Papers - Motoki, Kosuke

The Role of Sensory Cues in Promoting Healthy Eating: A Narrative Synthesis and Gastronomic Implications

Kosuke Motoki, Jaewoo Park, Taku Togawa

Gastronomy  2025.03

Lead author, Last author, Corresponding author, Accepted

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Sonic Frequencies and Food Perception: How High‐ and Low‐Frequency Sonic Logos Shape Expectations of Satiability and Goal Alignment

Monin Techawachirakul, Abhishek Pathak, Kosuke Motoki, Gemma Anne Calvert

Journal of Consumer Behaviour (Wiley)  24 ( 3 ) 1511 - 1521 2025.03

Lead author, Last author, Corresponding author, Accepted,  ISSN  1472-0817

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ABSTRACT

Overconsumption is a leading factor behind the rising incidence of obesity worldwide. As consumers struggle to understand the true caloric and nutritional value of the foods they consume in an increasingly cluttered marketplace, food manufacturers are being tasked with finding more effective ways of communicating nutritional facts. We thus examined the impact of sonic logos (sogos) on the perception of food satiability and purchase intention. Study 1 demonstrates that consumers perceive foods that are presented with high‐frequency (vs. low‐frequency) sogos as lighter (vs. heavier) and subsequently less (vs. more) filling (while ruling out the role of hunger and time since the last food intake). Study 2 reveals that when consumers regard health (vs. satiety) as important, high (vs. low) frequency sogos induce higher purchase intention due to the perceived congruency between the sogo frequency and consumption goal. Our findings add to the literature on food and multisensory marketing by demonstrating that low‐frequency sogos can connote food satiability through the underlying mechanism of the shared semantic meaning of heaviness between a low‐frequency sound and satiable foods. These insights can assist brands in strategically designing their sound signatures to promote food satiability.

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Cheers to sustainability! The effect of warmth focus on the acceptance of sustainable paper-bottled alcoholic beverages

Monin Techawachirakul, Abhishek Pathak, Kosuke Motoki, Gemma Anne Calvert

Food Quality and Preference (Elsevier BV)  123   105313 - 105313 2025.02

Lead author, Last author, Corresponding author, Accepted,  ISSN  0950-3293

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Cognitive regulation of alternative proteins: Positive reappraisal enhances wanting for insects, plant-based meat analogies, cultured meat, and algae

Kosuke Motoki, Yu Qin

Appetite (Elsevier BV)  206   107842 - 107842 2025.02

Lead author, Last author, Corresponding author, Accepted,  ISSN  0195-6663

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Diversity in gender and age, but not in race, enhances food purchase intentions in Japan

Kosuke Motoki, Sayo Iseki

Food Quality and Preference (Elsevier BV)  121   105263 - 105263 2024.12

Lead author, Last author, Corresponding author, Accepted,  ISSN  0950-3293

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“Feminine = Healthy Food” stereotype: Impact of feminine brand personality on consumer attitudes toward healthier food brands

Haorui Feng, Kosuke Motoki

Food Quality and Preference (Elsevier BV)  118   105204 - 105204 2024.09

Lead author, Last author, Corresponding author, Accepted,  ISSN  0950-3293

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Post-conflict marketing: the role of former conflict stakeholder on post-conflict product/service valuation across countries

Brayan Rodriguez, Felipe Reinoso-Carvalho, Kosuke Motoki, Carlos Velasco

Academia Revista Latinoamericana de Administración (Emerald)  37 ( 4 ) 555 - 577 2024.08

Lead author, Last author, Corresponding author, Accepted,  ISSN  1012-8255

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Purpose

This research examined the role of post-conflict marketing in supporting businesses within conflict-affected regions, aligning with the objectives of UN Sustainable Development Goal 16 to foster peaceful societies amid increasing global conflicts.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing from the theories of social egalitarianism and consumer discrimination, the study explored the moderating influence of conflict stakeholder on consumer willingness to pay (WTP). Understanding such stakeholder roles underscores post-conflict marketing's potential for economic growth and stability. Two experiments assessed the WTP, WTP a premium price and expected attractiveness of strategic products and services developed by key stakeholders (ex-guerrilla, ex-paramilitaries, ex-militaries, victims and other citizens) in the Colombian post-conflict context among both local (Colombian) and foreign (Japanese) consumers.

Findings

Results revealed that products associated with victims consistently received higher ratings. A notable contrast emerged as Japanese consumers favoured products of victims over those of regular citizens while rating offerings from ex-paramilitary and retired military stakeholders similarly, unlike their Colombian counterparts.

Research limitations/implications

The study acknowledges limitations regarding participants' geographic location and experimental design, providing insights for future research and potential refinements.

Practical implications

The findings offer insights into the impact of consumer attitudes on post-conflict stakeholder entrepreneurship in foreign and local markets, thus contributing relevant knowledge to support market success.

Originality/value

This is the first study assessing the role of various post-conflict stakeholders in influencing consumer evaluations of products and services. Consequently, these findings contribute to the foundational understanding of post-conflict marketing and offer a benchmark for business development in conflict-affected areas.

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Thinking fast, not slow: intuitive nutrition labels increase healthier food preferences under time pressure

Kosuke Motoki, Toshiki Saito

British Food Journal (Emerald)  126 ( 7 ) 2956 - 2969 2024.05

Lead author, Last author, Corresponding author, Accepted,  ISSN  0007-070X

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Purpose

Front-of-pack (FOP) nutrition labeling has attracted considerable attention in a wide range of communities. However, the limited effects of FOP nutrition labels on healthier food preferences have been reported. Drawing on the dual system theory, this study aimed to investigate which FOP nutrition labels increase healthier food preferences and when. Drawing on the dual-process theory, this study aimed to investigate the effects of Nutri-Scores on healthy food preferences under time pressure.

Design/methodology/approach

Participants saw two food packages (healthier and less healthy) with either intuitive (nutrient score) or numeric FOP labels. They then had to choose one of their preferred products with or without time pressure.

Findings

Across two studies (including one pre-registered replication), the results consistently demonstrated that the Nutri-Score (vs numeric labels) increases healthier food preferences under time pressure. No significant difference in the likelihood of choosing healthier food was found between the labels under non-time pressure.

Originality/value

Together, our results suggest that intuitive FOP labeling (i.e. Nutri-Score) enhances healthier food preferences during Type 1 processing and provides practical implications for promoting healthy eating.

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Effects of emotions on the helpfulness of online reviews of healthy and unhealthy food in Japan and the United States</scp>

Yitian Ye, Kosuke Motoki

Journal of Consumer Behaviour (Wiley)  23 ( 5 ) 2611 - 2623 2024.05

Last author, Corresponding author, Accepted,  ISSN  1472-0817

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Abstract

Online grocery shopping has become increasingly important in daily life. Consumers use the helpfulness of electronic word‐of‐mouth (eWOM) to reduce uncertainty and risk in online grocery shopping. Emotions such as positive arousal (e.g., energised) and calmness (e.g., relaxed) are often found in the eWOM of food products. However, little is known about the influence of emotions on eWOM helpfulness and how the effects of emotions on the helpfulness of online reviews differ in cultures. This study conducted an experiment to examine the impact of positive arousal and calmness on the helpfulness of eWOM regarding healthy and unhealthy foods in Japan and the USA. We found that cultural factors influenced the effect of arousal on eWOM helpfulness. For Japanese participants, positive eWOM with low arousal was more helpful than that with high arousal. In contrast, for US participants, positive eWOM with high arousal was more helpful than that with low arousal. In both countries, credibility mediated the relationship between arousal and review helpfulness. This study extends the literature on eWOM helpfulness and affect valuation theory. Our findings provide insights for companies on using eWOM in advertising campaigns and for consumers on writing helpful eWOM.

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Perceiving humanness across ages: neural correlates and behavioral patterns

Toshiki Saito, Rui Nouchi, Ryo Ishibashi, Kosuke Motoki, Yutaka Matsuzaki, Akiko Kobayashi, Motoaki Sugiura, Ryuta Kawashima

Frontiers in Psychology (Frontiers Media SA)  15 2024.04

Lead author, Last author, Corresponding author, Accepted

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Humanness perception, which attributes fundamental and unique human characteristics to other objects or people, has significant consequences for people’s interactions. Notably, the failure to perceive humanness in older adults can lead to prejudice. This study investigates the effect of a target’s age on humanness perception in terms of two dimensions: agency (the ability to act and do) and experience (the ability to feel and sense). We also examined brain activity using a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner in order to understand the underlying neural mechanisms. Healthy university students viewed the facial images of older and younger individuals and judged the humanness of each individual in terms of agency and experience while inside the MRI scanner. The results indicated that older adults were rated higher on experience, and no difference was found in ratings for agency between younger and older face images. Analysis of brain imaging data indicated that positive functional connectivity between the ventral and dorsal regions of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) was greater when judging the humanness of younger faces than older faces. We also found that the negative functional connectivity between the left inferior frontal gyrus and postcentral gyrus was greater when judging the humanness of older faces as compared to that of younger faces. Although the current study did not show distinct brain activities related to humanness perception, it suggests the possibility that different brain connectivities are related to humanness perception regarding targets belonging to different age groups.

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Decoding the meaning of alternative proteins: Connotations and music-matching

Kosuke Motoki, Ayana Bunya, Jaewoo Park, Carlos Velasco

Food Quality and Preference 115   105117 2024.04

Lead author, Last author, Corresponding author, Accepted

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Reflections on Cross-Modal Correspondences: Current Understanding and Issues for Future Research

Kosuke Motoki, Lawrence E. Marks, Carlos Velasco

Multisensory Research 37 ( 1 ) 1 - 23 2024.01

Lead author, Last author, Corresponding author, Accepted

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Creating luxury brand names in the hospitality and tourism sector: The role of sound symbolism in destination branding

Kosuke Motoki, Jaewoo Park, Abhishek Pathak, Charles Spence

Journal of Destination Marketing and Management (Elsevier BV)  30   100815 2023.12

Lead author, Last author, Corresponding author, Accepted,  ISSN  2212-571X

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Negative halo effects of green packaging

Monin Techawachirakul, Abhishek Pathak, Kosuke Motoki, Gemma Calvert

Psychology & Marketing 40 ( 12 ) 2627 - 2641 2023.12

Lead author, Last author, Corresponding author, Accepted

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The tactile thickness of the lip and weight of a glass can modulate sensory perception of tea beverage

Fuka Ichimura, Kosuke Motoki, Koji Matsushita, Atsunori Ariga

Food and Humanity 1   180 - 187 2023.12

Lead author, Last author, Corresponding author, Accepted

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Harmony of senses: Exploring the impact of sound aesthetic features' on taste imagery

Carlos Velasco, Guido Corradi, Kosuke Motoki

Food Quality and Preference 111   104992 2023.10

Lead author, Last author, Corresponding author, Accepted

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When visual cues influence taste/flavour perception: A systematic review

Kosuke Motoki, Charles Spence, Carlos Velasco

Food Quality and Preference 111   104996 2023.10

Lead author, Last author, Corresponding author, Accepted

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Ageism Hinders Mental Attribution Toward Older Adults: Translation and Validation of the Japanese Version of the Mind Attribution Scale¹

Toshiki Saito, Kurt Hugenberg, Kosuke Motoki, Rui Nouchi

Japanese Psychological Research (Wiley)   2023.08

Lead author, Last author, Corresponding author, Accepted,  ISSN  0021-5368

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Abstract

The influence of ageism on mind attribution in older adults remains unclear. For this study, the Mind Attribution Scale—a measure of intentional, cognitive, and emotional mental attribution—was translated into Japanese. The Need to Belong Scale was used to confirm construct validity. Therefore, the effect of ageism (measured using the Fraboni Scale of Ageism) on mind attribution was investigated through 892 participants (age range: 20–83 years) recruited through crowdsourcing. Participants were asked to rate the degree of their mental capacity after reading the vignettes. The findings showed that the three components of the Mind Attribution Scale were valid measures with high internal consistency and criterion validity. Participants tended to ascribe more emotional components, but not intentional or cognitive components, to older adults. Those with stronger ageist attitudes were less likely to attribute their mental capacity to older adults. The results suggest that when considering older individuals rather than a group, people tend to have more positive attitudes and mentalize older adults, while negative ageism may contribute to dementalization.

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性的マイノリティに関する消費者行動研究：既存研究の整理と今後の研究展望

岡部 沙麗, 元木 康介

消費者行動研究 30 ( 2 )  2023.08

Lead author, Last author, Corresponding author, Accepted

Influencing brand personality with sonic logos: The role of musical timbre

Monin Techawachirakul, Abhishek Pathak, Kosuke Motoki, Gemma Calvert

Journal of Business Research 168   114169 2023.07

Lead author, Last author, Corresponding author, Accepted

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