The spell of cuteness in food consumption? It depends on food type and consumption motivation

Abstract Despite the popular use of cuteness in product designs, especially for foods, little is known about how cuteness influences consumption. This article contributes to the evolving stream of research on cuteness by designing two experiments based on the compatibility principle to examine the contextual factors that moderate the effect of cuteness on food consumption (i.e., food type and consumption motivation). We found that cute food induced more consumption when the food is perceived as vice or under hedonic motivation, whereas neutral food induced more consumption when the food is perceived as virtue or under utilitarian motivation.