Mind over milkshakes: mindsets, not just nutrients, determine ghrelin response
Alia Crum and colleagues gave participants the same 380-calorie milkshake on two occasions, labelled once as a 620-calorie indulgent shake and once as a 140-calorie sensible one, and measured ghrelin, a gut hormone that generally falls after eating, from blood samples. Forty-six participants were analysed. Ghrelin fell more steeply after the shake labelled indulgent. Participants' own hunger ratings showed no significant differences between the two labels, and the key statistics for the hormone result are marginal by conventional standards. The study is often retold as showing that a label made people feel fuller, which is not what the hunger ratings show.
Alia Crum and colleagues gave participants the same 380-calorie milkshake on two occasions, labelled once as a 620-calorie indulgent shake and once as a 140-calorie sensible one, and measured ghrelin, a gut hormone that generally falls after eating, from blood samples. Forty-six participants were analysed. Ghrelin fell more steeply after the shake labelled indulgent. Participants' own hunger ratings showed no significant differences between the two labels, and the key statistics for the hormone result are marginal by conventional standards. The study is often retold as showing that a label made people feel fuller, which is not what the hunger ratings show.
Written from the verified research record for article 61, 2026-10-08, and this publication's audit of The Expectation Effect.
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doi:10.1037/a0023467. 46 analysed; 380-calorie shake labelled 620 indulgent or 140 sensible; steeper ghrelin decline after the indulgent label; key statistics marginal; hunger ratings showed no significant differences.