It is known that people learn both from their own experiences and by observing others. Scientifically, the latter is called social modelling.
A team of scientists from Aston and Birmingham universities decided to conduct an experiment with social modelling. A previous study had already shown that observing people look at food with expressions of disgust or delight could influence participants’ willingness to eat the food.
The new study included young women ages 18 to 30. This preference is due to the fact that the effect of social modeling may be stronger for them than for men. Experts suggested that other people’s reactions to eating raw broccoli would change the subjects’ attitude towards the product.
Before the experiment started, all participants were divided into three groups. The women each watched one of three videos featuring people eating broccoli. These videos differed from each other in the facial expression people used when consuming the products: neutral, smiling, or disgusted.
It turns out that only the negative reaction to food is “contagious.” That is, after watching a video of people eating broccoli with disgust, participants rated the vegetable’s appeal as lower.
Source: Ferra
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