Modifying food purchases in supermarkets with modeling, feedback, and goal-setting procedures.

Shoppers met a researcher at the store entrance. Each got a short goal card: pick foods with less fat.

At checkout the researcher gave quick feedback and showed a model cart with healthy choices.

The study ran for seven weeks. Shoppers in the modeling-plus-feedback group saved money and bought less fat.

The modeling group cut fat purchases by six percent. They also spent nineteen percent less on groceries.

These savings stayed steady for the full seven weeks. Control shoppers showed no change.

Zohrabi et al. (2025) moved the same idea into telehealth. Their app used video modeling plus remote BCBA feedback to teach self-care to kids with autism.

Watson et al. (2007) swapped the supermarket for an operating room. Goal-setting plus feedback doubled safe hand-offs of sharp tools. The package works across places and ages.

Marcucella et al. (1978) showed that modeling only half the time still teaches preschoolers new words. A quick prompt at checkout gives shoppers just enough exposure, so the dose lines up with early lab work.

You can shrink fat intake and grocery bills with a one-minute checkout chat. Try handing clients a simple goal card and giving immediate feedback at the register. The same three-part package—model, goal, feedback—also boosts safety in hospitals and self-care in kids with autism. Pick your setting, keep the script short, and watch the change stick.