Testing Misprojections of Future Consumer Decisions in ‘Recreated Experimental Supermarkets’ : An External Validity Study

This paper aims to evaluate the external validity of context on food choices by the existence of some mis-projection of future consumer decisions. Two studies are presented in a laboratory and in more realistic environments, such as a recreated experimental supermarket. A between-subject experiment with three conditions is used: i) experimental context (laboratory vs recreated), ii) consumption periods (today vs tomorrow), and iii) appetite level (hungry vs satiated). The results confirmed that choice decisions and mispredictions depend on both environmental context and food categories chosen when consumers are in a hunger state