NORTHRIDGE, Calif.—Food packaging featuring social ethics claims, such as fair trade, on their labels may give consumers the misperception that foods are lower-calorie and, therefore, suitable for greater consumption, according to a recent study published in the journal Social Psychology and Personality Science.
Researchers at of California State University, Northridge conducted a study and determined such claims on food packaging are examples of the “halo effect," a cognitive bias where a trait (characteristic of a person or object) influences another trait or traits of that person or object.
In the study, participants evaluating chocolate provided lower calorie judgments when it was described as fair trade—a claim silent on calorie content but signifying that trading partners received just compensation for their work. A second study revealed that chocolate was perceived as lower-calorie when a company was simply described as treating its workers ethically as opposed to unethically among perceivers with strong ethical food values, consistent with halo logic.
They found calorie judgments mediated the same interaction pattern on recommendations of consumption frequency, suggesting that amid the ongoing obesity crisis, social ethics claims might nudge some perceivers to overindulge.
