The effect of a fictitious peer on young children's choice of familiar v. unfamiliar low- and high-energy-dense foods.
The present experimental study was the first to investigate the impact of a remote (non-existent) peer on children's food choice of familiar v. unfamiliar low- and high-energy-dense food products. In a computer task, children (n 316; 50·3 % boys; mean age 7·13 (SD 0·75) years) were asked to choose between pictures of familiar and unfamiliar foods in four different choice blocks using the following pairs: (1) familiar v. unfamiliar low-energy-dense foods (fruits and vegetables), (2) familiar v. unfamiliar high-energy-dense foods (high sugar, salt and/or fat content), (3) familiar low-energy-dense v. unfamiliar high-energy-dense foods and (4) unfamiliar low-energy-dense v. familiar high-energy-dense foods. Participants who were not in the control group were exposed to the food choices (either always the familiar or always the unfamiliar food product) of a same-sex and same-age fictitious peer who was supposedly completing the same task at another school. The present study provided insights into children's choices between (un)familiar low- and high-energy-dense foods in an everyday situation. The findings revealed that the use of fictitious peers increased children's willingness to try unfamiliar foods, although children tended to choose high-energy-dense foods over low-energy-dense foods. Intervention programmes that use peer influence to focus on improving children's choice of healthy foods should take into account children's strong aversion to unfamiliar low-energy-dense foods as well as their general preference for familiar and unfamiliar high-energy-dense foods.
Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, PO Box 9104, 6500 HE, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. k.bevelander@bsi.ru.nl
Kirsten E
KE
Bevelander
Doeschka J
DJ
Anschütz
Rutger C M E
RC
Engels
D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior; D002755:Choice Behavior; D002149:Energy Intake; D005106:Exploratory Behavior; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005518:Food Preferences; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007092:Imagination; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands; D010379:Peer Group; D002666:Psychology, Child / Q000379:methods*; D014584:User-Computer Interface