Vicarious Goal Fulfillment: When The Mere Presence Of A Healthy Option Leads To An Ironically Indulgent Decision
This research examines how consumers’ food choices differ when healthy items are included in a choice set compared with when they are not available. Results demonstrate that individuals are, ironically, more likely to make indulgent food choices when a healthy item is available compared to when it is not available. [Excerpted from report abstract]
“Vicarious goal fulfillment” applies where a person feels like some goal has been met if they have taken some small action. For example, consumers may feel that they have fulfilled a healthy eating goal as long as they considered it, even if they did not choose the healthy food option in the end.
The influence of healthy items on indulgent choice is stronger for those with higher levels of self-control. Support is found for a goal-activation-based explanation for these findings, whereby the mere presence of the healthy food option vicariously fulfills nutrition-related goals and provides consumers with a license to indulge.
In a series of four studies, researchers examined how food choices differed when a healthy item was included in the choice set compared to when it was not. The study results showed that the mere presence of a healthy item vicariously fulfills health-related eating goals, drives attention to the least-healthy choice, and provides people with license to indulge in tempting foods.