Authors: Takahashi, K., Fukuda, H., Watanabe, K., Ueda, K.

Title: Psychological influences of animal-themed food decorations

Journal(書誌情報）: Food Quality and Preference

doi: 10.1016/j.foodqual.2017.09.004

論文URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0950329317301957

Abstract: Food appearance influences the food’s perceived value. It is
paradoxical that animal-shaped foods (e.g., animal crackers) are popular and
widely accepted among consumers, given that foods with an animal likeness
usually elicit emotional disgust and avoidance behaviors. We experimentally
tested the psychological influences of animal-themed food decorations.
Participants evaluated their willingness to eat chocolate, kamaboko (a
Japanese processed seafood product), and sashimi on which pictures of
animals had been painted. We found that the perceived value of food did not
improve by adding animal-themed decorations. In fact, the decoration
drastically reduced the value of the foods actually made from animals (i.e.,
kamaboko and sashimi). The model analyses further confirmed that the
psychological influences of animal-themed food decorations partly depended
on whether the food was of animal origin or not. Furthermore, animal
pictures with stronger animacy (i.e., realism) enhanced the negative
influences of these decorations on the willingness to eat kamaboko and
sashimi. These results together suggest that animal-themed food decorations
do not enhance the value of food per se, perhaps because they emphasize the
resemblance of foods to animals and thereby increase emotional disgust.

著者Contact先の email: ueda[at]gregorio.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp (K. Ueda)　（[at]を@
に変更してください。）

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