The study, published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology, reveals that whenever we encounter an advertisement, our lips and tongue subconsciously sound out new names, according to the Guardian. When we run into the same ad later on, we continue to practice pronouncing it.
However, the act of chewing can disrupt that process of rehearsing the new names. which makes the repetition redundant.
For the study, researchers had 96 subjects attend a movie screening preceded by a series of ads. Half of the participants got a free bag of popcorn, while the other half received sugar cubes that quickly melted on their tongues.
After the movie, researchers found that the popcorn-eaters had no reaction to the products in the pre-move ads, while those who got the sugar cubes showed positive psychological responses toward the advertised products.
A second study had 188 participants in similar circumstances, only this time the ads in movie theatres were for charities. When given money to spend on charities, those with sugar cubes tended to donate more money to those they saw in ads.
“The mundane activity of eating popcorn made participants immune to the pervasive effects of advertising,” said Sascha Topolinski, one of the researchers.
Topolinski went on to say that cinemas should reconsider allowing candy purchases before movies if they want more positive ad responses.
BBC notes that cinema owners probably won’t be too keen on Topolinski’s ideas, considering popcorn is apparently sold at a 900 percent markup.
Chewing has also been shown in the past to impair memory of lists in a specific order.
