Skip to main content

The primacy of “what” over “how much”: How type and quantity shape healthiness perceptions of food portions

Publication ,  Journal Article
Liu, PJ; Haws, KL; Scherr, K; Redden, JP; Bettman, JR; Fitzsimons, GJ
Published in: Management Science
July 1, 2019

Healthy eating goals influence many consumer choices, such that evaluating the healthiness of food portions is important. Given that both the type and quantity of food jointly contribute to weight and overall health, evaluations of a food portion's healthiness ought to consider both type and quantity. However, existing literature tends to examine food type and food quantity separately. Across seven studies, we show that consumers treat type as a primary dimension and quantity as a secondary dimension, such that a change in type (versus quantity) has a greater impact on perceived healthiness or health goal impact, even when holding objective impact constant in terms of calories. We also examine whether one reason this effect occurs is because most consumers consider type (a categorical attribute) before quantity (a continuous attribute). We conclude by discussing extensions of these ideas to other perceptual assessments involving both type and quantity (e.g., price perceptions).

Duke Scholars

Altmetric Attention Stats
Dimensions Citation Stats

Published In

Management Science

DOI

EISSN

1526-5501

ISSN

0025-1909

Publication Date

July 1, 2019

Volume

65

Issue

7

Start / End Page

3353 / 3381

Related Subject Headings

  • Operations Research
  • 46 Information and computing sciences
  • 38 Economics
  • 35 Commerce, management, tourism and services
  • 15 Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services
  • 08 Information and Computing Sciences
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Liu, P. J., Haws, K. L., Scherr, K., Redden, J. P., Bettman, J. R., & Fitzsimons, G. J. (2019). The primacy of “what” over “how much”: How type and quantity shape healthiness perceptions of food portions. Management Science, 65(7), 3353–3381. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2018.3098
Liu, P. J., K. L. Haws, K. Scherr, J. P. Redden, J. R. Bettman, and G. J. Fitzsimons. “The primacy of “what” over “how much”: How type and quantity shape healthiness perceptions of food portions.” Management Science 65, no. 7 (July 1, 2019): 3353–81. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2018.3098.
Liu PJ, Haws KL, Scherr K, Redden JP, Bettman JR, Fitzsimons GJ. The primacy of “what” over “how much”: How type and quantity shape healthiness perceptions of food portions. Management Science. 2019 Jul 1;65(7):3353–81.
Liu, P. J., et al. “The primacy of “what” over “how much”: How type and quantity shape healthiness perceptions of food portions.” Management Science, vol. 65, no. 7, July 2019, pp. 3353–81. Scopus, doi:10.1287/mnsc.2018.3098.
Liu PJ, Haws KL, Scherr K, Redden JP, Bettman JR, Fitzsimons GJ. The primacy of “what” over “how much”: How type and quantity shape healthiness perceptions of food portions. Management Science. 2019 Jul 1;65(7):3353–3381.

Published In

Management Science

DOI

EISSN

1526-5501

ISSN

0025-1909

Publication Date

July 1, 2019

Volume

65

Issue

7

Start / End Page

3353 / 3381

Related Subject Headings

  • Operations Research
  • 46 Information and computing sciences
  • 38 Economics
  • 35 Commerce, management, tourism and services
  • 15 Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services
  • 08 Information and Computing Sciences