Presents deconsumption research conducted as part of Advertising Research coursework. Presents findings of study depriving "heavy users" of spicy food of any spicy product for two weeks to gauge their relationship.

1. SPICY FOOD
DECONSUMPTION
STUDY

4. METHODOLOGY

8. “It is like an explosion in your mouth of taste. All
your taste buds tingle and it wakes you up.”
“an extreme taste that later wreaks havoc on my
digestive system and first attacks my sinuses.”
“something that gives me a bit of buzz—along
with a bit of forehead sweat and decongestant
effect.”

11. PRIMARY
RESEARCH:
WHAT WE
DISCOVERED

12. SUBSTITUTIONS
FOR
SPICY FOOD

13. Carbonated Beverages
Carbohydrates
Other condiments:
barbecue sauce, cilantro, soy sauce, pickles,
salt, lime, garlic, onions, cumin
Cheese
Milkshakes
Alcohol

14. “I drink it straight and its disgusting… ‘cause it
burns and I think I miss that burning.”
“yeah, it’s like the bubbles-- going back to the
whole party in your mouth thing.”

15. “…pasta with dinner seemed so ordinary and
uncreative.”
“I keep eating pasta and carb-packed foods as a
substitute and it's terrible. You feel so weighted
down after compared to when you have salads,
and when I have to eat "normally" I go straight
for the carbs and fall asleep by 11pm after
eating at 9.”

16. Interviewer:
i noticed in your emails that both of you ate more pasta, why
was that?
A.S.:
maybe to feel fuller? with spicy foods sometimes you get to that
threshold and you can't do anymore and pasta is very filling, and
also a comfort food
J.Q.:
when you eat spicy foods you cant eat as much food, so now w/o
my nose running and mouth on fire i'd feel the need to eat more

17. “It was the dessert factor. Since we weren’t
engaging our senses through spiciness, we used
dessert and wine.”

18. OTHER
DISCOVERIES

19. From our participants’ substitutions we found
that they strove for a “fullness factor” to reach
the same “threshold” that they could reach with
spicy food

20. On a scale of 1 (not important for me) to 5
(very important to me), how important is
spicy food to you?
BEFORE:
very very
important _4_ _1_ _ 2 _ _ 1 _ ____ unimportant
AFTER:
very very
important 4 4 unimportant

21. THE DAY THE STUDY FINISHED PARTICIPANTS ATE THEIR
FAVORITE SPICY MEAL
-Chinese take out.
-Burrito with fresh red savina habaneros
- I had a spicy gardenia salad, with extra
hot peppers and the pepper juice as the dressing.
-Chicken relleno - stuffed Poblano pepper
-Eggs, pork and salsa (red)
-I had spicy noodle from Royal Thai
-uMMMM, Tacos with green chili Tabasco!

22. “It really made me appreciate salsa and
spiciness…you don’t appreciate something
until it is taken away from you.”
“[At] lunch and dinner I would think about
how much better it would be
with something spicy added to it.”

23. “When my friends gaped in shock that
they could actually eat what I made.”
“when I couldn’t use spicy scare tactics
with my friends.”

24. Instead of taking the jalapenos or Tabasco out of
a regular meal, participants would eat a
completely different food since they couldn’t eat
that food with spiciness.
If they couldn’t eat the chips with salsa, they
would avoid the chips.
If they couldn’t eat macaroni with jalapenos
they wouldn’t eat macaroni.”

25. “At lunch. It was weird trying to figure out a
meal to eat that didn't include hot peppers.”
“Election party fun, I didn't eat the shrimp since I
couldn't have the horseradish sauce, nor the
chips/salsa, nor the buffalo wings.”

26. •Found themselves thinking more about food
throughout the day.
•Standing in front of the fridge
•Longer to peruse menu at restaurants – couldn’t eat
their habitual meals at their favorite restaurants
•Aimed to “feel full” when eating, which spicy food
normally did for them

27. I think about spicy food “When I am bored and
not sure what to eat around the house. ”
“I had way too much time deliberating what I
wanted to eat, being at home.”
“I was at a restaurant that had this hot/spicy
chicken meal that I was dying to try as soon as I
read it on the menu. “

29. In accordance with our predictions, participants
did in fact feel tired without the endorphins that
spicy food had provided for them previously.

30. “Today I feel tired. Also, very indecisive about what
to eat.”
“I definitely felt more sluggish. I couldn't exercise
at the right times because with the high carb diet
my system just didn't digest it as quickly as it
does with spicy foods, and it hurt my
schedule. also, pasta makes you want
to pass out like 2 hrs after dinner.”

31. FOCUS GROUP
COLLAGES

36. WHAT WE
LEARNED FROM
CHEATERS

37. •Participants felt guilty
•Some didn’t realize that their
food was against the rules
•Made the most of the moment
•Happened about a week into the study

38. “when I cheated I was actually eating with my sister and she had
and what were we eating? We were eating some type of noodle,
something simple, but she had put spices, some topatillos on
hers and um I’m like can I have a taste of yours and she like gave
me then I was like again, again , so she like fed me but umm…I
finished her plate.”
M: I was munching around my house and I found some hot
nuts and I couldn’t help my self
A: and how did that make you feel?
M: I tried to enjoy the moment. But uh yeah I did feel some
guilt after I threw away the bag

39. “I bought some tortilla soup for the first
time in SMU and I did not know it was spicy
until I ate it.”
“I ate a lot of sushi during those two weeks
and Dragon roll was really good to eat.”

40. LOOKING BACK:
WHAT WE
WOULD CHANGE

41. •Further define spicy
•Less intense feedback schedule
•Full food list for the day
•Study by age group or ethnicity

42. SPICE UP
YOUR LIFE!!