Consumer lay theories on healthy nutrition: A Q methodology application in Germany.

Food is an important driver of individual health, and an important subject in public policy and health intervention research. Viewpoints on what constitutes healthy nutrition, however, are manifold and highly subjective in nature, suggesting there is no one-size-fits-all behavioral change intervention. This research explores fundamental lay theories regarding healthy nutrition with consumers in Germany.

Intrapersonal variation in consumer susceptibility to normative influence: toward a better understanding of brand choice decisions.

The authors examined intrapersonal variation in consumer susceptibility to normative influence as a key mediator of wine brand choice. On the basis of a consumer sample, the authors found that individual values and social identity complexity affect consumer susceptibility to normative influence with downstream effects on (a) which brand benefits consumers desire in wine and (b) choice. Individuals higher on internal values and with more complex social identities were less susceptible to normative influence and placed less emphasis on social brand benefits.