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Numerous studies have shown that people adjust their intake directly to that of their eating companions; they eat more when others eat more, and less when others inhibit intake. A potential explanation for this modeling effect is that both eating companions' food intake becomes synchronized through processes of behavioral mimicry. No study, however, has tested whether behavioral mimicry can partially account for this modeling effect. To capture behavioral mimicry, real-time observations of dyads of young females having an evening meal were conducted. It was assessed whether mimicry depended on the time of the interaction and on the person who took the bite. A total of 70 young female dyads took part in the study, from which the total number of bites (N = 3,888) was used as unit of analyses. For each dyad, the total number of bites and the exact time at which each person took a bite were coded. Behavioral mimicry was operationalized as a bite taken within a fixed 5-second interval after the other person had taken a bite, whereas non-mimicked bites were defined as bites taken outside the 5-second interval. It was found that both women mimicked each other's eating behavior. They were more likely to take a bite of their meal in congruence with their eating companion rather than eating at their own pace. This behavioral mimicry was found to be more prominent at the beginning than at the end of the interaction. This study suggests that behavioral mimicry may partially account for social modeling of food intake.

Purpose The purpose of this study has three primary aims. The first is to examine the amount of time children spend per week on viewing vlogs. Second, the authors explored children’s awareness and understanding of the brand or product placement in vlogs. Finally, the authors explored children’s self-perceived susceptibility to the potential persuasive effects of these vlogs. Design/methodology/approach Self-reported measurements were assessed among children (N = 127, 10-13 years of age). Findings Results indicate that the majority of children frequently view vlogs and that their degree of bonding with the vlogger predicted the time spend on viewing vlogs. Children recalled products and brands that were shown in vlogs, which were mostly food and beverages and considered themselves and others affected by endorsements in vlogs. Research limitations/implications Only cross-sectional data were collected; these data cannot be used to analyze behavior over a period of time or draw causal inferences. Practical implications Considering the popularity of vlogs among young people, it is important to acquire more insight into the frequency and amount of time children spend on viewing vlogs and children’s processing of persuasive messages in vlogs. This may lead to a better understanding of underlying processes and prediction of the outcomes of advertising through this form of media content. Current findings raise further questions about the persuasive content of vlogs. Originality/value Because of the popularity of online (social media) channels among youth, companies dedicate a significant proportion of their marketing budget on online influencer marketing. Therefore, it is important to acquire insight into children’s processing of online persuasive messages. To the authors’ knowledge, there is no empirical research on children’s potential bonding with popular vloggers and their awareness and understanding of the brand or product placement in vlogs.

BackgroundThe current study examined the effectiveness of a social network intervention to promote physical activity among adolescents. Social network interventions utilize peer influence to change behavior by identifying the most influential individuals within social networks (i.e., influence agents), and training them to promote the target behavior.MethodA total of 190 adolescents (46.32% boys; M age = 12.17, age range: 11–14 years) were randomly allocated to either the intervention or control condition. In the intervention condition, the most influential adolescents (based on peer nominations of classmates) in each classroom were trained to promote physical activity among their classmates. Participants received a research smartphone to complete questionnaires and an accelerometer to measure physical activity (steps per day) at baseline, and during the intervention one month later.ResultsA multilevel model tested the effectiveness of the intervention, controlling for clustering of data within participants and days. No intervention effect was observed, b = .04, SE = .10, p = .66.ConclusionThis was one of the first studies to test whether physical activity in adolescents could be promoted via influence agents, and the first social network intervention to use smartphones to do so. Important lessons and implications are discussed concerning the selection criterion of the influence agents, the use of smartphones in social network intervention, and the rigorous analyses used to control for confounding factors.Trial registrationDutch Trial Registry (NTR): NTR6173. Registered 5 October 2016 Study procedures were approved by the Ethics Committee of the Radboud University (ECSW2014–100614-222).