4.3. Hypotheses Testing
FOP
The hypotheses and research questions were tested through two, three-way repeated measures ANOVAs with FOP claim type, social distance, and perceived importance of eating healthily as between-subjects factors, product category (wheat and dairy) and brand type (real and fictitious) as within-subjects factors, and consumer attitudes and purchase intentions as dependent variables for each analysis. The results of the between-subjects effects revealed a significant interaction effect of FOP claim type and social distance on consumer attitudes (Hypothesis 1a: The ANOVA results for the significant interaction effect of FOP claim type and social distance on consumer attitudes as the dependent variable revealed that consumers who engaged in proximal thinking (i.e., choosing products for themselves) exhibited more positive attitudes toward healthier foods with nutrient claims than health claims on food packaging, as predicted in H1a; however, consumer attitudes were most positive when the healthier foods contained the control claim (Hypothesis 1b: Consistent with predictions in H1b, the ANOVA results for the significant interaction effect of FOP claim type and social distance on consumer attitudes, as the dependent variable, revealed that consumers who engaged in distal thinking (i.e., choosing products for their children) demonstrated more positive attitudes toward healthier foods that bore health claims on food packaging compared to nutrient claims or control claims (Research Question 1a: A research question was posed on whether consumer-perceived importance of eating healthily moderates the main effect of FOP claim types on consumers’ attitudes and purchase intentions toward healthier foods. The results of the between-subjects effects revealed a significant two-way interaction effect for FOP claim type and perceived importance of eating healthily on consumers’ attitudes (Research Question 1b: Similarly, a research question was posed on whether consumers’ perceived importance of eating healthily moderates the main effect of social distance on consumer response (i.e., consumers’ attitudes and purchase intentions) toward healthier foods. The results of the between-subjects effects revealed a significant two-way interaction effect for social distance and perceived importance of eating healthily on consumers’ purchase intentions (