Diner Beware

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In reading the article Diner Beware, data collected through studies have revealed how diners can be manipulated to spend more money through visual, audio, environmental and other sensory stimuli. Many restauranteurs have begun to implement changes based on the findings in these studies much like the music industry has made changes as described in an article by Derek Thomson The Shazam Effect. Analyzing data collected from these studies has shown how subtle changes to the dining or music experience can strongly effect the public and guide them on a path chosen by the industry to make it more profitable.

The amount of food patrons will eat and the perception of the taste of the food can be altered based on the size and color of plates as shown in a study performed in France. Larger plates of a color that matched the food directly correlated to the amount of food taken when patrons served themselves showing an increase of 20%. The amount of light can also effected appetite as shown in Berlin when diners were given meals in a dark environment, and those given larger portions on larger plates felt the same feeling of fullness as diners given …show more content…

An example of visual stimuli found in The Shazam Effect indicates people are influenced by each other by looking up what is popular in other countries through internet searches. “Take, for example, Lorde, the out-of-nowhere sensation of 2013. Shazam's engineers can rewind time to trace the international contagion of her first single, 'Royals,' watching the pings of Shazam searches spread from New Zealand, her home country, to Nashville (a major music hub, even for noncountry songs), to the American coasts, pinpointing the exact day it peaked in each of the nearly 3,000 U.S. Cities” [1]. In the data provided by these visual searches, the record industry is now able to better predict hits which directly relate to profits. The visual stimuli is proven important to both

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