Roles
Student co-author:
Michael Brauer Fellman '25, Gettysburg College
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
9-13-2024
Department 1
Psychology
Abstract
Research shows that perceived naturalness can bias beliefs about the positivity of items such as food, human talent, and vaccines. Yet, this research focuses on self-reports, which leaves open the implications it has for behavior. In four studies (N = 492), this research team tested if perceived naturalness impacts trivial and meaningful behaviors. Participants were asked to consume a purported natural/synthetic performance drink (Study 1), test a purported natural/synthetic drug that would be injected (Study 2), eat chocolate containing a purported natural/synthetic cocoa described as causing stomach discomfort (Study 3), or choose a sticker purportedly made with natural/synthetic ink (Study 4). A significant majority of participants (66%–84%) chose and followed through with the natural versus synthetic option. Perceived naturalness guided behavior in contexts involving little (sticker choice) to substantial (drug injection) potential consequences. Self-reports can weakly predict behaviors, but the results revealed that perceived naturalness biases self-reports and behaviors in a similar fashion.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Copyright Note
This is an author-produced version of an article accepted for publication by Sage following peer review. This publication appears in Gettysburg College's institutional repository by permission of the copyright owner for non-commercial and no derivative uses.
DOI
10.1177/19485506241276027
Version
Post-Print
Recommended Citation
Meier, B. P., Noreen, E., Ji, L. J., Fellman, M. B., & Lappas, C. M. (2025). Perceived naturalness biases objective behavior in both trivial and meaningful contexts. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 16, 105-112. https://doi.org/10.1177/19485506241276027.