City Research Online

Abstract

This research examines a widespread food norm: waiting to eat until everyone in a dining party has received their food. Six experiments (total N = 1,907) examine how individuals perceive and respond to this norm and reveal a consistent self-other difference in anticipated norm adherence. Participants reported greater expected norm adherence from themselves compared to others (Studies 1a, 2a, 3-4). This self-other difference is driven by a differential perception of the psychological costs and benefits of eating immediately versus waiting, which are more pronounced for the self than for others (Studies 2a-2b). We tested two interventions targeting this difference: taking the other person’s perspective partially reduced, but did not eliminate, the self-other difference (Study 3), while explicit encouragement from a dining companion to break the norm and begin eating, intended to remove social constraints, had no significant effect on the self-other difference (Study 4). These findings extend our understanding of food norms by demonstrating that the perceived psychological utility of norm adherence varies systematically between self and others.

Publication Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2025. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Publisher Keywords:	Food norms; Self-other difference; Food consumption; Norm utility; Norm adherence; Perspective-taking
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Departments:	Bayes Business School Bayes Business School > Management
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Administrator

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