Seeing and Eating

Joye and colleagues “tested if savoring (visual) beauty could satiate consumers, such that they would no longer feel the need to satisfy themselves via actual eating. In two studies, participants had to watch photos of aesthetically appealing (versus unappealing) natural scenes/phenomena, after which we assessed their impatience and desire to eat their favorite food. Results show that experiencing natural beauty decreased food impatience and desire in low BMI individuals. For high BMI individuals, however, beauty increased eating impatience and desire, possibly reflecting compensatory behavior driven by a blunted reward system.”

Yannick Joye, Sigfried Dewitte, Bob Fennis, and Justina Gineikiene. 2021. “Savoring Natural Beauty Can Boost and Buffer Food Impatience and Desire: The Moderating Role of BMI.” Proceedings of the European Marketing Academy, 50th, 94507.