Researchers at NOVA School of Business and Economics in Portugal find that, in general, children 7 to 8 years of age know what is healthy and what’s not and think it is good to eat healthy foods. But they also think it’s great fun to rebel against being healthy,
Researchers at Boston College found that asking children 8 to 12 years old to read nutritional information on food packages made them less likely to choose the healthier alternatives. It seemed to be a matter of the children vying for control.
Consumer behavior experts from University of Calgary conducted focus groups with 225 children from various parts of Canada. The children were asked to discuss the differences between “kids food” and “adult food.” These young consumers said kids food was more likely to be sugary and come in unusual shapes and colors, while adult food was more likely to be plain, easily recognizable fruits, vegetables, and meats.
When the focus group moderators probed deeper with the children, the moderators found that, as in the NOVA study, the children in the Calgary study thought it was a prerogative of childhood to rebel against being healthy.
From the perspective of developmental psychology, an important difference in the child’s mind between rebelling as a child and rebelling as an adult is that the adult does it with more authority.
One way a retailer can fulfill the ethical obligation to guide younger consumers toward healthy habits is to associate those habits with having more authority and accountability.
Click below for more:
Preoccupy Shoppers for Indulgent Choices
Convince Kids that Healthy Has Authority
Probe Beneath Sugary Answers
Invert First Impressions Via Reverse Psychology
Steal Attention with Rascal Appeal
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