This research examines the consequences of incidental food consumption for trust and cooperation. We find that strangers who are assigned to eat similar (vs. dissimilar) foods are more trusting of each other in a trust game (Study 1). Food consumption further influences conflict resolution, with strangers who are assigned to eat similar foods cooperating more in a labor negotiation, and therefore earning more money (Study 2). The role of incidental food similarity on increased trust extends to the product domain.
Consumers are more trusting of information about non-food products (e.g., a software product) when the advertiser in the product testimonial eats similar food to them (Study 3). Lastly, we find evidence that food serves as a particularly strong cue of trust compared with other incidental similarity. People perceive that pairs eating similar foods, but not pairs wearing similar colored shirts, are more trusting of one another (Study 4). We discuss theoretical and practical implications of this work for improving interactions between strangers, and for marketing products.
Layperson’s Abstract
Imagine meeting for coffee with a colleague that you just met. Is it possible that eating the same snack as this new acquaintance could increase your trust in that person? Similarly, could eating the same snack as a salesperson increase your trust in information about a product? In our research, we examine the consequences incidental food consumption can have for increasing trust and cooperation between strangers. We find strangers who eat the same food come to trust each other more and cooperate more in their interactions, with implications for both consumers and marketers: Consumers can be strategic in the food they eat, utilizing food as a social lubricant when out on a date or when having lunch with a colleague, and marketers can use incidental, similar food consumption to increase trust in product information when advertising non-food products.
Four studies tested our prediction that similar food consumption increases closeness and liking, which promote trust and cooperation. In Study 1 we partnered people with a stranger and assigned them to eat either similar or dissimilar food. Afterwards, the pair took part in an investment game designed to measure trust. In each pair, one person was an investor and received $3 that could be invested in the other person, assigned the role of fund-manager. If investors chose to invest in fund-managers, any amount they invested would be doubled, and the fund-manager could decide to give some, all, or none of the invested money back to the investor. We found that investors trusted fund-managers more when they ate similar food, investing more money in fund-managers than when they ate different food.
In Study 2, we extended these results to determine whether similarity in food consumption improves cooperation when negotiating. In this study, pairs were assigned to eat either similar sets of food (3 of the same items) or different sets of food (3 different items). Pairs were then assigned to opposing sides of a labor negotiation where they had to exchange bids on an hourly wage during a strike period. Those assigned the role of union leader wanted a higher wage for the union, whereas those assigned the management position wanted a lower wage for the union. We predicted and found that pairs who had first consumed similar foods were better at negotiating, reaching a faster resolution and incurring fewer costs due to the strike than pairs who consumed different food. This was because pairs felt closer after eating similar foods.
We were further interested in the implications these results in a marketing context. We predicted that consumers who eat similar food as an advertiser could come to like the advertiser more, and as a result, be more trusting of information about a product the advertiser promotes. To test this, we had people eat and evaluate a candy bar while watching video testimonials for two different products. The advertisers in the product testimonials either ate the same food as participants, different food, or no food while providing information about their own experiences with the products. We found that when advertisers ate the same food as consumers, consumers liked the advertisers more and therefore trusted the information about the advertised product more than when advertisers ate different or no food.
One remaining question we had was whether incidental similarity increases trust in general, or whether there is something special about incidental food consumption. To address this, in Study 4 we examined the powerful role of similar food consumption for trust. In this study, people viewed pairs of photos and indicated how much they believed the pairs in the photos trusted each other. Some people viewed pairs of photos featuring students eating similar and dissimilar food, while the other group of people viewed pairs of photos featuring students wearing similar and dissimilar colored shirts. This allowed us to test whether incidental similar food is a powerful cue of trust compared with other incidental similarity (i.e., shirt color). People expected those who ate similarly to trust each other more than those who ate different food. However, people did not expect those wearing similar colored shirts to trust each other more than those wearing different colored shirts. This suggests food similarity is a powerful cue for inferring trust, even among third party observers.
Across our studies, we find incidental, similar food consumption brings consumers closer and increases liking, leading to increased trust and cooperation between strangers. This extended to increase trust of product information when an advertiser ate similarly to a consumer, and also to increased inferences of trust for an outsider observing pairs of individuals.
Our research has implications for marketers and consumers. It suggests people can be strategic in their food consumption in order to connect with another person or in the food they serve to others they wish to connect together. For example, people in a business meeting, those selecting food to serve at a conference, or those out to eat on a first date can speed up the process of getting to like and trust another person by eating more similarly to them.
Although similarity in food consumption is not indicative of whether two people will get along or whether someone is trustworthy, it appears that consumers treat this as such, and feel closer to and more trusting of those who consume as they do.
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