Abstract

Pleasure is a key component of food consumption. It has traditionally been approached as one-dimensional, largely synonymous with taste. However, recent findings suggests that pleasure may be multi-dimensional, composed of social, emotional, intellectual, and sensory pleasures. Mental imagery, identified as an important component of hedonic consumption, may provide insight into the nature of pleasures experienced in food consumption. The goal of this thesis is to (1) determine whether multiple pleasures are identifiable and impact food consumption experiences and (2) whether these experiences vary for men and women, as sex is known to have an important impact on food consumption. Study 1 was largely exploratory and provided valuable insight into the types of pleasures and mental images associated with food and how these differ by sex. Study 2 was an experimental study designed to further our understanding of the impact of pleasure and mental imagery on consumption choices. In this study participants were required to view two advertisements for similar products, one familiar and one novel, and rate their attitude toward the ad, their attitude toward the product, and their purchase intention. Results indicate that the novelty of the product (whether the product is novel or familiar) as well as imagery (whether imagery is absent, is emotional, or is sensory) both have significant effects on these measures. However, the results for sex were not significant, requiring further investigation on this topic.