Desirability of the Food

What it measures

A four-item scale measuring the immediate, visceral desire to consume a specific food upon visual exposure. Items assess impulsive urge, irresistible craving, the desire to immediately take the food, and anticipatory salivation — capturing the full spectrum of pre-consumption appetitive response. Designed for experimental research on food temptation and self-regulation, the scale is administered immediately upon exposure to the food stimulus and is sensitive to momentary affective states that amplify or dampen craving.

Representative items

• I felt an impulse to eat the [food] as soon as I saw them.
• I felt a strong irresistible urge to eat the [food] when I saw them.
• I began to salivate as soon as I saw the [food].

Citation

Fedorikhin, Alexander and Vanessa M. Patrick (2010). Positive mood and resistance to temptation: The interfering influence of elevated arousal. Journal of Consumer Research, 37(4), 698–711.