IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbrese/v75y2017icp249-257.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Spread or stacked? Vertical versus horizontal food presentation, portion size perceptions, and consumption

Author

Listed:
  • Szocs, Courtney
  • Lefebvre, Sarah

Abstract

This research investigates the unexplored consequences of food presentation on consumers' portion size perceptions and consumption. The findings show that consumers perceive portions as smaller and eat more when foods are presented vertically (i.e., stacked on the plate) versus horizontally (i.e., spread across the plate). The effect of presentation on portion size perceptions occurs because consumers use the surface area of the portion as a heuristic for overall portion size and, for equal volumes of food, portions presented vertically have a smaller surface area. Surface area is used as a heuristic for overall portion size presumably because (1) when looking down at a plate of food on a dining table, the surface area of the portion is more salient than the height and (2) through experience consumers learn that the surface area of the portion is often positively correlated with overall portion size. The results of this research underscore the importance of food presentation and identify viewing angle as a factor to consider when evaluating portion size.

Suggested Citation

  • Szocs, Courtney & Lefebvre, Sarah, 2017. "Spread or stacked? Vertical versus horizontal food presentation, portion size perceptions, and consumption," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 249-257.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:75:y:2017:i:c:p:249-257
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.07.022
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S014829631630683X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.07.022?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hsee, Christopher K., 1996. "The Evaluability Hypothesis: An Explanation for Preference Reversals between Joint and Separate Evaluations of Alternatives," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 67(3), pages 247-257, September.
    2. Wansink, Brian & van Ittersum, Koert, 2003. "Bottoms Up! The Influence of Elongation on Pouring and Consumption Volume," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 30(3), pages 455-463, December.
    3. Pierre Chandon & Brian Wansink, 2007. "The Biasing Health Halos of Fast-Food Restaurant Health Claims: Lower Calorie Estimates and Higher Side-Dish Consumption Intentions," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 34(3), pages 301-314, June.
    4. Aradhna Krishna, 2006. "Interaction of Senses: The Effect of Vision versus Touch on the Elongation Bias," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 32(4), pages 557-566, March.
    5. Robert E. Krider & Priya Raghubir & Aradhna Krishna, 2001. "Pizzas: p or Square? Psychophysical Biases in Area Comparisons," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 20(4), pages 405-425, March.
    6. Dipayan Biswas & Courtney Szocs & Aradhna Krishna & Donald R. Lehmann, 2014. "Something to Chew On: The Effects of Oral Haptics on Mastication, Orosensory Perception, and Calorie Estimation," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 41(2), pages 261-273.
    7. Nİlüfer Z. Aydinoğlu & Aradhna Krishna, 2011. "Guiltless Gluttony: The Asymmetric Effect of Size Labels on Size Perceptions and Consumption," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 37(6), pages 1095-1112.
    8. Koert Van Ittersum & Brian Wansink, 2012. "Plate Size and Color Suggestibility: The Delboeuf Illusion's Bias on Serving and Eating Behavior," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 39(2), pages 215-228.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Roose, Gudrun & Vermeir, Iris, 2023. "Putting spatial product presentation cues on the map: Review and research directions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 155(PA).
    2. Mulier, Lana & Slabbinck, Hendrik & Vermeir, Iris, 2021. "This Way Up: The Effectiveness of Mobile Vertical Video Marketing," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 1-15.
    3. Patel, Pankaj C. & Struckell, Elisabeth M. & Ojha, Divesh, 2020. "Calorie labeling law and fast food chain performance: The value of capital responsiveness under sales volatility," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 346-356.
    4. Liu, Stephanie Q. & Wu, Laurie Luorong & Yu, Xi & Huang, Huiling, 2022. "Marketing online food images via color saturation: A sensory imagery perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 366-378.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Courtney Szocs & Dipayan Biswas, 2016. "Tasting in 2D: implications of food shape, visual cues, and oral haptic sensory inputs," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 27(4), pages 753-764, December.
    2. Koo, Jieun & Suk, Kwanho, 2016. "The effect of package shape on calorie estimation," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 856-867.
    3. Ketron, Seth & Naletelich, Kelly, 2022. "Relative vices and absolute virtues: How size labeling affects size preferences for vices and virtues," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 387-397.
    4. Togawa, Taku & Park, Jaewoo & Ishii, Hiroaki & Deng, Xiaoyan, 2019. "A Packaging Visual-Gustatory Correspondence Effect: Using Visual Packaging Design to Influence Flavor Perception and Healthy Eating Decisions," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 95(4), pages 204-218.
    5. Peggy J. Liu & Kelly L. Haws & Karen Scherr & Joseph P. Redden & James R. Bettman & Gavan J. Fitzsimons, 2019. "The Primacy of “What” over “How Much”: How Type and Quantity Shape Healthiness Perceptions of Food Portions," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 65(7), pages 3353-3381, July.
    6. Yuli Zhang & Hyokjin Kwak & Marina Puzakova & Charles R. Taylor, 2021. "Space between products on display: the impact of interspace on consumer estimation of product size," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 49(6), pages 1109-1131, November.
    7. Ketron, Seth, 2016. "Consumer cynicism and perceived deception in vanity sizing: The moderating role of retailer (dis)honesty," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 33-42.
    8. Judy Harris & Veronica L. Thomas, 2017. "The Influence of Bundling and Caloric Knowledge on Calories Ordered and Purchase Intent," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(1), pages 113-132, March.
    9. Aner Tal & Yaniv Gvili & Moty Amar, 2021. "Visual Size Matters: The Effect of Product Depiction Size on Calorie Estimates," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-19, November.
    10. Mai, Robert & Symmank, Claudia & Seeberg-Elverfeldt, Berenike, 2016. "Light and Pale Colors in Food Packaging: When Does This Package Cue Signal Superior Healthiness or Inferior Tastiness?," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 92(4), pages 426-444.
    11. Bublitz, Melissa G. & Peracchio, Laura A. & Andreasen, Alan R. & Kees, Jeremy & Kidwell, Blair & Miller, Elizabeth Gelfand & Motley, Carol M. & Peter, Paula C. & Rajagopal, Priyali & Scott, Maura L. &, 2013. "Promoting positive change: Advancing the food well-being paradigm," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(8), pages 1211-1218.
    12. Courtney Szocs & Dipayan Biswas, 2016. "Forks over Spoons: The Impact of Cutlery on Calorie Estimates," Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, University of Chicago Press, vol. 1(1), pages 161-174.
    13. Kelly Saporta Sorozon, 2019. "The Effect of Similarity Between a Product¡¯s Shape Properties and the Benefit Offered on Judgments and Preferences," Business and Management Studies, Redfame publishing, vol. 5(2), pages 64-75, June.
    14. Spielmann, Nathalie & Rossi, Patricia, 2024. "Let’s drink to that! How wider glass rim leads to more pleasurable purchases," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    15. Tian Zeng & Fabien Durif, 2019. "The Influence of Consumers’ Perceived Risks towards Eco-Design Packaging upon the Purchasing Decision Process: An Exploratory Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-29, November.
    16. Besharat, Ali & Romero, Marisabel & Haws, Kelly, 2021. "Customizing calories: How rejecting (vs. selecting) ingredients leads to lower calorie estimation and unhealthier food choices," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 97(3), pages 424-438.
    17. Pantoja, Felipe & Borges, Adilson & Rossi, Patricia & Yamim, Amanda Pruski, 2020. "If I touch it, I will like it! The role of tactile inputs on gustatory perceptions of food items," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    18. Berg, Hanna & Lindström, Annika, 2021. "Online product size perceptions: Examining liquid volume size perceptions based on online product pictures," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 192-203.
    19. Just, David R. & Gabrielyan, Gnel, 2018. "Influencing the food choices of SNAP consumers: Lessons from economics, psychology and marketing," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 309-317.
    20. Adilson Borges & Felipe Pantoja & Patricia Rossi & Amanda Yamim, 2020. "If I Touch It, I will Like It! The Role of Tactile Inputs on Gustatory Perceptions of Food Items," Post-Print hal-02507986, HAL.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:75:y:2017:i:c:p:249-257. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbusres .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.