An fMRI investigation of consumer choice regarding controversial food technologies

• We explore neural activations as consumers made food choice involving tradeoffs.
• dlPFC and insula activations predicted the choice of higher-priced, “natural” foods.
• Neuroimaging data add predictive power beyond that typically used in consumer research.

Consumers must routinely decide whether to pay more for a perceived higher quality good or pay less for lower perceived quality. This study examined brain activations when consumers considered such a tradeoff in the context of food choice involving lower-priced options produced with controversial modern agricultural technologies. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data were obtained while consumers (n = 47) made choices between two milk options which varied in price and/or use of technology (growth hormones and cloning). Results revealed both deliberative and affective processes were involved when deciding whether to choose a higher-price, more “natural” food. Brain activations in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and insula predicted the choice of higher-priced but more “natural” foods produced without the use of controversial technology. Brain activations in price-alone or technology-alone decisions predicted behavior in choice tasks involving price-technology tradeoffs, revealing cross-task predictive power. One of the key issues this study addresses is which type of data (e.g., behavioral, neuroimaging, or self-report) best predicts choice between a higher priced option that avoids technologies and a lower price option that uses modern food technologies. Estimates indicate that the best fitting model is one that included all types of data considered: demographics, psychometric scales, product attributes, and neural activations observed via fMRI. Overall, neuroimaging data adds significant predictive and explanatory power beyond the measures typically used in consumer research.