The effect of attribute framing on consumers’ attitudes and intentions toward food: A Meta-analysis

Abstract

This paper analyzes the existing literature on the effect of attribute framing on consumers’ attitudes and intentions with regard to food products. Attribute framing includes a broader interpretation of gains and losses when a product attribute is presented in a dichotomous way, such as fat vs. lean or harm vs. benefit. Meta-analysis results for the whole sample indicate that product attributes framed as gains have a higher effect on attitudes and intentions than product attributes framed as losses. Grouping studies by outcome variables, the meta-analysis demonstrates a larger effect size for studies that assess consumer attitude while for studies dealing with consumer intention, the effect size is close to zero and insignificant. We observe from the meta-regression results that the gain frame, the use of interaction terms, a specific product, and a student sample significantly influence consumers’ attitudes and intentions.