Pre-test 3: Visual imagery for walls

Two sets of wall imagery are also sought for use as manipulations in Study 2. More- healthy imagery observed in more-healthy food stores in Study 1 provides one stimulus, while the less-healthy imagery will represent the other manipulated stimulus. Less- healthy imagery such as pictures of bagels, chocolate slices, alcohol, and cakes was largely associated with less-healthy food stores in Study 1. Non-food-related imagery such as photographs of famous people, decorative wall decals, and paintings of landscapes was less associated with less-healthy foods in Study 1 in terms of effect size. Therefore, the former was selected to represent the less-healthy store environment in pre-test 3. The imagery types were pre-tested to assess perceived healthfulness of the images individually and as two groups. To be used as manipulations in the experimental design in Study 2, the more-healthy imagery group should be perceived as being significantly healthier than the less-healthy imagery group.

4.4.1 Participants and method

Pre-test 3 assessed how more-healthy (versus less-healthy) wall imagery representative of a more-healthy (versus less-healthy) store environment could create a message of healthfulness for individuals by activating associations to health-related concepts and related product categories.

Participants were 105 shoppers invited via social media and email to complete an online questionnaire generated through Qualtrics (Appendix H). Nineteen images were evaluated across four questionnaires to minimise response fatigue (Gilbert & Churchill, 1999). Participants evaluated either one image (Appendix K) or several images (Appendix L; Table 22). As participants viewed each image they were asked to reveal the first thing that came to their minds, and if they associated the image with anything

(example questions in Appendix H). On a separate online page, participants were next asked to rate the properties of the image based on its healthfulness, pleasantness, familiarity, stimulation (Appendix H) and the appropriateness of the image for a supermarket environment on 7-point Likert-type scales (1 = very unhealthy, very unpleasant, very unfamiliar, very calming or extremely inappropriate to 7 = very healthy, very pleasant, very familiar, very stimulating or extremely appropriate). Participants were also asked whether the imagery encouraged them to want to purchase from sections within the supermarket such as dairy, bakery, frozen, butchery, confectionary, fruit and vegetable, grocery, seafood, delicatessen, or other (Appendix M).

Table 22. Number of participants exposed to imagery stimuli.

Questionnaire Imagery Type Participants

1 Bagels, chicken, cheese, lollies, fresh seafood, meat on a platter, fresh fruit and vegetables, white bread

24

2 Brown bread, cows in meadow, coffee & biscuits, cooked fish, bakery items, salad, chopped cow, winery, pie

27

3 Dessert Image 30

4 Jam scones with cream 24

Total 105

4.4.2 Analysis and findings

All of the imagery was scored for pleasant, appropriate and stimulation, as per the mean scores (Table 23). Analysis of participant responses to the healthfulness of the image revealed that they felt, overall, that fruit and vegetables, scallop salad, fresh seafood, cooked fish, chickens in a meadow, meat on a platter, cows in a meadow, and brown bread images ranked as the healthiest (means > 4.8). However, winery, jam scones with cream, pie, bagel, coffee and biscuits, dessert, bakery and lollies images were rated the least healthy (means < 4.5; Table 23).

Table 23. Participants (n = 24-30) perceptions of different imagery types ranked from one to seven for perceived healthiness, pleasantness, appropriateness and stimulation

Imagery Type Healthiness Mean(SD) Pleasantness Mean(SD) Appropriateness Mean(SD) Stimulation Mean(SD) Fruit & vegetables 6.88(0.60) 6.60(0.82) 6.48(1.42) 4.68(2.15)

Scallop salad 6.70(0.54) 6.33(0.78) 6.00(1.41) 5.04(1.79) Fresh seafood 6.28(1.49) 4.96(1.95) 6.08(1.22) 4.76(1.36) Cooked fish 6.11(1.19) 5.15(2.23) 5.44(1.42) 4.67(1.44) Chickens in meadow 5.60(1.55) 5.80(1.44) 4.28(1.77) 3.88(1.76) Meat on a platter 5.60(1.55) 5.32(1.55) 5.84(1.37) 5.16(1.46) Cows in meadow 5.41(1.55) 5.44(1.40) 4.41(1.78) 4.07(1.84) Brown bread 4.85(1.63) 5.89(1.34) 6.04(1.34) 4.04(1.34) Cow Chopped 4.48(1.50) 4.07(1.62) 4.74(1.91) 4.52(1.19) Cheese 4.12(1.30) 5.64(1.68) 5.68(1.38) 4.84(1.43) White bread 4.08(1.71) 5.68(1.44) 6.16(0.90) 4.08(2.00) Winery 3.67(1.54) 5.93(1.27) 4.85(1.46) 4.29(1.97)

Jam scones cream 3.04(1.30) 5.67(1.49) 4.75(1.85) 4.67(1.68)

Pie 2.85(1.41) 5.00(1.30) 5.19(1.11) 4.33(1.36)

Bagel 2.76(1.56) 4.80(1.63) 4.64(1.75) 4.36(1.60)

Coffee and biscuits 2.26(1.40) 6.26(0.98) 5.52(1.40) 3.44(1.91)

Dessert 1.80(1.00) 5.97(1.25) 4.67(1.67) 5.17(1.46)

Bakery 1.70(1.10) 5.52(1.81) 5.15(1.68) 4.59(1.76)

Lollies 1.24(0.66) 4.20(2.02) 3.68(1.97) 5.28(1.59)

Note: 7-point likert type scale (1 = least, 7 = most).

This is further supported by a paired samples t-test in which the more-healthy and less- healthy images were grouped together to reveal that, on average, the more-healthy imagery condition was perceived to be significantly more-healthy (M = 5.91, SE = 0.075) than the less-healthy imagery condition (M = 2.37, SE = 0.075), t (207) = 23.652,

p < 0.001, r = 0.073. Analysis of frequency of participant verbatim responses revealed

that more-healthy imagery had strong associations (49%) to healthier foods such as vegetables, fruit, seafood, salads, meat, and consuming healthier foods, and being healthier (Appendix M and N). In contrast, less-healthy food-related imagery was associated (52%) with less healthy foods such as confectionary, desserts, bakery foods, and consuming less healthy foods, and being unhealthy.

Thus, these findings support the hypothesis that more-healthy (versus less-healthy) imagery created a message of healthfulness for individuals by activating associations to health-related concepts and related product categories. More-healthy imagery was perceived to be healthier than the less-healthy imagery. The imagery of fruit and vegetables, scallop salad, fresh seafood, cooked fish, chickens in meadow, meat on a platter, cows in meadow and brown bread were chosen to represent the more-healthy imagery in Study 2. The imagery of winery, jam scones with cream, pie, bagel, coffee and biscuits, dessert, bakery and lollies were chosen to represent the less healthy imagery in Study 2.

4.4.3 Discussion and hypothesis development

Exposure to a non-consciously perceived more-healthy imagery (versus less-healthy imagery) prime might influence the health composition of shopper food baskets. A positive relationship is expected between the more-healthy imagery and healthier food choices for three reasons (1) the health-orientated prime activates knowledge structures that makes health-relevant information highly accessible, guiding subsequent processing (Loersch & Paynee, 2011) and behaviour, as per spreading activation theory (Collins & Loftus, 1975), (2) the non-conscious nature of store atmospheric cues can act as a reminder or prompt for shoppers to engage in health behaviours, as per nudging theory (Thaler & Sustein, 2008), and (3) shoppers might misattribute incoming information to their own internal response in turn guiding behaviour, as per the situated inference model (Loersch & Payne, 2011) (Section 2.3).

Imagery has health-evoking ability in motivating consumers to purchase healthier foods. Stockli et al. (2016) suggest that associations between the environmental cue (healthier imagery) and diet, body-weight and/or health relevant concepts could potentially moderate the relationship. In addition, studies have shown that visual food images can activate food cravings, appetitive appeal, health goals, reward drive, and motivation for consumption of the presented foods (Beaver et al., 2006; Forwood et al., 2015; Kemps et al., 2016; Killgore et al., 2003). More-healthy imagery (versus less-healthy imagery) could therefore prompt associations to health-relevant concepts, heightening one’s appetite for and choice of particular products.

It is also plausible that more-healthy imagery prime could be negatively related to the health basket composition of shopper food baskets for the reasons that a misleading

health halo could be created (via an assimilation effect) (Chandon & Wansink, 2007; Wansink & Chandon, 2006) or the activation of self-regulation goals and avoidance tendencies due to guilt, self-presentation, weight management, and health may come into play (Fletcher et al., 2007; Killgore et al., 2003; Stroebe et al., 2008). However, the previously associated evidence with more-healthy imagery and healthier food choices and the strong theoretical arguments support, on balance, a positive relationship. The following hypothesis is therefore proposed:

H3: Shoppers exposed to more-healthy wall imagery (priming stimulus) will purchase more thematically congruent baskets of food (healthier foods) than shoppers exposed to less healthy food-related wall imagery (priming stimulus).