Date of Award

5-19-2015

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Specialization

Communication and Leadership

School or Department

School of Leadership Studies

First Advisor

Dr. Michael Hazel

Second Advisor

Dr. Elizabeth Davis

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine if a relationship exists between front-of-package food labels and consumer purchase decisions, and whether there is a difference in purchase decisions between those who believed they did versus those who believed they did not understand the meanings of the labels. The philosophical assumption of this research was framed around Aristotle’s Golden Mean (Aristotle, trans. 2014), which guided the study based on the virtue of moderation. Through the theoretical basis of the uses and gratifications theory by Elihu Katz (Katz, Blumler, & Gurevitch, 1973), this study also compared food purchase decisions of participants who did and those who did not have a felt need or motivation to make healthier food choices. Through a survey instrument distributed via social media, the findings suggest there is a relationship between front-of-package food labels and consumer purchase decisions. Those who expressed a felt need or motivation to make healthier purchase decisions were slightly more likely to use the labels to make purchase decisions than those without a felt need or motivation. In addition, participants who believed they understood front-of-package food labels were more likely to use them to make food purchase decisions than those who did not believe they understood the labels. However, the majority of the latter group did claim to occasionally use the labels to make purchase decisions. This suggests that some consumers may attempt to use the labels to make purchase decisions, even when the meaning of the label is not clear. Additional research is needed to learn more about the use of front-of-package labels by consumers without a felt need or motivation to use front-of-package food labels.

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