How Food Packaging Messes With Your Mind
Chew on this: People are more likely to think a food item is healthier if it has a green calorie label, according to a new study out of Cornell University. The study, published in the journal Health Communication, took place in two parts. First, 93 undergrad participants looked at a picture of one of two candy bars. The candy bars each had the same number of calories listed: 260. In fact, they were nearly identical—the only difference between them was that one had a green calorie label, and the other had a red calorie label. Yet the participants who looked at the photo of the green-labeled candy bar judged it to be significantly healthier and to have fewer calories than other candy bars. “Green means go and has generally positive associations, so we might see that as a green light to indulge,” says Jonathon Schuldt, PhD, the lead study author, assistant professor of communication, and director of Cornell’s Social Cognition and Communication Lab. Since red can of course carry its ow...