Perceived normative behavior and fruit and vegetables consumption

Introduction: Life is comprised of many decisions layered on top of each other, each requiring an optimization whose calculus competes for our finite resources. Given this complexity, some game theory economists have suggested it is rational to adopt socially normative behavior in the absence of time, interest or overwhelming information to the contrary. How this tendency relates to dietary decision-making has not previously been investigated. This study assessed how fruit and vegetable consumption and attitudes towards it varied depending on how the subject thought their behavior compared to normative behavior.

Method: 100 adult shoppers in a Philadelphia mall provided a 24 hour food recall, completed a survey and indicated whether they thought they ate more, less or the same amount of fruits and vegetables as four reference groups: peers, family, friends, and “most Americans”. The data was analyzed four times, changing only the reference group. Participants were stratified based on how they thought they compared to the reference group.

Results: Regardless of reference group, those who thought they ate “the same” as the group norm consumed significantly fewer servings of fruits and vegetables then those who thought they ate either less or more. A similar pattern was seen with attitudes towards fruits and vegetables, with the “same” group reporting the most negative attitudes.

Discussion: Perceived normative fruit and vegetable consumption may signal low cognitive engagement in the behavior. Increasing fruit and vegetable consumption among these individuals may be most efficiently accomplished by changing perceived norms.