Procedure
Upon the arrival at the lab, participants were informed that they
were going to engage in a number of unrelated tasks. After providing
written consent, participants were asked to help a faculty
member in the biology department with a functional food test to
be used in a randomized, placebo-controlled study. They were assigned
to take either a weight-loss supplement or a placebo (i.e.,
the control group) pill via a block-randomization method to control
the proportions of men and women between conditions. They
then rated the perceived attributes of the pill they had just taken
(e.g., size, shape, color, texture, and flavor). Unbeknownst to participants,
all received placebo pills.
After the manipulation, participants completed a filler questionnaire,
in which an item measuring perceived goal progress
was embedded. They were asked to use a 7-point scale (1 = least
likely, 7 = most likely) to indicate the extent to which they felt they
were making progress toward weight reduction (adapted from
Fishbach & Dhar, 2005). Subjects were subsequently asked to help
with a pilot taste test for use in future studies. The experimenter
told each participant ‘‘This additional taste task will take some