Change Their Choice! Changing Behavior Using the CAN Approach and Activism Research

Most of our research on eating behavior has no impact on health or public policy. Part is due to the nontranslational way we often conduct our studies; part is due to us not having a useful framework that organizes our conclusions. This paper's first purpose is to offer an organizing framework that shows how nearly all effective interventions on food choice either make healthy choices more convenient (physically or cognitively), more attractive (comparatively or absolutely), or more normal (perceived or actual). This paper's second purpose is to introduce the notion of activism researchan approach to designing and executing studies in a way that makes consumer psychology research more actionable, useful, effective, and scalable. Together these two tools could help expand both the relevance and reach, and impact of what we do.