceptions (Aydinoglu and Krishna 2011), and consumption behavior (Wansink and Chandon 2006) to be more in line with indulgent consumption. Building on this research, we propose another conflict-reduction mechanism in justifying indulgence and another consumer outcome. That is, we propose that seeing images in which other consumers are shown indulging in unhealthy food can also serve to mitigate conflict by providing social proof that such indulgence is appropriate and acceptable and that this reduction in conflict can lead to increased taste perception. Previous research has shown that people often rely on social norms when deciding what, when, and how much to eat (Burger et al. 2010; Herman, Roth, and Polivy 2003). For example, Herman, Roth, and Polivy (2003) find that the presence of a confederate establishes a norm such that people anchor to this norm and adjust their behavior accordingly. McFerran et al.'s (2010a, b) research extends this effect to demonstrate that food choices (e.g., healthy vs. unhealthy snacks) can be further influenced by the weight of those other people present. Burger et al. (2010) show that even the suggestion of another person's behavior could influence perceived social norms and subsequent behavior. Specifically, they find that participants selected a snack consistent with what they believed others had chosen. However, research has yet to examine whether exposure to other people consuming food could produce such an effect. According to Cialdini (2001, p. 99), people view a behavior as correct in a given situation to the degree that they see others performing it. For example, previous research has shown that consumers use others' behavior as social proof in domains as diverse as online product ratings (Sridhar and Srinivasan 2012), charitable support (White and Peloza 2009), and environmental conservatism (Goldstein, Cialdini, and Griskevicius 2008; White and Simpson 2013). People are more likely to accept the actions of others as correct when they are unsure of themselves and when the situation is unclear or ambiguous, as in the case of competing goals (Tesser, Campbell, and Mickler 1983; Wooten and

Reed 1998). As we outlined previously, consumers are especially likely to experience conflict when faced with consumption of unhealthy food, because such experiences are often considered desirable but difficult to justify. We argue that consumers use consummatory images in which other consumers are shown indulging in unhealthy foods as social proof that such consumption is appropriate and acceptable, enabling them to justify their own indulgent consumption and thus reducing the experienced conflict.

Conflict and Taste Perception The link between consumption conflict and taste perception stems from research on the interplay between affect and cognition in decision making (e.g., Metcalfe and Mischel 1999; Nowlis and Shiv 2005; Shiv and Fedorkhin 1999, 2002) as well as research on pain (e.g., Leventhal et al. 1979; Read and Loewenstein 1999). The intensity of pleasure experienced when tasting a food item is influenced by two interacting components: an affective component and a cognitive component. Prior research has defined the affective component as consisting of emotional reactions to the tasting experience, including pleasure, delight, and gratification (Nowlis and Shiv 2005). The cognitive component, in contrast, is assumed to be less positively valenced (Nowlis and Shiv 2005) and includes schema-based cognitions of the food item being tasted, such as its health-related consequences (Shiv and Fedorikhin 1999). Accordingly, the greater the impact of the more positive affective component, the lesser the impact of the more negative cognitive component. In turn, the lesser the conflict between the two interacting components, the greater the intensity of the ultimate pleasure experienced during consumption (Nowlis and Shiv 2005; Shiv and Nowlis 2004). As we outlined previously, indulgent food consumption or even exposure to images of unhealthy foods can induce conflict between the positive affect related to the pleasure, delight, and gratification of consumption and the negative cognition pertaining to the health-related consequences of consumption (Kilgore et al. 2003). Previous research has shown that when the affective component of consumption is made more salient, whether through distraction (Nowlis and Shiv 2005; Shiv and Nowlis 2004) or presentation (Shiv and Fedorikhin 1999), it reduces this conflict between affect and cognition, leading to increased taste and subsequent preference for unhealthy options. Similarly, we argue that seeing an image of someone else consuming an unhealthy food serves as a source of social proof, which reduces the conflict by making the affective component of enjoyment more salient while simultaneously suppressing the more negative health-related cognitive component. In effect, this reduction in conflict for consumption of unhealthy food leads to increased taste during subsequent consumption. This line of reasoning is also supported by evidence from neuroscience, which suggests a negative relationship between the experience of conflict and experienced pleasure (McClure et al. 2007). In contrast, because healthy foods do not evoke the same conflict, exposure to food images (vs. consummatory images of these foods) does not affect subsequent taste perception.

H,: For unhealthy foods, exposure to consummatory images (vs. food images) increases taste perception during subsequent consumption of the food. This difference is not significant for healthy foods. H2: For unhealthy foods, exposure to consummatory images (vs. food images) leads to less conflict. This difference is not significant for healthy foods. H3: Conflict mediates the relationship between image exposure and taste perceptions of unhealthy foods. Next, we present five studies designed to test these hypotheses. In Study 1, we provide evidence for the proposed effect and rule out two altemative explanations (emotional contagion and goal contagion). In Study 2, we further refine our definition of "consummatory image" by illustrating that consummatory images exist along a continuum of suggested consumption and demonstrate that they differ from images in which consumers are portrayed alongside food without consumption. We provide evidence of our proposed theoretical mechanism in Studies 3a and 3b, showing that exposure to consummatory images of an unhealthy food actually reduces the conflict consumers experience during subsequent consumption of that food and that this reduction in conflict drives increased taste perceptions. In Study 3b, we also demonstrate the effect of image type on a different measure of conflict and rule out source attractiveness as an altemative explanation. Finally, in Study 4, we directly manipulate the degree of conflict consumers experience when faced with an unhealthy food and show that when conflict is attenuated, image type no longer influences taste evaluations. We close with a discussion of the implications of these findings.

Study 1 Study l's primary objective is to provide evidence for Hj by showing that image type and food type interact to influence taste perceptions. A second objective is to rule out two altemative explanations for these effects: emotional contagion and goal contagion.

Method, Stimuli, and Procedure One hundred fifty-six undergraduate students participated in the study for course credit. The study employed a 2 (food type: healthy, unhealthy) x 2 (image type: food image, consummatory image) between-subjects design. Participants were run in groups of 10-16 per session. We randomly assigned food type by session so that participants assigned to one food type would not be exposed to the other food type. We manipulated food type by using two snack foods (almonds and potato chips) that a pretest showed were significantly different in perceived healthiness (1 - "not at all healthy," and 9 = "very healthy"; M^inionds - 6.97, M^hips = 2.09; t(68) = 21.13,p < .001). Within sessions, participants were randomly assigned to one of the two image type conditions. In the food image condition, participants were exposed to five images of the target food featured alone. In the consummatory image condition, participants were exposed to five images of a person eating the target food. For this and the following studies (unless otherwise specified), we collected images using Google's image

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search engine and gettyimages.com. For the food image condition, we selected images that showcased the target food alone (e.g., almonds against a white background) or with contextual backdrops (e.g., almonds in a bowl). For the consummatory image conditions, we selected images that featured a woman consuming the target food (almonds or potato chips). We selected a total of five high-quality color images for each of the four conditions (see Figure 2). As part of the study, participants also tasted a sample of the target food. We used Kroger brand dry-roasted almonds for the healthy food and Kroger brand classic potato chips for the unhealthy food. Food samples were served in individual

unmarked containers, each holding approximately 5 grams ofthe target food. As a cover story, participants were told that they would be pretesting stimuli for a future study on food advertising. Before beginning, participants were asked general information questions, including gender, age, height, weight, general liking for test foods (hidden among other common snack foods), and current hunger measured on a nine-point scale anchored by 1 ("not at all hungry") and 9 ("very hungry"). Participants were then shown ñve images on the computer and asked to rate each on a nine-point scale anchored by 1 ("not at all pleasant") and 9 ("very pleas-

FIGURE 2 Stimuli from Study 1 A: Food Images

B: Consummatory Images

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ant"). Next, participants were told that participants in the future study would also be eating the advertised foods while viewing the images such that we needed to establish baseline measures of liking for the foods. Participants were told they would be sampling and evaluating one of these food items and that because this was only a pretest, this food may or may not be the same food featured in the images they just rated. In actuality, all participants sampled the same food type as that featured in the images such that participants viewing images of almonds (chips) sampled almonds (chips). Participants were asked to eat the sample and evaluate it on three taste dimensions: flavor (1 = "flavorless," and 9 = "flavorful"), deliciousness (1 = "not at all delicious," and 9 = "very delicious"), and overall taste (1 = "bad taste," and 9 - "good taste"). Finally, after the taste test and rating task, we included a manipulation check for food type, in which participants indicated the perceived healthiness of the food they had consumed on a nine-point scale anchored by 1 ("not at all healthy") and 9 ("very healthy"). Participants also indicated any suspicions about the study, although none guessed that the tasks were related.

Resuits and Discussion Image ratings. To examine any differences in image pleasantness across the conditions, we began by averaging the flve image pleasantness ratings (a = .82). Next, we conducted a two-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) with food type and image type as between-subjects factors and current hunger level as a covariate (for further information, see the "Image Rating Means" section in the Web Appendix). The results revealed a nonsignificant main effect of food type (F(l, 151) = .42,/? > .05) and a marginally significant main effect of image type (F(l, 151) = 3.62, p < .1) after controlling for hunger (F(l, 151) = 8.49,p < .05). The interaction between food type and image context was also unexpectedly marginally significant (F(l, 151) = 3.55,;? < .1). Simple effects tests revealed that participants considered the consummatory images of the healthy food (almonds) more pleasant (Mj-onsume = 5.77) than the food images (M^oj = 5.00; F(l, 151) = 7.37, p< .01). No other comparisons were significant. Eood type manipulation. A two-way ANCOVA with food type and image type as between-subjects factors, perceived healthiness as a dependent variable, and current hunger as a covariate revealed the expected significant main effect of food type such that participants believed almonds to be significantly more healthy (M^jj^ion^s = 6.95) than potato chips (M^hips = 3-17; F(l, 151) = 165.23,/? < .001) after controlling for hunger (F(l, 151) = 3.91,/? = .05). As we also expected, neither the main effect of image type (F( 1,151 ) = .65, p > .05) nor the interaction between food type and image type (F(l, 151) = .00, p> .05) was significant. Taste evaluations. We averaged the three items used to measure taste of the target food to form a single taste index (a = .91). Using the taste index as a dependent variable, we conducted a two-way ANCOVA with image type (food image, consummatory image) and food type (healthy, unhealthy) as between-subjects factors and current hunger

level as a covariate. The results revealed nonsignificant main effects for both food type (F(l, 151) = .89, p > .05) and image type (F(l, 151) = 2.68,/? > .05) after controlling for current hunger level (F(l, 151) = 6.24, p < .05). However, the predicted food type x image type interaction was significant (F(l, 151) = 4.17, p < .05), indicating that the influence of image exposure on taste perceptions depended on both the type of food and the type of image (see Figure 3). Simple effects tests revealed that participants' taste perceptions significantly differed across image type conditions for the unhealthy food (F(l, 151) = 6.59,/? < .05). Specifically, in accordance with H], participants exposed to consummatory images of potato chips rated the potato chip sample as tasting better (M^onsume - 6.42, /? < .05) than those participants exposed to food images of potato chips (Mfood = 5.37). In contrast, image type had no influence on taste perceptions of the healthy food (almonds) (M^QJ 6.22, M,on,,„,e = 6.12; F(l, 151) - .08,/?> .05).i These results provide support for Hj, but two alternative explanations merit attention. One possibility is that the observed effects were due to emotional contagion (Hatfield, Cacioppo, and Rapson 1992). That is, upon exposure to consummatory images, consumers may have experienced more positive emotions due to viewing images of a consumer enjoying an unhealthy food. However, if emotional contagion were active, we should have also observed consummatory images (relative to food images) leading to increased taste perception for the healthy food as well. Similarly, an automatic goal contagion perspective would argue that participants exposed to consummatory images adopted the consumption goal implied by the consumer in the image (Aarts, GoUwitzer, and Hassin 2004). Specifically, when participants saw images of consumers eating unhealthy foods (healthy foods), they may have inferred an indulgence goal (healthy eating goal) and consequently adopted that goal themselves. This active consumption goal would then have increased the value of the goalconsistent food (potato chips for the indulgence goal and almonds for the healthy eating goal), leading to increased taste perceptions when that food was consumed (Markman, Brendl, and Kim 2007). Again, the absence of differences across the healthy food conditions is inconsistent with this account.

Study 2 In Study 1, we used consummatory images that featured consumers interacting with the food at various stages of consumption (e.g., holding the food, about to take a bite of the food, actually taking a bite of the food). In Study 2, we tease apart the differential effects of consummatory images that fall along a continuum of consumption. We also rule out an alternative explanation for the observed effects based on source attractiveness. That is, the pattern of results found in 'A limitation of Study 1 is that all of the consummatory images featured female consumers. Thus, one may question whether the gender of the model, gender of the consumer, or both may influence the reported results. For further information, see the "Study 1 Posttest" section in the Web Appendix.

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FIGURE 3 Taste Evaluations in Studies 1-4 A: Study 1 : Taste Evaluations as a Function of Image Type and Food Type Food image 0 Consummatory image

B: Study 2: Taste Evaluations as a Function of Image Type 8.0 n 7.5 7.0-1 6.5 5.55

5.44

Food

Person

4.5 4.0 3.5-1 3.0 3.0 Chips

Person with Person Food Eating Food image Type

Almonds Food Type

C: Study 3a: Taste Evaluations as a Function of image Type and Food Type

D: Study 4: Taste Evaluations as a Function of image Type and Goai Type

Food image [^ Consummatory image

I Food image Q Consummatory image

6.79

5.78 5.35

Chocolate

Apple Food Type

Study 1 may be explained by arguing that the multisensory integration of positive affect that arises from seeing an image of an attractive face as well as from the actual taste experience may lead to an increase in taste perceptions (Kringelbach 2005). To rule out this altemative account, we measure the attractiveness of the images and include an additional image condition in which a person is shown without food. An assumption of our theoretical model is that consumers believe that the people featured in the consummatory images are actually eating (or going to eat) the target foods. It is necessary for the consumers to believe that the

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Health

Indulgence Goal Type

pictured consumer is eating the unhealthy food so that their own conflict is reduced through justification. Recall that we defined consummatory images as those in which a person is shown actually consuming the food. Thus, images in which consumers are interacting with food without consumption should not produce justiflcation or improve taste perceptions. To tease apart these distinctions, we flrst conducted a pretest in which participants examined a series of images featuring a lone consumer with various foods and evaluated the extent to which they believed the consumers in the images were actually going to consume the food.

Pretest Eighty-two undergraduate students completed the study for course credit. Participants were shown seven images for each of four food categories (chips, almonds, apples, and chocolate). After seeing each image, participants completed the following three items: "How likely is it that the person in the image you just saw was going to actually eat the food shown?" (1 = "not at all likely," and 9 = "very likely"); "To what extent did the person in the image intend to eat the food?" (1 = "no intention," and 9 - "strong intention"); and "How close to eating the food was the person?" (1 = "not at all close," and 9 - "very close"). To examine perceptions of the extent to which an image was deemed consummatory, we averaged the three consumption intent items for each image. First, we grouped images according to stage of consumption: holding food (six images; a = .76), preparing to eat food (eight images; a = .74), eating food (ten images; a = .83), food shown decoratively with or on people (four images; a - .75) (for further information, see the "Consumption Intent by Stage of Consumption" section in the Web Appendix). To examine differences in perceived consumption intent across groups, we performed a one-way within-subject analysis of variance. The results revealed a significant effect of group type (Wilks' >. = .05, F(3, 79) = 520.57, p < .00\). Bonferroni pairwise comparisons indicated that participants perceived all four groups to be significantly different in consumption intent (all ps < .001), with the group of images showing people eating the food being rated the highest (Mgat = 7.89), followed by images showing people preparing to eat the food (Mprepare = 6.41), people holding the food (Mhoid = 3.75), and food shown decoratively (M^ecorative = 1-94). As we expected, these results reveal that consumers evaluate images of other consumers along a continuum of consumption in which images of other consumers eating food are deemed the most consummatory and images in which consumers are shown with food but are not eating are less consummatory. In subsequent studies, we use images in which consumers are actually consuming the food as a purer test of our theory as well as less consummatory images to test robustness. In Study 2, we directly link these varying perceptions of consumption to taste, thereby offering more conclusive evidence that the consummatory nature of these images drives our effects rather than the mere presence of other consumers or source attractiveness.

Method, Stimuii, and Procedure Seventy-two undergraduate students completed the study for course credit. The study employed a 4 (image type: food image, consummatory image, person and food image, person alone image) x 1 (food type: unhealthy) between-subjects design. We created the images ourselves so as to use the same consumer images and control for model characteristics as well as eliminate other differences across conditions. In total, we used four high-quality color images, one for each of the four conditions. As part of the study, participants also sampled the target food. We used Kroger "bakery fresh" chocolate chip cookies. Each participant was provided one cookie.

Participants were told that they would be evaluating advertisements that a regional snack food manufacturer was considering using for its new brand of chocolate chip cookies. Before beginning this study, participants were also asked to indicate their current hunger on a nine-point scale anchored by 1 ("not at all hungry") and 9 ("very hungry"). For the actual study, participants were shown one of four ads, which differed only by image (for further information, see the "Study Stimuli" section in the Web Appendix). After viewing the ad, participants rated the attractiveness of the image on a nine-point scale (1 = "not at all attractive," and 9 = "very attractive"). Next, participants sampled the "advertised cookie" and evaluated it on three taste dimensions: flavor (1 = "flavorless," and 9 = "flavorful"), deliciousness (1 = "not at all delicious," and 9 = "very delicious"), and overall taste (1 - "bad taste," and 9 - "good taste"), which we combined to form a taste index (a = .93).

Results and Discussion Image attractiveness. We conducted a one-way ANCOVA with image type (food image, consummatory image, person and food image, person alone image) as a between-subjects factor, image attractiveness as a dependent variable, and current hunger as a covariate. The results revealed a nonsignificant main effect for image type (F(3, 67) = 1.94,/? > .05) after controlling for hunger (F(l, 67) = .01, /? > .05). That is, image attractiveness did not significantly differ between images in which the food was shown alone (Mf^gj = 5.16), shown being held by a person (Mfoo^pe^son = 4.56), shown being consumed by a person (Mconsume = 5.94), or not shown (and only a person was shown; Mpgrson = 5.18). Taste. We conducted a one-way ANCOVA with taste index as dependent variable, image type (consummatory, person and food, person alone, food alone) as an independent variable, and hunger as a covariate. The results (see Figure 3) revealed a signiflcant main effect of image (F(3, 67) = 4.16,/? < .01) when controlling for hunger (F(l, 67) = 2.92,/? > .05). Bonferroni pairwise comparisons of the four groups revealed that participants exposed to the consummatory image perceived the cookie to taste better (M^onsunje = 7.00) than did participants exposed to the food image (Mfood = 5.55, p < .05), the person and food image (M^oj. person - 5.37, p < .05), and the image of the person alone (Mperson = 5.44,/? < .05). No Other comparisons were significantly different. In this study, we distinguish the differential effects of images that fall along the consummatory image continuum, relative to food images, on taste perception during subsequent consumption. The results revealed that the effect of consummatory images on taste perception was only apparent when the consummatory image showed the person actually consuming the food. Thus, consistent with our theory, images of consumers must be deemed consummatory to produce increases in perceptions of taste. Furthermore, Study 2 ruled out source attractiveness as an altemative explanation for our results in two ways. First, we demonstrated that simply seeing an image of an attractive person did not produce an increase in taste perception. Second, we found that there were no differences in perceived attractive-

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ness across image types. Thus, the observed results were consistent with the predicted conflict-mitigating effects but not with a source attractiveness account. In Studies 3a and 3b, we seek direct evidence of our proposed process by measuring conflict and testing for mediation.

Study 3a Our objective in Study 3a is to obtain evidence for our proposed conflict mechanism (H2 and H3). To do so, we employ an open-ended thought-listing task, which enables us to unobtrusively measure the conflict that participants experience when faced with indulgent consumption and the role this conflict plays in influencing the relationship between image exposure and evaluations of unhealthy foods.

Method, Stimuli, and Procedure One hundred thirty-two undergraduate students participated in the study for course credit. The study employed a 2 (food type: unhealthy, healthy) x 2 (image type: food image, consummatory image) between-subjects design. The procedure for Study 3a mirrored that of Study 1, with the following exceptions. First, we used apples as the target healthy food and chocolate as the target unhealthy food. A pretest showed that these foods were considered significantly different in terms of healthiness (1 = "not at all healthy," and 9 = "very healthy"; M^ppie^ = 8.36, Mehocoiate = 3.10; t(68) = 21.19, p < .001). For the healthy food, fresh Braebum apples were purchased from a local store at the beginning of the testing week, washed, and sliced into single-serving slices (approximately 5 grams). For the unhealthy food, we used Wal-Mart brand milk chocolate bars. The chocolate bars were broken along the perforated lines and served as individual pieces (approximately 5 grams) so that there were no visible brand identifiers. Second, the consummatory images we selected for this study featured models that varied in gender and age but were matched across the two consummatory image conditions to ensure that an equal number of men (two), women (two), and children (one) were used in each (for further information, see the "Study Stimuli" section in the Web Appendix). Third, to measure conflict, we included a thought-listing task to be completed immediately after participants tasted the target food sample. Specifically, participants were asked to eat the sample and list any and all thoughts that came to mind.

Results and Discussion Taste. We averaged the three items used to measure taste of the target foods to form a single taste index (a = .92). Using the taste index as a dependent variable, we conducted a two-way ANCOVA with image type (food image, consummatory image) and food type (healthy, unhealthy) as between-subjects factors and current hunger level as a covariate. The results revealed nonsignificant main effects for both food type (F(l, 127) = .024, p > .05) and image type (F(l, 127) = 1.34, p > .05) after controlling for current hunger level (F(l, 127) = 1.91,/? > .05). The predicted food type X image interaction was significant (F(l, 127) = 3.97,

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p < .05), indicating that the influence of food image exposure on taste evaluations depended on both the type of food and the type of image (see Figure 3). Simple effects tests showed that participants' taste evaluations significantly differed across image conditions for the unhealthy food (F(l, 127) = 4.96, p < .05). Specifically, in accordance with Hj, participants exposed to consummatory images of chocolate rated the chocolate sample as tasting better (Mconsume = 7.4, p < .05) than those participants exposed to food images of chocolate (Mfo^j = 6.51). In contrast, image type had no influence on taste evaluations of the apple sample 7.02, M,o„3,^e = 6.79; F(l, 127) = .35, p > .05). Mediation. Recall our theory that consumption of unhealthy food produces conflict associated with the competing goals of enjoyment and pleasure versus achieving and maintaining good health. We posit that exposure to food images for unhealthy foods would exacerbate this conflict and consummatory images of unhealthy foods would reduce it. Thus, as an unobtrusive measure of conflict, we examined the valence of the participants' consumption thoughts and created a difference score of positive minus negative thoughts (net positive thoughts). This measure essentially served as an inverse conflict index. According to our theory, we expect that participants exposed to consummatory images of chocolate would experience less conflict (i.e., more net positive thoughts) during consumption than those participants exposed to food images of chocolate and that this difference in conflict would mediate the influence that image type has on taste evaluations. We would not expect any differences in thoughts among participants in either the consummatory image or food image conditions featuring the healthy food (apples). Two independent coders rated participants' thoughts as positive (e.g., "This tastes really good," "I feel happier"), negative (e.g., "It's too sugary," "I wish it was more satisfying"), or neutral (e.g., "This tastes like Hershey's chocolate"). Intercoder reliability was 90.2%, and disagreements were resolved through discussion. We did not use neutral thoughts in the analysis. Using the net positive thoughts as a dependent variable, we conducted a two-way ANCOVA with image type (food image, consummatory image) and food type (healthy, unhealthy) as between-subjects factors and current hunger level as a covariate. The results revealed nonsignificant main effects of image type (F(l, 127) = 1.96, ;7 > .05) and food type (F(l, 127) = 1.26,p> .05) and a signiflcant image type X food type interaction (F(l, 121) = 4.09,p< .05) after controlling for current hunger level (F(l, 127) = .00,p > .05). Simple effects tests showed that participants' thoughts significantly differed across image conditions when the food was unhealthy (F(l, 127) = 5.85, p< .05). Specifically, in accordance with H2, participants exposed to food images of chocolate experienced fewer net positive thoughts (more conflict) during consumption (Mfooj = .36) than participants exposed to consummatory images of chocolate (M^onsume = 1.18). In contrast, image type had no influence on thoughts experienced while sampling the apple (M^oj = 1.12, Mc„„_

FIGURE 4 Stimuli from Studies 3b and 4 A: Food Image Ads

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Find us at specialty stores and onfirn at swooncooUecrafters.com.

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strate that the effect of image type on taste is completely mediated by net positive thoughts during consumption. The findings from this study provide evidence for the proposed conflict-reducing effect of consummatory images of unhealthy foods. To measure conflict, we used participants' natural responses following exposure to the conflictinducing stimuli (i.e., images of food and actual food). Consistent with our theory, we found that exposure to consummatory images of unhealthy foods led to decreased conflict during subsequent consumption relative to food images and that this reduction in conflict drove the observed increase in taste perception (H2 and H3).

Study 3b In Study 3b, we seek convergence for the findings from Study 3a. We focus on unhealthy food, using a scaled measure of conflict that is more affective, in contrast to the thought listings of Study 3a, and examine three additional important consumer outcomes.

Method, Stimuli, and Procedure Fifty-three undergraduate students completed the study for course credit. The study employed a 2 (image type: food image, consummatory image) x 1 between-subjects design. Participants were told that they would be evaluating several advertisements that a regional snack food manufacturer was considering for its brand of chocolate chip cookies. Before beginning this study, participants were also asked to indicate their current hunger on a nine-point scale anchored by 1 ("not at all hungry") and 9 ("very hungry"). For the actual study, participants were shown five advertisements in succession (see Figure 4), asked to take a few moments to examine each ad, and then asked to rate the attractiveness of the image shown in the ad (1 = "not at all attractive," and 9 = "very attractive"). After viewing all five ads, participants were told that they would get to taste the advertised cookie. Each participant was given one chocolate chip cookie (Kroger "bakery fresh" chocolate chip cookies) and instmcted to eat as much of it as they wanted but to take a large enough bite so that they could adequately evaluate its taste. They were then asked to rate the flavor (1 = "flavorless," and 9 = "flavorful"), deliciousness (1 = "not at all dehcious," and 9 - "extremely delicious"), and overall taste (1 = "bad taste," and 9 = "good taste") of the cookie as well as their desire for more of the sampled cookies ( 1 = "no desire at all," and 9 = "a great deal of desire") and likelihood to purchase this brand of cookie and recommend it to family and friends (1 = "not at all likely," and 9 = "very likely"). Next, to measure conflict, participants were asked to indicate the extent to which they felt the following positive and negative emotions while eating the cookie: pleasure, delight, gratification, guilt, remorse, and bad (1 = "not at all," and 9 = "a great deal"). We selected these emotions because they are reflective of the competing goals at the core of the conflict as we have conceptualized it in our theory. That is, the positive emotions (pleasure, delight, gratification) are related to the short-term goal of taste and pleasure gratification, and the negative emotions (guilt, remorse, bad) are related to the long-term goal of achieving

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and maintaining overall health. Finally, participants were asked to provide some general information about themselves, including gender, age, height, and weight.

Results and Discussion Taste. The three items used to measure taste perceptions of the chocolate chip cookies were highly correlated (a = .96); therefore, we averaged them to form a single taste index. Using the taste index as a dependent variable, we conducted a one-way ANCOVA with image type (food image, consummatory image) as a between-subjects factor and current hunger level as a covariate. The results revealed a significant main effect for image type (F(l, 50) = 4.l6,p < .05) after controlling for current hunger level (F(l, 50) = 5.30,p < .05). Specifically, consistent with our predictions, participants exposed to the consummatory images of the chocolate chip cookies rated the cookie as tasting better (^consume - 6.96) than participants exposed to the food images of the chocolate chip cookies (Mfo^d = 6.21). This pattem of results was significant and in the same direction for the other measured dependent variables (desire for more (F(l, 50) = 5.77, p < .05; M^onsume = 6.81, Mfood = 5.96), likelihood to purchase (F(l, 50) = 7.25,p< .05; M^on^ume = 5.30, Mfood = 3.96), and likelihood to recommend to friends and family (F(l, 50) = 10.64, p < .01; M^onsume = 5.19, Mediation. To examine conflict as a mediator, we averaged the extent to which participants felt the three positive emotions (pleasure, delight, and gratification; a = .94) and the three negative emotions (guilt, remorse, and bad; a .90). Because we used actual emotion scales in this study, we created a conflict index (conflict = positive/negative emotions) drawing from Thompson, Zanna, and Griffin (1995) so that a higher index number indicates less conflict. According to our theoretical account, we would expect that participants exposed to the consummatory images of the chocolate chip cookies would experience less conflict (a higher index number) during consumption than participants exposed to the food images and that this difference in conflict would mediate the influence that image type has on taste perception. To test for mediation, we performed the Preacher and Hayes (2004, 2008) bootstrap test for indirect effects, using image type as the independent variable (food image dummy coded as 0, consummatory image dummy coded as 1), taste perception as the dependent variable, and conflict index as the mediating variable. First, the effect of image type on conflict (ß = 1.05, p < .1) was marginally significant, and the effect of conflict on taste perception (ß = .24, p < .05) was significant. Most importantly, the mean indirect effect of image type on taste perception through conflict was positive (ß = .25) and signiflcant (95% confidence interval excluding zero, .02 to .75), whereas the direct effect of image type on taste perception was nonsignificant (ß = .69, p> .05). These results demonstrate that in accordance with H3, the effect of image type on taste perception is mediated by conflict experienced during consumption. In Study 3b, we obtain convergence for the findings from Study 3a, revealing that consummatory images lead

not only to increased taste perception of unhealthy food but also to an increase in desire for more, purchase intent, and likelihood to recommend the tasted product to friends. Furthermore, we provide additional evidence of the proposed process using a more direct, affective measure of conflict. We also conducted mediation analysis using the positive and negative emotion scales individually and found that neither mediated the taste perception effect. Thus, consistent with our proposed theory, the conflict associated with the consumption of unhealthy foods seems to drive the observed increases in taste perception. In Study 4, we set out to obtain additional evidence for the proposed conflict mechanism by directly manipulating the amount of conflict experienced by consumers. According to our proposed theory, the conflict experienced when people are exposed to unhealthy foods comes from the competing consumption goals of pleasure seeking and maintaining good health. Consequently, when consumers are primed with an indulgence goal, we would expect that conflict associated with unhealthy food would be reduced, thereby eliminating the consummatory image effect. In contrast, priming a health goal amplifies conflict produced by the consumption of unhealthy food, thereby heightening the consummatory image effect. An additional goal of Study 4 is to extend the results to a different key taste-related measure particularly relevant to food advertising: expected taste (Madzharov and Block 2010; Underwood and Klein 2002).

Study 4 The main objective of Study 4 is to further test our proposed theory by manipulating participants' consumption goals in a way that amplifies or attenuates the conflict experienced when faced with the consumption of unhealthy food. Specifically, we prime participants with either an indulgence goal or a healthy eating goal and then show them either food images or consummatory images of chocolate chip cookies. In accordance with our theory, we expect that priming participants with an indulgence goal should reduce the conflict that participants experience when faced with an unhealthy food by increasing the salience of the positive aspects of indulgent consumption such that consummatory images would no longer need to be used to justify indulgence. In contrast, priming participants with a health goal and then showing them images of an unhealthy food should increase the salience of the negative aspects of indulgent consumption and, in effect, intensify the amount of conflict experienced when faced with an unhealthy food. Consequently, these participants should rely more on consummatory images as justification for indulgence. A second objective of Study 4 is to examine the influence of image exposure on another important consumer outcome: expected taste. Previous research examining food images in marketing has used this dependent variable (Underwood and Klein 2002), which has been shown to influence both choice and subsequent taste perception (Raghunathan, Naylor, and Hoyer 2006). As explicated previously, neurological research has shown that exposure to food images can activate parts of the brain associated with the proposed conflict between short-term pleasure gratifica-

tion and long-term health consequences. Other research in neurology has found that exposure to food images can activate brain regions that produce conceptual inferences about taste (Simmons, Martin, and Barsalou 2005). As such, we believe that the process through which image exposure influences expected taste and actual taste is the same.

Method, Stimuli, and Procedure One hundred nineteen undergraduate students completed the study for course credit. The study employed a 2 (consumption goal: indulgence, health) x 2 (image type: food image, consummatory image) between-subjects design. Participants were told that they would be participating in several short, unrelated studies. The first study manipulated consumption goal, the second study manipulated image type and measured our dependent variable, and the third study measured potential co variâtes. For the first study, participants were told that we were interested in consumer evaluations of magazine cover headlines. We manipulated consumption goal by having participants evaluate cover headlines for a magazine titled Health Smart or a magazine titled Indulge. First, participants were told the title of the magazine and asked to describe the type of content they would expect to find in the magazine. Next, they were shown ten headlines that might appear on the cover and were asked to rate the fit of the featured stories with the title of the magazine (1 = "bad fit," and 9 - "good fit"; for more information, see the "Study 4 Goal Manipulation" section in the Web Appendix). Participants were then asked to rate the overall fit of the headlines with the magazine (1 = "bad fit," and 9 = "good fit") and how likely they would be to buy and read the magazine (1 = "very unlikely," and 9 = "very likely"). For the second study, participants were told that they would be evaluating several advertisements that a regional snack food manufacturer was considering using for its brand of chocolate chip cookies. Before beginning this study, participants were also asked to indicate their current hunger on a nine-point scale (anchored by 1 = "not at all hungry," and 9 - "very hungry"). For the actual study, participants were shown five advertisements in succession (see Figure 4), asked to take a few moments to examine each ad, and then asked to rate the attractiveness of the image shown in the ad (1 = "not at all attractive," and 9 = "very attractive"). After viewing all five ads, participants were told, "Next, imagine that we placed a plate of this brand of cookies in front of you right now and told you that you could eat as many of them as you wanted." They were then asked to indicate how they think they would rate the flavor (1 = "flavorless," and 9 = "flavorful"), deliciousness (1 = "not at all delicious," and 9 = "extremely delicious"), and overall taste (1 = "bad taste," and 9 = "good taste") of the cookies. Finally, in the third study, participants were asked to provide some general information, including gender, age, height, and weight.

Results and Discussion The three items used to measure expected taste of the chocolate chip cookies were highly correlated (a - .96);

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thus, we averaged them to form a single taste index. Using the taste index as a dependent variable, we conducted a two-way ANCOVA with goal type (indulgence, health) and image type (food image, consummatory image) as betweensubjects factors and current hunger level as a covariate. The results (see Figure 3) revealed nonsignificant main effects for consumption goal (F(l, 114) = .21,p > .05) and image type (F(l, 114) = .50,;? > .05) after controlling for current hunger level (F(l, 114) = 4.61 ,jP < .05). As we predicted, the consumption goal x image type interaction was significant (F(l ,114) = 4.24,p < .05). Simple effects tests showed that participants' expected taste significantly differed across image conditions when primed with a health goal (F(l, 114) 3.84,p - .05). Specifically, consistent with our predictions, participants exposed to consummatory images of chocolate chip cookies expected the cookies to taste better (Mj-ons^me = 5.88) than did participants exposed to food images of chocolate chip cookies (M^QJ = 4.95), but only if they were first primed with a health goal. In contrast, image type had no influence on expected taste when participants were primed with an indulgence goal (Mfo^j = 5.78, M^onsume = 5.35;F(l,114)=.89,;?>.05). In this study, we manipulated participants' consumption goals to either heighten or reduce the conflict they experienced when faced with a subsequent indulgent consumption experience and find that this manipulation can amplify or attenuate, respectively, the effects of image type on expected taste perceptions. Participants primed with an indulgence goal were already justified to indulge, so conflict reduction was not necessary and the type of image (consummatory vs. food image) shown in the ad did not differentially influence expected taste. In contrast, when participants were primed with a health goal before evaluating the unhealthy food, conflict was heightened and the consummatory image was needed to justify the appropriateness and acceptability of indulging in unhealthy foods. The observed pattem of results in Study 4 also highlights a noteworthy issue regarding consumers' default eating goal. The pattem suggests that consumers' default may be to pursue a health goal, which is both interesting and conceming. Although the health goal is laudable, it does not seem to be sufficient to drive behavior, as is evidenced in the current obesity epidemic in the broader population.

General Discussion In the present research, we provide strong support across five studies for the thesis that consummatory images reduce conflict associated with the consumption of unhealthy foods, thereby increasing taste perceptions. In Study 1, we show that exposure to consummatory images of an unhealthy (vs. healthy) food can lead to increased taste perceptions during subsequent consumption of that food relative to food images (Hj). In Study 2, we empirically verify our definition of "consummatory image" and demonstrate that the proposed effects occur only when the consummatory image shows the person actually consuming the food. We replicate and provide direct evidence of our theorized mechanism in Studies 3a and 3b, showing that exposure to consummatory images of an unhealthy food actually

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reduces the conflict consumers experience during subsequent consumption of that food and that this reduction in conflict leads to increased taste perceptions (H2 and H3). In Study 4, we find that our effects can also influence expected taste and further examine the role of conflict by manipulating the degree of conflict consumers experience when directly faced with indulgent consumption. We demonstrate that when conflict is attenuated (participants are primed with an indulgence goal and presented with an unhealthy food), image type no longer influences subsequent expected taste. However, when consumption conflict is amplified (participants are primed with a health goal but presented with an unhealthy food), exposure to consummatory images reduces the conflict associated with the unhealthy food, justifying consumers to imagine enjoying the experience more than if they had been exposed to food images.

Theoretical Implications This research contributes to the literature streams on visual strategies in marketing, social norms, and justification effects. First, we extend research on visual strategies in marketing by introducing a new image factor, that is, whether the image focuses on the product or consumption of the product. These visual strategies may also map onto positioning strategies on the basis of the product versus the product user (Rossiter and Percy 1998) and suggest that differing forms of consumption may be enhanced or deleteriously affected by images of consumers. Second, existing research on social norms and food consumption has focused on the role that others play in influencing food choices and amount consumed (e.g., McFerran et al. 2010a, b). We extend this research to reveal that others can also play an important role in shaping taste perception. In the present research, we showed that simply seeing images of other consumers indulging in an unhealthy food could provide social proof for the acceptability of unhealthy consumption, which reduced consumption conflict and, in effect, caused consumers to perceive their own unhealthy food to taste better. A worthwhile next step would be to investigate whether consuming unhealthy foods in the presence of other people consuming the same foods would have a similar effect on taste perceptions as well as to examine potential interactions between images and others present during consumption. Third, previous research has identified various marketingrelated variables that can provide justification for unhealthy consumption, thereby reducing consumption conflict and increasing not only the choice of indulgent products but also the amount consumed and perceptual judgments (e.g., Aydinoglu and Krishna 2011; Kivetz and Simonson 2002a, b; Mishra and Mishra 2011; Okada 2005; Strahilevitz and Myers 1998; Wansink and Chandon 2006). However, the present research is the first, to our knowledge, to demonstrate that other consumers represented in images can also act as justification agents, thereby reducing the conflict associated with indulgent consumption and, in effect, influencing taste perceptions and related downstream consequences.

Practical Implications This research also has important practical implications for both marketers and public policy makers. Marketers spend a great deal of money on food advertising, with expenditures for the food, candy, beverage, and restaurant industries reaching billions of dollars (California Pan-Ethnic Health Network and Consumers Union 2005). Furthermore, food marketers work with a team of professionals, including food stylists and photographers, whose responsibility it is to ensure that the food presented in such images looks especially appetizing (Wilcox et al. 2013). Such images are commonly used in traditional paid media (e.g., advertising) but can also be found in owned media (e.g., packaging, menus, company websites, blogs, press releases) and even earned media (e.g., publicity, press coverage). For paid and owned media, it is particularly important for marketers to understand whether and/or when to use food images versus consummatory images, because these are the images over which marketers have the most control. Our results suggest that marketers of indulgent foods especially need to be mindful of the type of images they use given the inherent consumption conflict that their products evoke. For example, in dessert shops or restaurants known for indulgent food, marketers may focus on using consummatory images in paid and/or owned media that appear in or near the store (e.g., outdoor advertising, menus, in-store pictures), whereas marketers of indulgent food products sold online and/or in stores may instead focus more on using consummatory images in paid and/or owned media that consumers see before purchase (e.g., print and online advertising, company websites and social media pages, packaging). In either instance, marketers can use consummatory images to reduce conflict and increase expected and actual taste of the featured indulgent foods. With the explosion of social earned media in recent years, food marketers would also be wise to begin paying attention to the type of images uploaded by consumers. The rise of smartphones and the burgeoning pool of social media websites (e.g.. Food Gawker, Food Porn Daily, Facebook, Twitter) and smartphone applications (e.g., FoodSpotting, Burpple, FoodShootr) have made it possible for anyone to moonlight as an amateur food photographer. Indeed, at the time of this writing, a simple search of the hash tag #food on Instagram (an online photo-sharing service with 100 million monthly active users) elicits 19,326,038 photos recently uploaded. Although unhealthy food brands may not be able to control the types of images consumers upload, they could encourage consumers to upload images of themselves consuming the food—for example, through social media posts or contests. The use and influence of consumer-generated images is also a rich area for further research. From a public policy standpoint, this research suggests that at-risk populations may need to be shielded from exposure to consummatory images of unhealthy foods. For example, schools have recently begun to allow advertising to appear on school buses and in cafeterias (Rampell 2011 ). Should these ads feature consummatory images of unhealthy foods such as candy and pizza, children's liking

and desire for such foods could increase. A recent study by Lapierre, Vaala, and Linebarger (2011) even shows that children who saw a popular media character on a box of cereal reported liking the cereal more than those who viewed a box without a character. Consistent with the present research, Lapierre, Vaala, and Linebarger find that character presence only influenced taste perception when the cereal was named Sugar Bits. When the cereal was named Healthy Bits, character presence or absence had no influence on taste perception. The authors only speculate on the process driving their effects but, consistent with the present research, suggest that the negative associations children may have learned regarding sugary foods may have been overridden by the presence of a popular media character. The current research focuses on the influence of image exposure on taste perception, but another outcome of interest to public policy makers might be quantity consumed. Although there is certainly a relationship between taste and consumption volume, extemal and exogenous factors such as container size (Wansink and Park 2001) and household inventory (Wansink and Deshpandé 1994) levels can significantly influence how much food a person consumes. Thus, it would be worthwhile to explore whether the observed effects extend to quantity consumed. There are a few limitations of the current research, which also present many opportunities for further research. We treat product type as a dichotomy, focusing on foods that are primarily unhealthy or primarily healthy. There are many foods, however, that fall along the unhealthy-healthy continuum (e.g., low-fat brownies, baked potato chips). Thus, it would be worthwhile to examine whether marketers' positioning of the same product as either healthy or indulgent would influence the effect of food versus consummatory images on subsequent taste perceptions. We also used healthy foods that were both healthy and tasty, as evidenced by our pattern of results. That is, in Studies 1 and 3a, the apples and almonds used in the healthy food conditions, respectively, were given relatively high ratings for taste comparable to the unhealthy foods (potato chips and chocolate). This pattern of results is not unexpected and is likely a function of the specific healthy foods we used. For example, if we had used plain celery or whole wheat crackers, we would expect to get much lower taste ratings. Furthermore, both Studies 1 and 3a used a between-subjects design such that participants did not compare the taste of the unhealthy food with the healthy food. Instead, they likely rated the taste of the almonds or apples relative to other almonds or apples that they have had in the past. Future studies might further tease apart the interaction between the inherent tastiness of the healthy food and the influence that consummatory images have on taste. Finally, we limited our investigation to consummatory images of attractive consumers, as is common in most advertising. However, the recent trend of using "normal" models in advertising campaigns (e.g.. Dove's "Real Beauty Campaign") as well as the increase in consumer-generated food and consummatory images published on social media websites opens up a worthwhile avenue for further research.

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