Nailya Ordabayeva: Conflict towards food improves portion size estimation

Craving a bag of crisps or other guilty pleasure food, while knowing it’s unhealthy results in a better visual estimation of its portion size. Watch as Assistant Professor Nailya Ordabayeva of Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM), shows that the inner conflict between both desiring food and yet perceiving it as harmful, actually enhances consumers’ visual awareness of increases in food portion size. As a result, children and adults who feel conflicted toward a certain food make a more accurate estimation of the actual amount the different food portions contain. Additionally, health claims on food packaging can reduce the inner conflict towards food and worsen portion perception.