Rituals enhance consumption
Vohs, Wang, Gino and Norton, Psychological Science 24(9), 2013, 1714-1721. Four experiments. Experiment 1: 52 students; a ritual of breaking a wrapped chocolate bar in two, then unwrapping and eating each half in turn, against a relaxation control; the ritual group rated the chocolate as more enjoyable and had a higher willingness to pay (59 cents against 34 cents on average); savouring time and flavour ratings were higher but did not reach the usual threshold. Experiment 2: 105 students ate three carrots; the same gestures before each carrot against different gestures each time, crossed with a wait or no wait before the third carrot; the ritual group anticipated and experienced more enjoyment, and the wait raised both; a pretest confirmed the repeated gestures were rated more ritual-like. Experiment 3: 40 students made lemonade through set steps (half the powder and water, stir, wait 30 seconds, top up, stir, wait 30 seconds) or watched the experimenter; the self-performers rated it more flavourful and mood did not differ. Experiment 4: 87 adults repeated the chocolate task; the ritual raised intrinsic interest, which statistically accounted for the higher enjoyment and willingness to pay. Authors' account: personal involvement; they note that it is unclear which foods benefit most, that shared rituals such as family meals were not tested, and that effects were large and samples modest. Reading depth: full text of the manuscript.
Vohs, Wang, Gino and Norton, Psychological Science 24(9), 2013, 1714-1721. Four experiments. Experiment 1: 52 students; a ritual of breaking a wrapped chocolate bar in two, then unwrapping and eating each half in turn, against a relaxation control; the ritual group rated the chocolate as more enjoyable and had a higher willingness to pay (59 cents against 34 cents on average); savouring time and flavour ratings were higher but did not reach the usual threshold. Experiment 2: 105 students ate three carrots; the same gestures before each carrot against different gestures each time, crossed with a wait or no wait before the third carrot; the ritual group anticipated and experienced more enjoyment, and the wait raised both; a pretest confirmed the repeated gestures were rated more ritual-like. Experiment 3: 40 students made lemonade through set steps (half the powder and water, stir, wait 30 seconds, top up, stir, wait 30 seconds) or watched the experimenter; the self-performers rated it more flavourful and mood did not differ. Experiment 4: 87 adults repeated the chocolate task; the ritual raised intrinsic interest, which statistically accounted for the higher enjoyment and willingness to pay. Authors' account: personal involvement; they note that it is unclear which foods benefit most, that shared rituals such as family meals were not tested, and that effects were large and samples modest. Reading depth: full text of the manuscript.
Written from the full text of the author manuscript, read 2026-11-04; Crossref and OpenAlex records confirm title, authors, journal, volume, issue and pages (full text depth).
What our sources record
Recorded when this source was checked, figures included, with page references and quotation marks removed.
Vohs, K. D., Wang, Y., Gino, F., & Norton, M. I. (2013). “Rituals enhance consumption.” Psychological Science, 24(9), 1714-1721. doi:10.1177/0956797613478949 https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797613478949