Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 28, 2026

Errors as a Means of Reducing Impulsive Food Choice
Published on: June 5, 2016
Serving bowl selection biases the amount of food served
Ellen van Kleef1, Mitsuru Shimizu, Brian Wansink
1Marketing and Consumer Behaviour Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands. ellen.vankleef@wur.nl
Objective:
To determine how common serving bowls containing food for multiple persons influence serving behavior and consumption and whether they do so independently of satiation and food evaluation.
Methods:
In this between-subjects experiment, 68 participants were randomly assigned to either a group serving pasta from a large-sized bowl (6.9-L capacity) or a medium-sized bowl (3.8-L capacity).
Results:
Analysis of covariance showed that when given a large-sized bowl, diners served 77% more pasta (364.0 vs. 205.5 g; P < .01) and felt more satiated (P = .03) compared with diners given a medium-sized bowl, even though the food was not rated tastier or otherwise notable (all P > .32).
Conclusions And Implications:
In contrast to those in studies involving larger-sized plates and spoons, people serving from larger bowls felt more satiated. These findings again highlight the role that external cues play in food consumption and show the importance of considering serving bowl size in nutrition education.
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