Tasty for everyone: Using horizontal metaphor in food evaluations

Abstract

This article examines the effects of embodied cognition related to a spatial horizontal metaphor, whereby consumers seem to associate horizontal space with the “left being bad” and “right being good.” Across four studies, we extend prior research on embodied cognition by theorizing how the physical location of products, the usage of the left or right hand, and the product valence interact to influence consumer evaluations. The findings reveal a complex nature of effects associated with the horizontal metaphor, valence of food, as well as approach‐avoidance orientation. These findings have important theoretical and practical implications.

How Consumer Expertise Influences Preference for Customized Food

“…We presume that consumers who participate in food customization will also perceive the focal food attribute in line with their own characteristics. Importantly, taste perception is a key factor for consumers to evaluate or purchase food [ 12 , 13 ]. Therefore, our work believes that consumers’ evaluation of or preference for customized foods depends on their own food-related expertise.…”