(Mis)estimating volume

John Tierney's science articles in the NY Times have been looking at consumers' tendency to underestimate the actual contents of supersized packages. I don't think it is cultural, or food-specific; rather, there's something about how humans are wired regarding perceptions of length vs volume. This struck me years ago, in both lab and kitchen settings, when transferring liquids or leftovers from one container to another. When the containers are the same shape, selecting the right size for the receptacle container is trivial -- but not so when, say, the transfer is from a wide, low dish or pan to a receptacle of squarer proportions. In those cases, pretty much everyone I've worked with overestimates the size of receptacle container needed, often by a good two-to-one.

It's not easy to make rational choices when our eyes come miscalibrated.

PS Note, too, Tierney's discussions of the "halo effect" -- the tendency of the diet-conscious to let down their guard around foods bearing the imprimatur of trusted names, or described as "low fat", "healthy", "organic", etc. How often I've shaken my head at friends who would never buy their kids junk cereals, yet happily bring home the Whole Foods counterparts containing just as much sugar, but organic.

Posted by David on December 8, 2008 8:47 AM