Perceptions of undereaters: a matter of perspective?

We assume that people, to convey positive impressions of themselves, use the amounts eaten by others as limits beyond which their eating may be deemed excessive. One should, therefore, prefer eating partners who eat a lot because others' large intake renders one's own eating nonexcessive. Two studies were conducted to test this hypothesis. As predicted, participants liked confederates who ate more than they did better than those who ate less than they did, and they also rated their own intake as more appropriate when it had been exceeded by confederates than they did when it had been undercut by confederates. Noneating observers, instead, did not display a preference for eaters who ate more. Both noneating observers and active participants, however, rated eaters who ate less more positively than eaters who ate more on self-control-related items. We conclude that the nature of the behavior-impression association depends critically on the perspective of the rater.