How can restaurants entice patrons to order environmentally sustainable dishes? Testing new approaches based on hedonic psychology and affective forecasting theory

Abstract

Encouraging restaurant guests to order vegetarian dishes plays a key role in creating a more environmentally sustainable tourism sector. However, for many consumers eating a meat dish is an important aspect of their enjoyment-focused restaurant experience. Identifying new approaches that support restaurants in selling more vegetarian dishes are urgently needed. Drawing from hedonic psychology and affective forecasting theory, this study tests two interventions aimed at directing ordering towards specific vegetarian dishes in a scenario-based survey experiment with 742 consumers. Results show the potential of affective forecasting as a promising psychological mechanism. Displaying an appetising picture of a vegetarian dish on a menu increases stated ordering of the dish because the picture directs consumer attention to the dish and triggers them to imagine eating the dish. Consumers who imagine eating the dish feel stronger anticipated enjoyment of eating it. Adding to the picture an invitation to imagine eating the dish does not further increase the effect. This study explains the psychological mechanism of how a picture of an appetising vegetarian dish changes food choices and provides restaurants with a cost-effective measure to direct ordering towards more environmentally sustainable dishes.

Keywords: Affective forecasting; anticipated enjoyment; episodic thinking; hedonic psychology; menu design; sustainable consumption.

Figure 1.

Effect plots for hypothesis H1 to H4 and H6 to H11.

Figure 2.

The role of episodic thinking, anticipated enjoyment, and attention triggered by appetising photos in increasing stated target dish choice.