Altruistic indulgence: people voluntarily consume high-calorie foods to make other people feel comfortable and pleasant

Youjae Yi, Jacob C. Lee, Saetbyeol Kim

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Scopus citations

Abstract

We explored a novel phenomenon where people in certain social contexts voluntarily consume high-calorie foods with the altruistic motive of making other people feel comfortable and pleasant. We hypothesized that people are likely to choose a high-calorie food, especially around others with whom they have communal relationships (e.g., friends), because of the desire to induce in others feelings of pleasantness rather than guilt. A field study at a café shows that this phenomenon emerges in the real world, and a scenario-based experiment supports our altruistic account with mediation analyses. The alternative explanation of a social acceptance account is ruled out.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)223-239
Number of pages17
JournalSocial Influence
Volume13
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 2 Oct 2018

Keywords

  • altruism
  • decision making for others
  • Indulgence
  • social eating
  • social influence

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