The effect of hedonic and eudaimonic happiness in driving altruistic food choices

2024/10/29 by Giovanna Piracci, Andrea Dominici, Fabio Boncinelli · 7 citations
Business, Management and Accounting · Decision Sciences · Medicine · Psychology · #Consumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and Identification #Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics #Economics #Eudaimonia #Food choice #Happiness #Medicine #Political science #Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction #Psychology #Social psychology

paper · doi:10.1111/joca.12607

published in Journal of Consumer Affairs 58(4), 1102-1125 (Wiley)

crossref issued 2024/10/29 · crossref published 2024/10/29 · crossref published-online 2024/10/29 · openalex publication_date 2024/10/29 · crossref created 2024/10/29 · crossref published-print 2024/12/01 · crossref deposited 2024/12/17 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · crossref indexed 2026/07/30 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01

Abstract

Abstract This study investigates whether individual happiness affects prosocial behavior in food choices. We considered two distinct dimensions of happiness: hedonic and eudaimonic. The hedonic component is focused on pleasure, joy, and immediate gratification, while the eudaimonic aspect is related to a sense of purpose in life, personal growth, and the fulfillment of individual aspirations. We conducted a discrete choice experiment to assess if happy people are more prone to altruistic choices when buying food. The results indicate that individual happiness exerts distinct effects according to its two dimensions, eudaimonia and hedonism. We found that happiness influences the demand for ethical foods, whereas it exerts a detrimental effect on preferences for food with environmental labels.

Citations

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