Originally published February 16 2006
Cornell study shows how the shape of glasses influences the way we perceive drinks
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Brian Wansink, professor of marketing, applied economics and nutritional science at Cornell University, explains how the shape of a glass influences how much we drink.
If you pour champagne into a tall, slender glass, you'll probably serve yourself less than if you pour it into a short, fat glass.
Brian Wansink, professor of marketing, applied economics and nutritional science at Cornell University, has spent years studying how the shape of containers influences our consumption, and he has weighed in with a new study just in time for New Year's celebrations.
In the study, published in the current issue of the British Medical Journal, Wansink and Koert van lttersum, assistant professor of marketing at Georgia Institute of Technology, demonstrate that even professional bartenders get the amount wrong much of the time, although their expertise improves with experience.
Teenagers concerned about their health poured less fruit juice when they were given tall, slender glasses than when they were given short, squat tumblers, although they believed the opposite was true.
In the first of three experiments, 94 teenagers (average age, 15) who attended a summer camp that emphasized health and physical fitness were randomly given juice glasses of different shapes when they entered the cafeteria.
It turned out that those who had been given short, wide glasses poured 74.37 percent more than those who where given tall, slender glasses, "but they perceived themselves as having poured less," the study said.
But regardless of how much they thought they had poured, 97 percent finished the drink, so the short, fat glasses led to more consumption, even though the participants thought they had drunk less.
The second part of the study showed, however, that our judgment improves as we get older, at least when it comes to estimating how much we pour.
For this phase, 89 adults, mostly male, who'd attended a weekend camp on jazz improvisation were tested in a cafeteria setting similar to the one used for the teenagers.
All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing LLC takes sole responsibility for all content. Truth Publishing sells no hard products and earns no money from the recommendation of products. NaturalNews.com is presented for educational and commentary purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice from any licensed practitioner. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. For the full terms of usage of this material, visit www.NaturalNews.com/terms.shtml