The Strawberry Experiment

Subjects

Design

Methods

Procedure

IV: organic/non-organic strawberries+labels

DV: results in taste preferences

Control group: Received strawberries without label

Between-groups design

• Participants: 60 students from FIC
• Average age: 19.5 years old
• Countries of origin: China, Japan, Kazakhstan, India, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Russia, Nigeria, Ukraine, Tanzania, Korea, Kenya, Bangladeshi.

Materials

Materials used for experiment:

• Organic (Driscoll’s) and non-organic (Dole) strawberries
• Labels
• Questionnaires

Results Based On Age

Discussion

Addressing the Hypothesis

Limitation

Hypothesis: If participants were given organic and non-organic strawberries, they will be more likely to choose the organic strawberries because of the quality and brand as well the perception that organic products are more healthy.

• Further research on cultural preference.
• Students had a limited amount of time.
• Didn't do enough experiments.
• Didn't have enough subjects.

On average:

• Ages 17-18 prefer organic to non-organic
• Ages 19-20 prefer organic to non-organic
• Ages 21-22 prefer non-organic to organic

And on average all ages prefer:

• Organic when correctly labeled
• Non-organic when mislabeled
• Organic if there is no label

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newsvideo/viral-video/11186018/Pranksters-serve-McDonalds-to-organic-food-experts.html

Video:

Results Compared To Other Studies

General Results(Continued)

Hotel Experiment

Brand Name Influence on Brand Perception

study 1

study 5

McDonalds Experiment

• Subjects: 63 preschoolers.
• Same burger with different wrappers: McDonalds and an unfamiliar brand.
• Results: 80 percent of children chose McDonalds.

Did the Labels Affect Your Choice?

65% of the students who said “NO” indicated that:

• They made their decision based on the color of the strawberries.
• They made their decision based on taste .

Conclusion

35% of the students who said “YES” indicated that:

• They made their decision based on the label.
• They made their decision based on taste.

Introduction

• Even though most subjects said that they were not affected by the label, the results show otherwise.

Based on how labeling can effect a person's opinion.

Results Based On Gender

Conducted experiment with two types of strawberries:

• Organic strawberries
• Non-organic strawberries

Bibliography

General Results

Mislabeled Strawberries

• Brand Name Influence on Brand Perception: Wänke, M., Herrmann, A. and Schaffner, D. (2007), Brand name influence on brand perception. Psychol. Mark., 24: 1–24. doi: 10.1002/mar.20150
• Do food labels affect confectionery purchases and consumption? (1994). Candy Industry (this goes in italics), 159(5),M2
• Liu, Y. (2014). How labeling changes consumers' taste perceptions: A field experiment on organic and local apples (Order No. 1562399). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (1564761553). Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.proxy.lib.sfu.ca/docview/1564761553?accountid=13800
• Porter, D. V., Earl, R. O., & Institute of Medicine (U.S.). Committee on the Nutrition Components of Food Labeling. (1990). Nutrition labeling: Issues and directions for the 1990s. Washington, D.C: National Academy Press.
• Video: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newsvideo/viral-video/11186018/Pranksters-serve-McDonalds-to-organic-food-experts.html

Abstract

According to the results:

1. People prefer organic strawberries to non-organic strawberries when they have the correct label.

2. People prefer non-organic strawberries to organic strawberries if mislabeled.

3. People prefer organic strawberries to non-organic strawberries if there is no label.

According to the results:

1. Males generally prefer non-organic strawberries to organic strawberries.

2. Females generally prefer organic strawberries to non-organic strawberries.

3. Both males and females prefer organic when the strawberries are correctly labeled.

4. Both males and females prefer non-organic when the strawberries are mislabeled.

5. Both males and females prefer organic strawberries when there is no label.

Hypothesis

Introduction (Continued)

• Many studies show that branding and labeling affects our food preference.
• We would like to show how people are affected by health branding by feeding them organic and non-organic strawberries and asking their preference.

Main point: To see if people react more favorably to healthier alternatives when reading the labels.

Reason:

1. People like food.

2. It would be interesting to know how labeling may change a person’s thought.

Hypothesis: If participants were given organic and non-organic strawberries, they will be more likely to choose the organic strawberries because of the quality and brand as well the perception that organic products are more healthy.

The Strawberry Experiment

By: Alina A., Maxine M., Alina Z., and Narcisse O.