Many of the key problems humans are facing today result from desires, habits, and social norms impeding behaviour change. Here, we apply a grounded cognition perspective to these phenomena, suggesting that simulating the consequences of one’s actions plays a key role in them. We first describe the grounded cognition theory of desire and motivated behaviour, and present evidence on how consumption and reward simulations underlie people’s representation of appetitive stimuli and guide motivated behaviour. Then, we discuss how the theory can be used to understand the effects of habits, social norms, and various self-regulation strategies. We suggest conceptualising behaviour change as overcoming the simulations of hedonic and social reward that favour existing habits and behaviours, and as updating situated representations of motivated behaviours in their social context. We discuss how this perspective can help us understand the challenges that people experience in initiating and repeating new behaviours, and in high-impact decision making in the face of the status quo. In order to move beyond the socially sanctioned, habitual behaviours that currently threaten human and planetary health, we must understand what motivates them, and how this motivation can be harnessed for the greater good.

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Objective: To examine effects of calorie labelling, motivation and habits on the calorie content of items selected from a coffee-shop menuboard. Methods: In one exploratory (n = 70) and one pre-registered (n = 300) laboratory study, participants viewed a hypothetical calorie-labelled or non calorie-labelled menuboard and selected their preferred item(s). Coffee shop drinking habits were measured using the Self-Report Habit Index, and motivation was assessed with three items asking about eating healthily, watching weight and reading calorie labels. Participants also estimated calories contained in various drinks.Results: Labelling did not significantly affect the total calorie content of items selected. However, as predicted, in the pre-registered study there was a trend toward moderation by motivation (p = .056) with less motivated participants showing relatively greater calorie selection when exposed to labelling. Participants with weaker habits took longer to select items (p =.002) but, contrary to predictions, were not more influenced by labelling. Higher motivation was associated with selecting fewer calories (p = .002), correctly recalling the presence/absence of labelling (p = .016) and better estimating calorie content (p < .001). Overall, participants significantly underestimated calories in higher calorie drinks but overestimated calories in lower calorie drinks. Conclusions: The results highlight the importance of underlying habits and motivation for obesity interventions and are relevant for the UK’s recent introduction of selective mandatory calorie labelling. In some instances, labelling may actually increase intake among those less motivated by health and weight concerns, but further research is needed to substantiate this concern.

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