Altruistic indulgence: people voluntarily consume high-calorie foods to make other people feel comfortable and pleasant instead of guilty

Altruistic indulgence: people voluntarily consume high-calorie foods to make other people feel comfortable and pleasant. Youjae Yi, Jacob C. Lee & Saetbyeol Kim. Social Influence, https://doi.org/10.1080/15534510.2018.1546616

ABSTRACT: We explored a novel phenomenon where people in certain social contexts voluntarily consume high-calorie foods with the altruistic motive of making other people feel comfortable and pleasant. We hypothesized that people are likely to choose a high-calorie food, especially around others with whom they have communal relationships (e.g., friends), because of the desire to induce in others feelings of pleasantness rather than guilt. A field study at a café shows that this phenomenon emerges in the real world, and a scenario-based experiment supports our altruistic account with mediation analyses. The alternative explanation of a social acceptance account is ruled out.

KEYWORDS: Indulgence, altruism, decision making for others, social eating, social influence