Harder Than You Think: Misconceptions about Logging Food with Photos versus Text

27 Pages Posted: 9 Feb 2022 Last revised: 24 Oct 2022

See all articles by Jackie Silverman

Jackie Silverman

University of Delaware - Business Administration

Alixandra Barasch

INSEAD; New York University (NYU) - Leonard N. Stern School of Business

Kristin Diehl

University of Southern California - Marshall School of Business

Gal Zauberman

Yale

Date Written: January 14, 2022

Abstract

Consumers lose more weight when they log their food consumption more consistently, yet they face challenges in doing so. We investigate how the modality of food logging—whether people record what they eat by taking photos versus writing text—affects their anticipated and actual logging experience and behavior. We find that consumers are more likely to adopt and anticipate better experiences with photo-based food logging tools over text-based tools. However, in a weeklong field study, these expectations reveal themselves to be inaccurate; once participants start logging, they find taking photos (versus writing text) to be more difficult, log less of what they eat, and are less likely to continue using the logging tool. These findings contribute to existing research on how people track goal progress, as well as persistence with and dis-adoption of products. Moreover, our findings provide insights into what might increase the use of products that encourage healthy eating.

Keywords: food, health, eating, field study, tracking, photos, misprediction, goal persistence

JEL Classification: I12, M31

Suggested Citation

Silverman, Jackie and Barasch, Alixandra and Diehl, Kristin and Zauberman, Gal, Harder Than You Think: Misconceptions about Logging Food with Photos versus Text (January 14, 2022). USC Marshall School of Business Research Paper Sponsored by iORB, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4028059 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4028059

Jackie Silverman (Contact Author)

University of Delaware - Business Administration ( email )

214 MBNA America Hall
Orchard Road & Amstel Avenue
Newark, DE 19716-2710
United States

Alixandra Barasch

INSEAD ( email )

Boulevard de Constance
Fontainebleau, 77305
France

New York University (NYU) - Leonard N. Stern School of Business ( email )

44 West 4th Street
Suite 9-160
New York, NY NY 10012
United States

Kristin Diehl

University of Southern California - Marshall School of Business ( email )

701 Exposition Blvd
Los Angeles, CA California 90089
United States

Gal Zauberman

Yale ( email )

165 Whitney Avenue
New Haven, CT 06511
United States

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