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The Joint Effect of FOP Nutrition Labels and Social Class on Consumers' Healthy Food Purchase Intention
Tang Yifan, Fan Xiucheng, Li Han
Journal of Psychological Science ›› 2026, Vol. 49 ›› Issue (3) : 714-723.
PDF(1444 KB)
PDF(1444 KB)
The Joint Effect of FOP Nutrition Labels and Social Class on Consumers' Healthy Food Purchase Intention
Chronic health problems have gradually replaced hunger as the main obstacle to China's sustainable high-speed development, causing considerable economic and social losses. Therefore, the government has begun to adopt front of package (FOP) nutrition labels to promote healthy eating among Chinese residents. However, there are two types of FOP nutrition labels: evaluative and objective nutrition labels. And in some cases, consumers are more willing to purchase healthy foods labeled with evaluative nutrition labels, and in other cases, they prefer to purchase healthy foods with objective nutrition labels. It can be seen that the impact of FOP nutrition labels on consumers' healthy foods purchase intention may vary in different situations.
However, previous studies have not reached a consensus on how FOP nutrition labels affect consumers' purchases of healthy foods. Although most studies have found that consumers prefer healthy foods with evaluative nutrition labels to objective nutrition labels, some studies have come to the opposite conclusion, suggesting that objective nutrition labels are more effective in promoting consumers’ purchases of healthy foods. Some studies have also suggested that the impact of FOP nutrition labels on consumers' purchase of healthy food depends on other factors (e.g., processing context and relationship norm). However, the vast majority of these studies are based on the differences in the interpretability or ease of understanding of nutrition information between two types of FOP nutrition labels. Whether consumers are given the space to process nutrition information according to their own health needs is also an important difference between evaluative nutrition labels and objective nutrition labels. Yet, there are few studies exploring this research question from this perspective. Therefore, according to the utility theory, the current research introduces individual social class, explores the joint effect of FOP nutrition labels and social class on consumers' healthy food purchase intention, and reveals the underlying mechanism and theoretical boundary of this joint effect.
This study tested the research hypothesis through three experiments. Experiment 1 verified the joint effect of FOP nutrition labels and social class on the healthy food purchase intention by measuring social classes. That is, consumers from high (low) social classes are more willing to purchase healthy food labeled with objective (evaluative) nutrition labels. Experiment 2 again verified the joint effect of FOP nutrition labels and social class by manipulating individual social class, and examined the mediating role of nutrition information utility in this joint effect. Namely, the match between FOP nutrition labels and social class (high social class - objective nutrition label and low social class - subjective nutrition label) can lead to a higher nutrition information utility, which in turn will increase purchase intention of healthy food. Experiment 3 further examined the negative moderating effect of food health level on this joint effect. That is, as the level of food health increases, the joint effect of FOP nutrition labeling and social class on the healthy food purchase intention gradually weakens, suggesting that food health is also a boundary condition of the joint effect.
This study has several theoretical contributions and practical significance. First, this study introduces individual social class as a joint variable and proposes for the first time the joint effect of FOP nutrition labels and social class on consumers' healthy food purchase intention. This enriches and develops the literature on nutrition labels and health consumption. Second, this study further reveals the mediating and moderating effects of nutritional information utility and food health level on this combined effect, expanding the application scope of the utility theory. In practice, this study provides policy recommendations for the government to promote the development strategy of the Healthy China, as well as promotion strategies for health food producers and operators to sell their products.
front of package (FOP) nutrition labels / social class / healthy food / healthy consumption / nutrition information utility
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达则兼济天下, 穷则独善其身?以往研究给出了不同答案, 一个潜在原因是先前研究未能区分生存和发展两类捐助。本研究通过5项研究(N = 2512)对比了高、低社会阶层在生存类和发展类捐助上的偏好差异及其潜在机制, 发现在主观社会阶层上, 低阶层更偏好生存类捐助, 高阶层更偏好发展类捐助。导致该差异的原因是, 低阶层捐助时避免受助者更差, 高阶层捐助时希望受助者更好, 而非高、低阶层需求关注点的不同产生的需求迁移, 亦非高、低阶层长短视导向的不同产生的跨期偏好。在客观社会阶层上, 研究并未得到较为稳定的发现。这对于解析现有捐助理论的争议, 揭示不同阶层捐助的可变规律, 助推“共同富裕”实施中慈善事业的精准化管理有参考意义。
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膳食对居民营养健康、资源环境有着深远的影响，推动中国居民可持续健康膳食发展，对支持实现“健康中国”和可持续发展目标、保障国家粮食安全有着重要意义。本文系统梳理了可持续健康膳食的概念形成过程、代表性的可持续健康膳食模式，进一步从营养健康、资源环境、社会经济的角度阐明了可持续健康膳食的国际共识；分析了中国居民膳食现状，重点讨论了膳食相关的营养健康问题、膳食结构改变带来的资源环境问题。研究建议，提出膳食可持续健康优化方案、精确指导各地居民饮食，多措并举干预引导膳食转变、培养居民可持续健康食物消费行为，坚持生产和消费协同发展、构建可持续健康膳食供给体系，以此积极应对日益严峻的居民营养失衡与环境退化双重挑战，完善国家食物政策制定导向。
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This preliminary study compared the associations between objective and subjective socioeconomic status (SES) with psychological and physical variables among 157 healthy White women, 59 of whom subsequently participated in a laboratory stress study. Compared with objective indicators, subjective social status was more consistently and strongly related to psychological functioning and health-related factors (self-rated health, heart rate, sleep latency, body fat distribution, and cortisol habituation to repeated stress). Most associations remained significant even after controlling for objective social status and negative affectivity. Results suggest that, in this sample with a moderately restricted range on SES and health, psychological perceptions of social status may be contributing to the SES-health gradient.
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To examine the impact front-of-package nutrition labels (FOPLs) have on decision-making abilities among low-income parents in a virtual supermarket.A 4-by-2 experimental design with 3 FOPLs (summary, nutrient-specific, hybrid) and a no-FOPL comparison. Within the FOPL condition, participants either shopped with a time limit (10 minutes) or with no time limit.A web-based, 3-dimensional virtual supermarket.Parents (n = 1,452) from low-income households with at least 1 child aged 4-12 years.Index derived from the United Kingdom's Nutrient Profiling Model that summarized the overall nutrient profile of the participant's shopping basket.Analysis of covariance with post hoc estimations (pairwise) of condition means adjusted for multiple comparisons.All FOPLs led to healthier nutrient profiles than the no-FOPL condition (P < .001). Simple FOPLs (ie, summary, hybrid) led to healthier nutrient profiles than nutrient-specific FOPLs (P = .02 and P < .001, respectively). Among parents exposed to simple FOPLs, those under time pressure made less healthy choices than those who were not under time pressure (P = .05 and P = .03, respectively). Time pressure did not affect parents exposed to nutrient-specific FOPLs (P = .69).Front-of-package nutrition labels can aid parents in selecting healthier products. Simple FOPLs provide greater utility for selecting healthier products than FOPLs that present an array of nutrient information. Time pressure can influence how parents interact with different types of label information.Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Are the rich more unethical than the poor? To answer this question, the current research introduces a key conceptual distinction between selfish and unethical behavior. Based on this distinction, the current article offers 2 novel findings that illuminate the relationship between social class and unethical behavior. First, the effects of social class on unethical behavior are not invariant; rather, the effects of social class are moderated by whether unethical behavior benefits the self or others. Replicating past work, social class positively predicted unethical behavior; however, this relationship was only observed when that behavior was self-beneficial. When unethical behavior was performed to benefit others, social class negatively predicted unethical behavior; lower class individuals were more likely than upper class individuals to engage in unethical behavior. Overall, social class predicts people's tendency to behave selfishly, rather than predicting unethical behavior per se. Second, individuals' sense of power drove the effects of social class on unethical behavior. Evidence for this relationship was provided in three forms. First, income, but not education level, predicted unethical behavior. Second, feelings of power mediated the effect of social class on unethical behavior, but feelings of status did not. Third, two distinct manipulations of power produced the same moderation by self-versus-other beneficiary as was found with social class. The current theoretical framework and data both synthesize and help to explain a range of findings in the social class and power literatures.PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved.
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Back-of-package (BOP) nutrition information appears ineffective against increasing obesity rates. Therefore, federal agencies increasingly promote front-of-package (FOP) nutrition labels. Despite the public attention the topic has received in recent years, research is still short of evidence about the effectiveness of FOP nutrition labels in real-life settings. To add to extant literature, this study uses individual-level purchase data to analyze the impact of adding simplified FOP nutrition labels when BOP information is already available. Consumers reduced the number of calories contained in their purchases for products that started carrying a simplified FOP nutrition label. Furthermore, results show a long-term (short-term) decrease in price (promotion) sensitivity for these products after label introduction. These findings suggest that simplified FOP nutrition labels can induce healthier purchases in supermarkets compared with when only BOP nutrition information is available.
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Across three laboratory studies, a biometric eye tracking and facial recognition experiment, and a secondary data analysis, we reveal the unique interaction of consumer numeracy and numerical processing fluency as a significant determinant of consumer response to 99-ending prices. We argue that less numerate individuals create mental analog representations around 99-ending prices’ left digits, whereas highly numerate individuals encode 99-ending prices as their one-cent neighbor, with consumers responding more favorably to prices when they mentally encode them around a fluent number. Specifically, highly numerate individuals respond more favorably when 99-ending prices (e.g., 17.99) border a fluent number (i.e., 18). Conversely, less numerate individuals respond more favorably when 99-ending prices (e.g., 16.99) contain fluent left digits (i.e., 16). We provide empirical evidence for the effects of this processing difference on liking, purchase intentions, and actual sales. We also obtain evidence for the underlying process using eye tracking and facial recognition that reveals that highly (vs. less) numerate individuals exhibit less anxiety when processing multi-digit prices, and consequently fixate sooner, more frequently, and for longer durations on the right digits of a price. The findings contribute significantly to the price processing literature and yield substantial managerial implications.
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This study investigates the link between social relationship and subjective well-being in the context of social stratification. The authors examine how perceived quality of social relationships and subjective social class are linked to self-reported happiness among men and women in South Korea. The study finds that one’s perception of relative social standing is positively associated with happiness independently of objective indicators of socioeconomic status, while social relationship quality strongly predicts the happiness among both men and women. However, the mediation pathway and moderating effects vary by gender. For men, the nexus between subjective social class and happiness is partially mediated by the quality of interpersonal relationships. No similar mediating effect is found among women. The study also finds gender difference in whether the link between social relationship quality and happiness varies by subjective social class. The happiness return to positive social relationships increases as men’s subjective social status becomes higher, which is consistent with the resource multiplication hypothesis. No similar moderation effect is found among women. Combined, these results reveal potentially different pathways to happiness across gender in Korea, where social status competition, collectivistic culture, and patriarchal gender relations are salient in daily life.
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Social class is shaped by an individual's material resources as well as perceptions of rank vis-à-vis others in society, and in this article, we examine how class influences behavior. Diminished resources and lower rank create contexts that constrain social outcomes for lower-class individuals and enhance contextualist tendencies--that is, a focus on external, uncontrollable social forces and other individuals who influence one's life outcomes. In contrast, abundant resources and elevated rank create contexts that enhance the personal freedoms of upper-class individuals and give rise to solipsistic social cognitive tendencies--that is, an individualistic focus on one's own internal states, goals, motivations, and emotions. Guided by this framework, we detail 9 hypotheses and relevant empirical evidence concerning how class-based contextualist and solipsistic tendencies shape the self, perceptions of the social environment, and relationships to other individuals. Novel predictions and implications for research in other socio-political contexts are considered.Copyright 2012 APA, all rights reserved.
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Many stakeholders support introducing an interpretive front-of-pack (FOP) nutrition label, but disagree over the form it should take. In late 2012, an expert working group established by the New Zealand government recommended the adoption of an untested summary rating system: a Star label. This study used a best-worst scaling choice experiment to estimate how labels featuring the new Star rating, the Multiple Traffic Light (MTL), Daily Intake Guide (DIG), and a no-FOP control affected consumers' choice behaviours and product perceptions. Nutrient-content and health claims were included in the design. We also assessed whether respondents who used more or less information during the choice tasks differed in their selection patterns. Overall, while respondents made broadly similar choices with respect to the MTL and Star labels, the MTL format had a significantly greater impact on depressing preference as a food's nutritional profile became less healthy. Health claims increased rankings of less nutritious options, though this effect was less pronounced when the products featured an MTL. Further, respondents were best able to differentiate products' healthiness with MTL labels. The proposed summary Stars system had less effect on choice patterns than an MTL label and our findings highlight the need for policy makers to ensure that decisions to introduce FOP labels are underpinned by robust research evidence. These results suggest that the proposed summary Stars system will have less effect on shifting food choice patterns than interpretive FOP nutrition label featuring traffic light ratings. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Front-of-package (FOP) labels are increasing in popularity on retail products. Reductive FOP labels provide nutrient-specific information, whereas evaluative FOP labels summarize nutrient information through icons. Better understanding of consumer behavior regarding FOP labels is beneficial to increasing consumer use of nutrition labeling when making grocery purchasing decisions.We aimed to determine FOP label format effectiveness in aiding consumers at assessing nutrient density of food products. In addition, we sought to determine relationships between FOP label use and attitude toward healthy eating, diet self-assessment, self-reported health and nutrition knowledge, and label and shopping behaviors.A between-subjects experimental design was employed. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four label conditions: Facts Up Front, Facts Up Front Extended, a binary symbol, and no-label control.One hundred sixty-one US primary grocery shoppers, aged 18 to 69 years. Participants were randomly invited to the online study.Participants in one of four label condition groups viewed three product categories (cereal, dairy, and snacks) with corresponding questions.Adults' nutrition assessment of food products based on different FOP label formats, along with label use and attitude toward healthy eating, diet self-assessment, self-reported health and nutrition knowledge, and label and shopping behaviors.Data analyses included descriptive statistics, χ tests, and logistical regression. Significant outcomes were set to α=.05.Participants selected the more nutrient-dense product in the snack food category when it contained an FOP label. Subjective health and nutrition knowledge and frequency of selecting food for healthful reasons were associated with FOP label use (P<0.01 and P<0.05, respectively).Both Facts Up Front (reductive) and binary (evaluative) FOP labels appear effective for nutrition assessment of snack products compared with no label. Specific attitude and behavior factors were associated with label use.Copyright © 2018 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Nutrition labels are the most commonly used tools to promote healthy choices. Research has shown that color-coded traffic light (TL) labels are more effective than purely numerical Guideline Daily Amount (GDA) labels at promoting healthy eating. While these effects of TL labels on food choice are hypothesized to rely on attention, how this occurs remains unknown. Based on previous eye-tracking research we hypothesized that TL labels compared to GDA labels will attract more attention, will induce shifts in attention allocation to healthy food items, and will increase the influence of attention to the labels on food choice. To test our hypotheses, we conducted an eye-tracking experiment where participants chose between healthy and unhealthy food items accompanied either by TL or GDA labels. We found that TL labels biased choices towards healthier items because their presence caused participants to allocate more attention to healthy items and less to unhealthy items. Moreover, our data indicated that TL labels were more likely to be looked at, and had a larger effect on choice, despite attracting less dwell time. These results reveal that TL labels increase healthy food choice, relative to GDA labels, by shifting attention and the effects of attention on choice.Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Nutritional warnings highlighting products with high content of nutrients associated with non-communicable diseases have emerged as a potentially efficient alternative to discourage consumption of unhealthful products. However, the relative influence of this front-of-pack nutrition information scheme compared to other label features is still under researched. In this context, the aim of the present work was to study the influence of nutritional warnings and other information commonly displayed on food labels to convey health associations on consumers' choice and visual attention. A choice-conjoint study using labels of cookies and crackers was implemented considering the following three variables: front-of-pack nutrition information (nutritional warnings vs. facts up front panel), nutrient claim (present vs. absent) and type of product (conveying health vs. hedonic associations). A total of 124 people completed the task using the monitor of an eye-tracker. Participants were asked to select the label they would prefer to buy if they were in a supermarket. Nutritional warnings were efficient in attracting consumers' attention and required less time and fewer fixations to process than the facts up front panel. In addition, their inclusion on the labels significantly discouraged consumers' choice of labels. However, type of product was the most important variable influencing the choice of both cookies and crackers. Results from the present work confirm the potential of nutritional warnings as directive front-of-pack nutrition labelling scheme and stress that they cannot be expected to cause radical changes in consumers' eating habits due to their competition with other product features. Instead, they are expected to encourage consumers to select the most healthful option within a product category.Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Differences in ethical behavior between members of the upper and lower classes have been at the center of civic debates in recent years. In this article, we present a framework for understanding how class affects ethical standards and behaviors. We apply the framework using data from a large Dutch population sample. The data include objective measures of class, survey responses relating to ethical behavior, and results from an experiment designed to probe ethical choices. Ethical behavior proves to be affected by (a) moral values, (b) social orientation, and (c) the costs and benefits of taking various actions. Strong class differences emerge in each of these areas, leading to differences in behavior. Moreover, strong differences among different conceptions of class (wealth, education, etc.) produce additional variation. We argue that the relationship between class and ethical behavior is far from a simple pattern; it is a complex mosaic. © The Author(s) 2013.
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Although front-of-pack nutrition labeling can help consumers make healthier food choices, lack of attention to these labels limits their effectiveness. This study examines consumer attention to and use of three different nutrition labeling schemes (logo, multiple traffic-light label, and nutrition table) when they face different goals and resource constraints. To understand attention and processing of labels, various measures are used including self-reported use, recognition, and eye-tracking measures. Results of two experiments in different countries show that although consumers evaluate the nutrition table most positively, it receives little attention and does not stimulate healthy choices. Traffic-light labels and especially logos enhance healthy product choice, even when consumers are put under time pressure. Additionally, health goals of consumers increase attention to and use of nutrition labels, especially when these health goals concern specific nutrients.Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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