We Are What We Consume - Essay Example

John Q. Doe Marketing 5th December Summary and Critique of an Academic Research Article Article: Mishra, A. M. (December. We are What We Consume: The Influence of food Consumption on Impulsive Choice. Journal of Marketing Research, 1129 - 1137. The article claims that a person’s product choices can be influenced by the type of food that he consumes. The authors claim that impulsive shopping behavior can be controlled by consuming food items that increase the level of serotonin. Impulsive shopping is the urge to buy goods for immediate gratification.

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that can be synthesized from the amino acid tryptophan. Tryptophan is found in various food items such as turkey, tofu, and milk. The authors use Thanksgiving and the following Black Friday Sales to make their point. They claim that consumers who have a traditional thanksgiving meal consisting of turkey increase the level of serotonin in their brains which reduces the chances of impulsive buying. In order to validate these claims 2 lab studies were conducted.

The studies showed that participants who had been given a tryptophan-rich beverage preferred to buy the product through layaway financing than through a credit card. Layaway financing allows the consumers time to actually consider whether the purchase is necessary and if they can afford it. The authors claim that this occurred due to the increased amount of serotonin in the brain which is produced by a tryptophan-rich diet. The authors claim that their research can make consumers aware of the type of foods which should be consumed by them before going shopping.

This will reduce unnecessary purchases and reduce their credit card debts. The major critique of the article is the methodology that has been adopted by the authors for their study. Study 1 was completely online and there was no way of verifying the authenticity of the information. The participants were also asked whether they would like to buy a DELL computer. The response provided online by the respondents may be completely different than how they actually reacted in the shop. Some of the participants may say they are very likely to buy the product as they didn’t have to actually spend the money at that time; others may have given guarded responses in the study.

It has been well documented that answers given during a survey cannot be used to gauge actual shopping responses. This puts a question mark on the validity of study 1. Similar criticism can also be made regarding the leeway financing option which was given to consumers in study 2. Although they may claim to go for leeway financing consumers can behave differently on the shop floor under pressure from friends, relatives, shop owners, salespersons, or even fellow shoppers. The other 2 limitations of the study which have been mentioned by the authors themselves are their inability to consider the effect of another neurotransmitter - dopamine in their studies and also the fact that they did not draw blood from participants to know their level of serotonin.

The study provides interesting insight into how the type of food can influence our shopping behavior. This has implications for both the consumers as well as the food courts which are found in large shopping malls. However further studies need to be conducted in order to confirm the results and remove the limitations cited above.