Numeric labeling of calories on restaurant menus has been implemented widely, but scientific studies have generally not found substantial effects on calories ordered. The present research tests the impact of a feedback format that is more targeted at how consumers select and revise their meals: real-time aggregation of calorie content to provide dynamic feedback about meal calories via a traffic light label. Because these labels intuitively signal when a meal shifts from healthy to unhealthy (via the change from green to a yellow or red light), they prompt decision makers to course correct in real time, before they finalize their choice. Results from five pre-registered experiments (N = 11,900) show that providing real-time traffic light feedback about the total caloric content of a meal reduces calories in orders, even compared to similar aggregated feedback in numeric format. Patterns of ordering reveal this effect to be driven by people revising high-calorie orders more frequently, leading them to choose fewer and lower-calorie items. Consumers also like traffic light aggregation, indicating greater satisfaction with their order and greater intentions to return to restaurants that use them. The authors discuss how dynamic feedback using intuitive signals could yield benefits in contexts beyond food choice.

饭店菜单上的卡路里数字标签已得到广泛实施，但科学研究通常未发现对订购的卡路里有实质性影响。本研究测试了一种反馈格式的影响，该反馈格式更针对消费者如何选择和修改餐食：卡路里含量的实时汇总，以通过交通信号灯标签提供有关餐卡路里的动态反馈。由于这些标签可以直观地指示出膳食从健康转变为不健康的时间（通过从绿色变为黄色或红色），它们促使决策者在最终选择之前实时进行纠正。五个预先注册的实验的结果（N= 11,900）表明，即使与数字格式的类似汇总反馈相比，提供有关一餐总卡路里含量的实时交通信号灯反馈也可以减少卡路里的数量。订购模式显示出这种影响是由于人们更频繁地修改高热量的订单，导致他们选择更少和更少热量的商品。消费者还喜欢交通信号灯的集合，这表明他们对他们的订单更加满意，并且有更大的返回使用它们的餐厅的意图。作者讨论了使用直观信号进行动态反馈如何在食品选择之外的环境中产生收益。