Unhealthy Equals Tasty Intuition

What it is

In four experiments, Raghunathan, Naylor and Hoyer found that when healthiness information was given, a less healthy item was judged tastier, enjoyed more during consumption and chosen more when a pleasure goal was salient. The effect appeared among people who hold the belief and, to a lesser degree, among those who do not, and operated at an implicit level.

In effect

In the article on why high protein sells, a product that carries a virtue word and still reads as a treat can offer both.

What it does not say

The four experiments measured judgements of taste, enjoyment and choice when healthiness was stated. They do not say that healthy food tastes worse.

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