International Journal of Research in Marketing
Volume 33, Issue 4, December 2016, Pages 856–867
 

Jieun Koo (a), , , Kwanho Suk(b),
a College of Business Administration, Pukyong National University, Busan, 48513, Republic of Korea
b School of Business, Korea University, Seoul, 02841, Republic of Korea
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijresmar.2016.03.002

Abstract
This research investigates how the shape of a package influences the estimation of calories. Study 1 shows that food in taller packages is perceived as having fewer calories than food in wider packages. Study 2 demonstrates that package shape has opposite effects on the estimations of calorie and volume: food in taller packages appears to have fewer calories but to be greater in volume than food in wider packages. Study 3 investigates the differences between the estimation processes for calorie and volume by manipulating the order of the two tasks. Finally, Study 4 shows that taller (vs. wider) packages increase the consumption of food when participants are mindful of calorie intake.

 Keywords Calorie estimation; Volume estimation; Package shape; Inference