Dynamic Mental Representations of Habitual Behaviours: Food Choice on a Web-Based Environment.

Aim: Rather than being rigid, habitual behaviours may be determined by dynamic mental representations that can adapt to context changes. This adaptive potential may result from particular conditions dependent on the interaction between two sources of mental constructs activation: perceived context a...

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Published in:Psychology, Community & Health Vol. 5; no. 2; pp. 115 - 134
Main Authors: Gaspar, Rui, Palma-Oliveira, José Manuel, Corral-Verdugo, Victor
Format: Article
Published: Psychology, Community & Health 2016
Subjects:
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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      dt: 2016
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      pub: Psychology, Community & Health
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        118583024
        10.5964/pch.v5i2.171
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        atl: Dynamic Mental Representations of Habitual Behaviours: Food Choice on a Web-Based Environment.
      aug:
        au:
          Gaspar, Rui
          Palma-Oliveira, José Manuel
          Corral-Verdugo, Victor
        affil:
          William James Center for Research, ISPA - Instituto Universitário, Lisbon, Portugal
          Faculty of Psychology, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
          Division de Ciencias Sociales, Universidad de Sonora, Hermosillo, Mexico
      su:
        Food habits
        Context effects (Psychology)
        Cognitive ability
        Choice (Psychology)
        Online shopping
      sug:
        subj:
          Food habits
          Context effects (Psychology)
          Cognitive ability
          Choice (Psychology)
          Online shopping
      keyword:
        behavioural goals
        cognitive accessibility
        food choice
        habitual behaviour
        perceived applicability
        web-based environments
      ab: Aim: Rather than being rigid, habitual behaviours may be determined by dynamic mental representations that can adapt to context changes. This adaptive potential may result from particular conditions dependent on the interaction between two sources of mental constructs activation: perceived context applicability and cognitive accessibility. Method: Two web-shopping simulations offering the choice between habitually chosen and non-habitually chosen food products were presented to participants. This considered two choice contexts differing in the habitual behaviour perceived applicability (low vs. high) and a measure of habitual behaviour chronicity. Results: Study 1 demonstrated a perceived applicability effect, with more habitual (non-organic) than non-habitual (organic) food products chosen in a high perceived applicability (familiar) than in a low perceived applicability (new) context. The adaptive potential of habitual behaviour was evident in the habitual products choice consistency across three successive choices, despite the decrease in perceived applicability. Study 2 evidenced the adaptive potential in strong habitual behaviour participants - high chronic accessibility - who chose a habitual product (milk) more than a non-habitual product (orange juice), even when perceived applicability was reduced (new context). Conclusion: Results portray consumers as adaptive decision makers that can flexibly cope with changes in their (inner and outer) choice contexts.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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      custom: Copyright of Psychology, Community & Health is the property of Psychology, Community & Health and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
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