Conscious and Unconscious Consumer Choice of Food Products

Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)

• Introduction
• Consumer choice
  • The conscious in consumer choice
    • Bounded Rationality
    • The Elaboration Likelihood Model
  • The unconscious in consumer choice
• Product attributes
  • Search attributes
  • Credence attributes
  • Experience attributes
• Conscious and unconscious product choice
• Methodology
  • Participants
  • Design
  • Materials
  • Procedure
• Results
  • General results
  • H1 testing
  • H2 testing
  • H3 testing
• General discussion

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)

This study investigates the influence of conscious and unconscious decision-making on consumer satisfaction with food product choices. The research explores the role of different product attributes, namely search, credence, and experience attributes, in shaping consumer preferences and satisfaction levels.

• The impact of conscious and unconscious decision-making on consumer satisfaction with food products.
• The role of search, credence, and experience attributes in influencing food choices.
• The interplay between product attributes and cognitive processes (conscious vs. unconscious) in shaping consumer preferences.
• The implications of these findings for marketing professionals, policymakers, and food designers.

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)

Chapter 1: Introduction

The chapter introduces the research topic by exploring the duality of conscious and unconscious decision-making in the context of food product choices. It highlights the conflicting perspectives on the superiority of conscious or unconscious thought in consumer behavior and outlines the need for a more nuanced approach that considers the specific characteristics of food products.

Chapter 2: Consumer Choice

This chapter examines existing consumer behavior models that emphasize conscious deliberation, such as the Theory of Planned Behavior, and introduces the concept of bounded rationality as a mechanism for simplifying complex decisions. It then explores the role of unconscious thought in decision-making, drawing on theories that suggest that a significant number of choices are made unconsciously and influenced by environmental factors.

Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)

The primary focus of this research lies on the intersection of consumer behavior, decision-making, and food product choice. Key areas of investigation include conscious and unconscious deliberation, product attributes (search, credence, and experience), consumer satisfaction, and the implications of these findings for marketing, policy, and food design.