Exploring the influence of mood states on food purchasing behavior
Type of research: Qualitative
Description:
What type of food do you crave when you’re feeling sad or happy? According to a large body of literature we are inclined to eat unhealthy foods when we experience negative emotions, and are more prone to eating healthy foods when feeling positive. Does our mood however also influences the type of products we buy? In this assignment you’re going to investigate whether different mood states influence the characteristics of purchased products. Think about e.g. preferences for packaging, whether something is offered on discount, whether it is sustainably produced, the amount of food bought, the ratio between healthy and unhealthy foods etc.
The photo diary or photo-elicitation method is an innovative way of gaining insight into a participant’s life. In those type of diaries, participants receive certain prompts for taking photographs. With almost every one owning a smartphone these days, it is an accessible method to use. Combined with the experience sampling method, where participants have to daily report on one’s state, photo diaries can be a powerful tool to gather rich insight into a participant.
In this study you will ask participants to make photographs of the food items purchased each day, and answer some questions related to their mood. You will qualitatively analyze the photographs and group them into categories depending on your research question. An explorative, qualitative approach is used to look for trends in mood states and how they affected the type of products purchased. Optionally, semi-structured interviews will be conducted as well to gather more insight into the reasons why certain products were bought and whether taking photographs of their food purchases has potentially affected their purchases.