Watching a remote-video confederate eating facilitates perceived taste and consumption of food

People eat more when their eating confederates eat a lot. However, it was not clear whether participants’ eating is changed by a remote-video confederate. We compared three types of silent videos: 1) a stranger eating potato chips, 2) the stranger calling on the phone, or 3) only objects (food and cellphone). Participants perceived popcorn to taste better only when they watched the video of others eating. Watching others eating induced the participants to eat more than when watching the other two videos. This study indicates that remote-video confederates enhance not only food intake but also the perceived taste of food.