Three lab studies and three field studies indicate that food waste and consumption is influenced by serveware disposability. Studies indicate that consumers waste more food when eating with disposable plates and consume more food when eating with permanent plates. The effect persists whether participants choose their own type and quantity of food or are given the same amount of food, whether they are responsible for plate disposal or not, and whether the serveware is touched/held or not. Process level support is provided via an IAT test to explain this effect as a perceptual readiness to dispose of food when on disposable serveware and to consume food when on permanent serveware.
","abstract_html":"<p>Three lab studies and three field studies indicate that food waste and consumption is influenced by serveware disposability. Studies indicate that consumers waste more food when eating with disposable plates and consume more food when eating with permanent plates. The effect persists whether participants choose their own type and quantity of food or are given the same amount of food, whether they are responsible for plate disposal or not, and whether the serveware is touched/held or not. Process level support is provided via an IAT test to explain this effect as a perceptual readiness to dispose of food when on disposable serveware and to consume food when on permanent serveware.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Williamson, Sara"],"institution":"The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York","degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy","degree_level":"Doctoral","degree_discipline":"Business","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Lauren G. Block"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":["Stephen Gould","Pragya Mathur","Punam A. Keller"],"year":2016,"date_issued":"2016-06-03T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2016-06-03T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:59:54Z","subjects":["Marketing","Psychology","consumer food waste","categorization","IAT","material disposability","serveware"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/1352","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Lauren G. Block"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Stephen Gould","Pragya Mathur","Punam A. Keller"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Williamson, Sara"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2018-05-13T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Business"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Doctoral"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Marketing","Psychology","consumer food waste","categorization","IAT","material disposability","serveware"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/1352"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Three lab studies and three field studies indicate that food waste and consumption is influenced by serveware disposability. Studies indicate that consumers waste more food when eating with disposable plates and consume more food when eating with permanent plates. The effect persists whether participants choose their own type and quantity of food or are given the same amount of food, whether they are responsible for plate disposal or not, and whether the serveware is touched/held or not. Process level support is provided via an IAT test to explain this effect as a perceptual readiness to dispose of food when on disposable serveware and to consume food when on permanent serveware.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Effects Of Serveware Materiality On Food Perceptions, Consumption, and Waste"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Lauren G. Block"],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Stephen Gould","Pragya Mathur","Punam A. Keller"],"dc:creator":["Williamson, Sara"],"dc:date.available":["2018-05-13T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Three lab studies and three field studies indicate that food waste and consumption is influenced by serveware disposability. Studies indicate that consumers waste more food when eating with disposable plates and consume more food when eating with permanent plates. The effect persists whether participants choose their own type and quantity of food or are given the same amount of food, whether they are responsible for plate disposal or not, and whether the serveware is touched/held or not. Process level support is provided via an IAT test to explain this effect as a perceptual readiness to dispose of food when on disposable serveware and to consume food when on permanent serveware.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/1352"],"dc:subject":["Marketing","Psychology","consumer food waste","categorization","IAT","material disposability","serveware"],"dc:title":["Effects Of Serveware Materiality On Food Perceptions, Consumption, and Waste"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Business"],"thesis:degree_level":["Doctoral"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy"],"thesis:institution_name":["The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:59:54Z"}