The psychology of sugary drinks: The role of consumption and reward simulations

消费含糖饮料的动机是什么？为什么有些人选择可乐，而有些人选择水来佐餐或解渴？我们对这些行为背后的心理过程知之甚少。虽然人们对不健康食品的动机进行了广泛的研究，但对含糖饮料的动机仍然研究不足，尽管它们对健康有负面影响。高达19%的每日卡路里摄入量由饮料中的糖组成，含糖饮料的消费有助于体重增加。含糖饮料的消费是导致牙齿健康不良和超重的主要原因，仅在英格兰，NHS每年就花费34亿英镑和47亿英镑（英国公共卫生，2014年）。特别是考虑到最近媒体的关注，许多消费者都意识到了含糖饮料的健康影响，但很难成功地减少摄入量。因此，了解含糖饮料的动机是什么，以及如何有效地帮助消费者用更健康的替代品（如水）取代含糖饮料是很重要的。我们建议，含糖饮料通过消费和奖励模拟来获得吸引力。换句话说，当人们看到或想到含糖饮料时，他们会自发地模仿（即，重新体验）的感觉和奖励消费它，如它的味道，由此产生的能量提升，解渴，基于他们以前的，有益的经验。这些模拟触发了消费含糖饮料的欲望，特别是在感到口渴的时候。虽然有证据表明这种模拟在食物动机中的作用，但以前的研究没有将这种解释应用于饮料。我们的研究将首先系统地测试这种对含糖饮料动机的模拟解释，然后以创新的方式用它来刺激更健康的选择。在子项目1中，我们将研究由含糖饮料和水引发的特定模拟。基于我们最近收集的试点数据，我们预计含糖饮料将比水引发更多的消费和奖励模拟（“冷”，“起泡”，“美味”，“提神”），特别是在含糖饮料的高消费者中，特别是口渴时。在子项目2中，我们将把这些消费和奖励模拟与消费含糖饮料和水的动机联系起来。为此，我们将使用一种新颖的方法来评估动机不引人注目：我们将测量参与者在观看饮料图像时在Wii平衡板上略微前倾的程度。这种微妙的接近动作已被证明反映了动机和欲望。我们预测，更多的消费和奖励模拟将与更多地倾向于含糖饮料图像相关，特别是在含糖饮料的高消费者中，特别是在口渴的时候。最后，在子项目3中，我们将利用这些发现开发一种干预方法，帮助消费者用水代替含糖饮料。通常，含糖饮料的广告主要关注消费和回报，而水的广告则侧重于纯度和健康益处。我们提出，可以通过提高消费和奖励模拟来增加消费水的动机，就像含糖饮料一样。因此，我们将测试使用图像和文字来触发饮用水的消费和奖励模拟是否会使水更具吸引力，增加水的选择，并减少含糖饮料的选择。我们将在自然环境中与实际消费者进行在线和实地实验来测试这一点。总之，这些实验将帮助我们了解是什么让含糖饮料如此难以抗拒，以及健康从业者，干预开发人员和行业如何提高更健康的替代品的动机吸引力，以刺激更健康的饮料选择。

What is the motivation for consuming sugary drinks? Why do some people choose Coke, and others water, to accompany their dinner or to quench their thirst? We know very little about the psychological processes underlying these behaviours. While the motivation for unhealthy food has been researched extensively, the motivation for sugary drinks remains understudied, despite their negative health implications. Up to 19% of daily calorie intake consists of sugar from drinks, and the consumption of sugary drinks contributes to weight gain. The consumption of sugary drinks is a main contributor to poor dental health and to overweight, which cost the NHS £ 3.4 billon and £ 4.7 billion a year in England alone (Public Health England, 2014). Especially given the recent media attention, many consumers are aware of the health implications of sugary drinks, but struggle to successfully reduce their intake. Therefore, it is important to understand what underlies the motivation for sugary drinks, and how we can effectively assist consumers in replacing sugary drinks with healthier alternatives such as water.We propose that sugary drinks gain their attractiveness through consumption and reward simulations. In other words, when people see or think about a sugary drink, they spontaneously simulate (i.e., re-experience) the sensation and the reward of consuming it, such as its taste, the resulting energy boost, and the quenching of thirst, based on their previous, rewarding experiences. These simulations trigger a desire to consume sugary drinks, particularly when feeling thirsty. Although evidence exists for the role of such simulations in the motivation for food, no previous studies have applied this account to drinks. Our research will first systematically test this simulation account of the motivation for sugary drinks, and then use it to stimulate healthier choices in innovative ways. In Subproject 1, we will investigate the specific simulations that are triggered by sugary drinks and by water. Building on recent pilot data that we have collected, we expect that sugary drinks will trigger more consumption and reward simulations ("cold", "fizzy", "tasty", "refreshing") than water, particularly among high consumers of sugary drinks, and particularly when thirsty. In Subproject 2, we will link these consumption and reward simulations to the motivation to consume sugary drinks and water. To this end, we will use a novel method to assess motivation unobtrusively: we will measure the degree to which participants slightly lean forward on a Wii balance board when viewing images of drinks. Such subtle approach movements have been shown to reflect motivation and desire. We predict that more consumption and reward simulations will be associated with leaning forward more toward sugary drinks images, especially among high consumers of sugary drinks and especially when thirsty. Finally, in Subproject 3, we will use these findings to develop an intervention approach to help consumers replace sugary drinks with water. Typically, advertisements for sugary drinks focus heavily on consumption and reward, whereas advertisements for water focus on purity and health benefits. We propose that motivation for consuming water can be increased by boosting consumption and reward simulations, in a similar way as for sugary drinks. Thus, we will test whether using images and words that trigger consumption and reward simulations for drinking water makes water more attractive and increases water choices, and reduces choices for sugary drinks. We will test this in both online and field experiments with actual consumers in naturalistic settings. Together, these experiments will help us understand what makes sugary drinks so difficult to resist, and how health practitioners, intervention developers, and industry can boost the motivational appeal of healthier alternatives to stimulate healthier beverage choices.