| Abstract: | Three experiments were conducted to examine the effects which ‘if-then’ instructions of the type ‘if you eat X’, then you will get Y, have on the evaluation of the foods addressed in the ‘if’ and the ‘then’ parts of the instructions, respectively. Based on research on intrinsic motivation it was hypothesized that liking for food X that one is induced to eat by means of ‘if-then’ instructions will be impaired, whereas liking for food Y offered as a reward for the consumption of X will be enhanced. Experiment 1 revealed an enhancement of liking effect for the ‘then’food lasting for at least six weeks, but no impairment of liking for the ‘if’ food. Experiment 2 explored the possibility of reducing children's dislike for foods by means of paradoxical ‘if-then’ instructions presenting the disliked food in the ‘then’ position as a reward for the consumption of another food. No significant effects were obtained in this study. Experiment 3 examined the effects of introducing yet unknown foods to children by means of ‘if-then’ instructions. Results revealed that liking for the new food is impaired when it is the ‘if’food, but is enhanced when it is offered in the ‘then’ position. Discussion is centered on the possibility that the effects of ‘if-then’ instructions are more pronounced in single trial compared to multi-trial treatment conditions. |
