Intervention (Hidden)
This experiment involves a randomized controlled trial with 2,000 respondents. They will be randomly divided into three equally sized groups: a control group and two treatment groups. Each group will be shown six categories of food and beverage products.
1. Control Group: Participants in the control group will be shown three brands for each of the six product categories: whole dairy milk (1 liter), soda (600 ml), juice (1 liter), pre-packaged salads (250 grams), wheat bread (680 grams), and snack cakes. The products will be presented without warning labels or additional information about sugar content. The respondents will select one brand from each category, as they would in a regular shopping scenario, with no emphasis on the health implications of sugar consumption.
2. Label Treatment Group: Participants in this group will follow the same structure as the control group, being shown three brands for each of the six product categories. However, one of the three brands for each product will display a high-sugar-content warning label. No additional contextual information or health data will be provided. The focus is on understanding how the mere presence of a label impacts consumer choices when selecting products.
3. Label and Information Treatment Group: Participants in this group will first receive information about the health risks associated with sugar consumption. This information will be presented as questions to minimize experimenter demand effects. Participants in this group will see the following questions:
"Sodas regularly contain 27 grams of sugar per 250 ml. How many grams of sugar do you think a 250 ml glass of freshly squeezed natural orange juice contains? If you do not know the exact answer, just give us your best guess."
• 5 grams
• 12 grams
• 17 grams
• 29 grams
"Did you know that 250 ml of freshly squeezed natural orange juice can contain up to 29 grams of sugar? This is similar to the sugar content of a high sugar content beverage such as a soda (a 250 ml soda contains 27 grams of sugar)."
• Yes, I knew
• No, I did not know
"Did you know that drinking beverages with high sugar content in the morning generates glucose spikes that increase the risk of type 2 diabetes?"
• Yes, I knew
• No, I did not know
"Did you know that drinking beverages with high sugar content could increase your chances of dying prematurely by 24%, due to the uncontrolled sugar levels they generate?"
• Yes, I knew
• No, I did not know
After seeing this information, participants in this group will be presented with the same brands and product categories as the previous groups. One brand in each product category will have a high-sugar-content warning label, and the respondents will pick a brand from each category.
Products and choices: each participant in the study will be asked to choose from the following product categories, with three brands in each:
- Whole Dairy Milk (1 liter): Lala, Alpura, Santa Clara
- Soda (600 ml): 7up, Pepsi, Mirinda
- Juice (1 liter): Boing, Del Valle, Jumex
- Pre-packaged Salads (250 grams): Organic, Vegetalistos, Eva
- Wheat Bread (680 grams): Bimbo, Oroweat, Wonder
- Snack Cakes: Gansito, Chocorroles, Pingüinos
After the participants across all groups pick one brand from each product category, we will randomly assign them to a low-budget or a high-budget group. The low-budget group will receive the following information:
"Suppose your total household income is 20 percent lower than your actual household income. According to your previous answer, your household's income is [declared amount] monthly pesos. This 20% cut would amount to your household income being [80% of the declared amount] monthly pesos."
The high-budget group will receive the following information:
"Suppose your total household income is 20 percent lower than your actual household income. According to your previous answer, your household's income is [declared amount] monthly pesos. This 20% cut would amount to your household income being [120% of the declared amount] monthly pesos."
Then, we will ask respondents to pick one brand from each of the six product categories mentioned above. This time, we include the prices of each brand.