TY - JOUR
T1 - Positive emotions and their upregulation increase willingness to consume healthy foods
AU - Schubert, Elektra
AU - Bode, Stefan
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2023/2/1
Y1 - 2023/2/1
N2 - While highly relevant for everyday life, it is unclear whether experiencing incidental positive or negative emotional states, and active emotion regulation, influence the weighting of perceived taste and health in food choices. In Experiment 1, we examined two emotion regulation strategies, reappraisal and distraction, used to decrease negative emotions. Participants were cued to experience or decrease their emotional response for either neutral or negative incidental emotion-inducing images. They subsequently rated their willingness to consume foods, which varied in their taste and health attributes. Mixed-effects model analysis showed that compared to neutral, negative emotions decreased willingness to consume, regardless of perceived taste and health, but neither emotion regulation strategy had a significant effect. Experiment 2 used images inducing incidental positive emotions in combination with three emotion regulation strategies: reappraisal, distraction, and increasing positive emotions. Experiencing positive emotions generally increased willingness to consume, with stronger effects for tasty and healthy foods. Decreasing positive emotions via reappraisal decreased willingness to consume, particularly for healthy foods. Increasing positive emotion intensity further increased willingness to consume, with stronger effects for healthy foods. The results suggest that experiencing positive emotions increases desire particularly strongly for healthy foods, which can additionally be modulated via emotion regulation. This has important implications for designing health-related interventions targeting mood improvement.
AB - While highly relevant for everyday life, it is unclear whether experiencing incidental positive or negative emotional states, and active emotion regulation, influence the weighting of perceived taste and health in food choices. In Experiment 1, we examined two emotion regulation strategies, reappraisal and distraction, used to decrease negative emotions. Participants were cued to experience or decrease their emotional response for either neutral or negative incidental emotion-inducing images. They subsequently rated their willingness to consume foods, which varied in their taste and health attributes. Mixed-effects model analysis showed that compared to neutral, negative emotions decreased willingness to consume, regardless of perceived taste and health, but neither emotion regulation strategy had a significant effect. Experiment 2 used images inducing incidental positive emotions in combination with three emotion regulation strategies: reappraisal, distraction, and increasing positive emotions. Experiencing positive emotions generally increased willingness to consume, with stronger effects for tasty and healthy foods. Decreasing positive emotions via reappraisal decreased willingness to consume, particularly for healthy foods. Increasing positive emotion intensity further increased willingness to consume, with stronger effects for healthy foods. The results suggest that experiencing positive emotions increases desire particularly strongly for healthy foods, which can additionally be modulated via emotion regulation. This has important implications for designing health-related interventions targeting mood improvement.
KW - Dietary decision
KW - Emotion regulation
KW - Emotional eating
KW - Emotions
KW - Health
KW - Taste
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85144269501&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85144269501&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.appet.2022.106420
DO - 10.1016/j.appet.2022.106420
M3 - Article
C2 - 36513297
AN - SCOPUS:85144269501
SN - 0195-6663
VL - 181
JO - Appetite
JF - Appetite
M1 - 106420
ER -