Justified indulgence: self-licensing effects on caloric consumption

Sosja Prinsen*, Catharine Evers, Denise T.D. de Ridder

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Objective: Research on self-licensing, i.e. employing justifications to give into temptation, largely consists of studies examining dichotomous food choices (healthy vs. unhealthy), while evidence for its effects on how much (unhealthy) food is consumed remains scarce. The present studies aimed to demonstrate self-licensing effects on caloric consumption in both lab (Study 1 & 2) and field setting (Study 3).

Design: In all studies, female student samples were recruited. They either received a justification cue (license condition) or not (control condition), after which they could eat freely from unhealthy snacks (Study 1, N = 85 and Study 2, N = 95) or choose a snack for direct consumption at a take-out lunch place (Study 3, N = 110). Main outcome measures: Caloric value of consumed snacks (Study 1 and 2) and chosen snack (Study 3).

Results: In all studies, caloric consumption was higher in the license condition compared to the control condition: Participants ate more of the provided unhealthy snacks (Study 1 and 2) and chose a snack of higher caloric value (Study 3).

Conclusions: The present research corroborates self-licensing as an important factor in the consumption of unhealthy foods by employing more ecologically valid outcomes.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)24-43
JournalPsychology and Health
Volume34
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2 Jan 2019

Keywords

  • food consumption
  • indulgence
  • justification
  • Self-licensing
  • temptation

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