From image to mind: the impact of tableware cues on audience engagement with social media food images

With the proliferation of visual content on social media, it is imperative to understand how visual design features influence audience engagement. Drawing on mental simulation theory and focusing on food imagery, this research examines tableware as a dining-related visual cue that can prompt mental simulation and shape audience engagement with social media food images. Across five studies, we adopt a mixed-methods approach. Study 1 analyzes 846 salad image posts from Rednote and finds that the presence of tableware, particularly flatware and side dishware, is positively associated with audience engagement, as measured by likes and saves. Study 2 replicates this effect in a controlled experiment and provides causal evidence. Studies 3 and 4 provide converging evidence consistent with mental simulation as a psychological process linking tableware cues to engagement intentions. Study 5 identifies an important boundary condition, showing that the tableware effect is stronger for non-indulgent food than for indulgent food. It also suggests that process mental simulation, rather than outcome mental simulation, serves as the primary mediating pathway. This research highlights tableware as a specific dining-related mental simulation cue that can improve the performance of food images on social media, with implications for creators and platforms seeking to increase audience engagement.