Recent research shows that environmental cues such as lighting and music strongly bias the eating behavior of diners in laboratory situations. This study examines whether changing the atmosphere of a fast food restaurant would change how much patrons ate. The results indicated that softening the...

Household food waste originates in three predictable stages – when shopping, storing, and serving. That is, food can be purchased and never prepared, prepared and never served, or served and never eaten. Building on behavioral economics insights, this framework focuses on why consumers waste...

The authors develop a model of how consumers estimate the level of product inventory in their households. Two laboratory experiments and two field studies involving 29 product categories show that (1) consumers anchor their estimates on their average inventory and fail to adjust sufficiently;...

Why is America a land of low-calorie food claims yet high-calorie food intake? Four studies show that people are more likely to underestimate the caloric content of main dishes and to choose higher-calorie side dishes, drinks, or desserts when fast-food restaurants claim to be healthy (e.g.,...