SnackWell effect

The SnackWell effect is a phenomenon whereby dieters will eat more low-calorie cookies, such as SnackWells, than they otherwise would for normal cookies.^[1]^[2] Also known as moral license, it is also described as a term for the way people go overboard once they are given a free pass^[3] or the tendency of people to overconsume when eating more of low-fat food due to the belief that it is not fattening.^[4]

The term, which emerged as a reaction to dietary trends in the 1980s and 1990s,^[5] is also used for similar effects in other settings, such as energy consumption, where it is termed the "rebound effect". For example, according to a 2008 study, people with energy-efficient washing machines wash more clothes.^[6]^[7] People with energy-efficient lights leave them on longer, and lose 5–12% of the expected energy savings of 80%.^[8]

References

^ "One reason I've suggested is what called the SnackWell's Phenomenon: By giving a free pass to good nutrients, people go there and eat a lot more food. If one SnackWell's is okay because it's low-fat, a whole box is probably better." -- Food writer Michael Pollan in his Otis Lecture at Bates College, Oct. 27, 2008.
^ "Buzzword: Snackwell's effect". Archived from the original on 2011-09-05. Retrieved 2012-05-31.
^ Harris, Dena (2015). The Paleo Vegetarian Diet: A Guide For Weight Loss And Healthy Living. Berkeley, CA: Ulysses Press. p. 18. ISBN 9781612434629.
^ Small, Ernest (2009). Top 100 Food Plants. Ottawa: NRC Research Press. pp. 174. ISBN 9780660198583.
^ Jacobson, Michael F. (2017-03-06). "Burying the Snackwell Myth". Medium. Retrieved 2019-09-30.
^ Lucas W. Davis: 'Durable Goods and Residential Demand for Energy and Water: Evidence from a Field Trial'. The RAND Journal of Economics Vol. 39, No. 2 (Summer 2008), pp. 530-546. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25474381
^ "Flex Your Power Energy News - Power Plug » the Snackwell Effect: Consumers Sabotage Energy-Saving Efforts". Archived from the original on 2010-03-26. Retrieved 2010-02-20.
^ Watson, Traci (2009-03-22). "Consumers can sabotage energy-saving efforts". USA Today. Archived from the original on 2011-06-04.

This psychology-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[1] "One reason I've suggested is what called the SnackWell's Phenomenon: By giving a free pass to good nutrients, people go there and eat a lot more food. If one SnackWell's is okay because it's low-fat, a whole box is probably better." -- Food writer Michael Pollan in his Otis Lecture at Bates College, Oct. 27, 2008.

[2] "Buzzword: Snackwell's effect". Archived from the original on 2011-09-05. Retrieved 2012-05-31.

[3] Harris, Dena (2015). The Paleo Vegetarian Diet: A Guide For Weight Loss And Healthy Living. Berkeley, CA: Ulysses Press. p. 18. ISBN 9781612434629.

[4] Small, Ernest (2009). Top 100 Food Plants. Ottawa: NRC Research Press. pp. 174. ISBN 9780660198583.

[5] Jacobson, Michael F. (2017-03-06). "Burying the Snackwell Myth". Medium. Retrieved 2019-09-30.

[6] Lucas W. Davis: 'Durable Goods and Residential Demand for Energy and Water: Evidence from a Field Trial'. The RAND Journal of Economics Vol. 39, No. 2 (Summer 2008), pp. 530-546. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25474381

[7] "Flex Your Power Energy News - Power Plug » the Snackwell Effect: Consumers Sabotage Energy-Saving Efforts". Archived from the original on 2010-03-26. Retrieved 2010-02-20.

[8] Watson, Traci (2009-03-22). "Consumers can sabotage energy-saving efforts". USA Today. Archived from the original on 2011-06-04.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

See also

References