Cornell University Food and Brand Lab

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Tip Sheet

FAQs

Education

Tipsheets for Your Clients and Students

Copies of Recent Presentations

Attend Consumer Camp

Help with Science Fair Projects

Free Magnet and Refrigerator Tipsheet

Videos and CDs for Loan

Education

Tipsheets for Your Clients and Students

All of the papers and teaching materials on the other pages are free to download and use for educational purposes. On this page you can download or order other materials that might be of help for you.

Bottoms Up! The Influence of Elongation on Pouring and Consumption Volume

Beware of the shape of the glass you use. You could drink much more than you think. Studies at “Weight- loss Camps” (and with veteran bartenders) show that visual illusions unknowingly cause us to pour an average of 34% more into short wide glasses than tall narrow ones.

Exploring Comfort Food Preferences across Age and Gender

When you crave a comfort food do you crave steak or ice cream? Researchers show that comfort foods can consist of both snack-related foods and meal-related foods. Females tend to prefer snack-related comfort foods while males prefer more meal-related comfort foods.

Interactions between Forms of Fat Consumption and Restaurant Bread Consumption

Hidden cameras at Italian restaurants show that people who put olive oil on a piece of bread will eat more fat and calories than if they instead used butter. The good news… they eat fewer pieces of bread. After observing 341 people at Italian restaurants, researchers found two surprising facts 1) olive oil users soaked 26% more olive oil onto their bread and 2) olive oil users eat 23% less bread over the course of a meal.

How Visibility and Convenience Influence Candy Consumption

The farther you have to walk the less you eat. College secretaries ate twice as many chocolate kisses (9 versus 4) when these kisses were placed on their desk than when they were placed 6 feet away. They were also more likely to lose track of how many they had eaten.

Profiling Nutritional Gatekeepers: Three Methods for Differentiating Influential Cooks

Great domestic cooks are “nutritional gatekeepers” who can unknowingly help define their family’s taste preferences and can facilitate healthy eating. A nation-wide study focusedon 440 “great cooks” showed that not all are created equal. Indeed, within the United States, most great domestic cooks can be categorized in one of five categories: (1) Giving Cooks, (2) Healthy Cooks, (3) Innovative Cooks, (4) Methodical Cooks and (5) Competitive Cooks.

Do Descriptive Menu Labels Influence Restaurant Sales and Repatronage?

A six-week controlled cafeteria study found that descriptive menu-item labels increase food sales and improve the attitudes customers have towards both the food and the restaurant. Using descriptive menu labels such as Black Forest Double-Chocolate (vs. chocolate cake) increased sales by 27% and improved attitudes towards the food, attitudes towards the restaurant, and intentions towards repatronage.

Does Stockpiling Accelerate Consumption?

The Wholesale Club Store Curse: buying in bulk causes you to eat these visible foods more frequently. In a study of 219 adults, researchers found that stockpiled products are more frequently used when they are visible and seen as versatile. Products are frequently purchased and forgotten - out of sight out of mind.

Can Package Size Accelerate Usage Volume?

Five studies with 691 adults across 48 product categories show that people pour more out of larger packages. Large package sizes increase consumption an average of 22%. This stems from a deep-seated perception that per-unit cost is cheaper in larger packages.

At the Movies: How External Cues and Perceived Taste Impact Consumption Volume

External cues such as packaging and container size can powerfully and unknowingly increase how much we eat. Chicago moviegoers who were given large-size popcorn containers ate 45% more than those given medium-size containers. This even happened when they were given stale, 10 day old popcorn. Big packages encourage us to eat more, even if we don’t really like the food.

Changing Eating Habits on the Home Front: Lost Lessons from World War II Research

These hidden secrets from WWII show a lot about adopting unfamiliar foods, like soy. Gatekeepers and incremental introductions are particularly important when encouraging healthy eating. Changing your family’s eating habits – such as eating more fruits and vegetables – is easier to do gradually than abruptly.

Antecedents and Mediators of Eating Bouts

In a study of 178 adults, researchers explored what stimulates and influences dramatic increases in the volume consumed of certain foods or “eating bouts.” When foods are sitting out, we tend to “graze” and eat them more frequently. When we have to get them from the cupboard instead, we eat them less often, but we eat larger servings (or handfuls).

The Mystery of the Cabinet Castaway: Why We Buy Products We Never Use

In-home pantry reports of 423 American households show that unused products were not bought because of sales, ads, coupons, or impulsivity. They were bought for recipes that were never made, or for special occasions that never occurred. This study found that most of those unused products are really the result of our over-optimistic plans when we shop.

Copies of Recent Publications

(Mis)Marketing of Soy [ Powerpoint ]

Food Psychology [ Powerpoint ] [ Transcript ]

Consumer Psychology [ Powerpoint ]

Attend Consumer Camp

April 3-5, 2009
Cornell University—Ithaca, NY

The Food and Brand Lab sets aside a weekend of April each year to hold Consumer Camp up on the Cornell Campus in Ithaca, NY. It gives us a chance to directly share some of what we have learned with consumers, teachers, new friends, and old friends. Due to unforeseen circumstances we will have to postpone our 2008 Consumer Camp until April 3-5 of 2009. The theme of the camp will still be “Restaurant Psychology: What the Great Chefs Will Never Tell You.” There is no charge for the camp, and your breakfast and lunch on Saturday will be provided. Friday and Sunday are optional days. Consumer Camp is limited to the first 50 people who register. Registration for the 2009 Consumer Camp will start in the summer of 2008.

Download Registration Form (inactive)

Help With Science Fair Projects

Science Fair Scholarships

The Consumer Education Foundation offers a limited number of small expense-related scholarships to elementary and secondary students who are conducting school-based projects aimed at helping make people smarter when it comes to food and to shopping choices. Science Fair Scholarships are typically in the range of $25-75 and the projects are related to science fairs or nutrition-related school projects.

Applications for expense-related scholarships are evaluated on a continuous basis. Requests for expense-related research scholarships should include the purpose and methodology of the study. In addition, it should be emphasized how and to whom the findings will be communicated. When possible, requests will be processed within 48 hours of receipt.

Applications for expense-related scholarships are accepted in hard-copy (mail or fax), and should be addressed to:

Jennifer Wansink, Director
Wansink Consumer Education Foundation
330 The Parkway
Ithaca, NY 14850

Free Magnet and Tip Sheet

Most of our research shows that small things make a big difference… especially over time. Most people gain weight by eating 50 extra calories a day. One of the least “painful” ways to lose weight (albeit slow), is to eat 50-100 calories less each day.

If you send us a self-addressed envelope, we’ll send you a free magnet and a Tip Sheet you can put on your refrigerator (or desk) to help remind you of some of the small things that can make a big difference. Address it to:

Professor Brian Wansink
Tip Sheet – Food and Brand Lab
110 Warren Hall
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853

Videos and CDs for Loan

Over the years, a number of news shows have filmed us doing experiments or they’ve interviewed us about Food Psychology. We’ve collected some of our favorite news clips together onto one video. We typically use parts of this when doing workshops for consumers (see Consumer Camp). Although we can’t give this out (we don’t have the copyright to the different news shows), we can let you borrow it for up to 30 days. If you send $2.30 for postage and your address, we’ll send you either the video (which has TV clips) or a CD (which has magazine articles). All we ask is that you return it to us within a month.

Professor Brian Wansink
Video – Food and Brand Lab
110 Warren Hall
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853

Education

Tipsheets for Your Clients and Students

Bottoms Up! The Influence of Elongation on Pouring and Consumption Volume

Exploring Comfort Food Preferences across Age and Gender

Interactions between Forms of Fat Consumption and Restaurant Bread Consumption

How Visibility and Convenience Influence Candy Consumption

Profiling Nutritional Gatekeepers: Three Methods for Differentiating Influential Cooks

Do Descriptive Menu Labels Influence Restaurant Sales and Repatronage?

Does Stockpiling Accelerate Consumption?

Can Package Size Accelerate Usage Volume?

At the Movies: How External Cues and Perceived Taste Impact Consumption Volume

Changing Eating Habits on the Home Front: Lost Lessons from World War II Research

Antecedents and Mediators of Eating Bouts

The Mystery of the Cabinet Castaway: Why We Buy Products We Never Use

Copies of Recent Publications

Attend Consumer Camp

Help With Science Fair Projects

Science Fair Scholarships

Free Magnet and Tip Sheet

Videos and CDs for Loan

Related Web Links