Priming Effects On Food Preference

Disgust has a different meaning for each individual and several factors affect ratings of disgust. Disgust elicits a neural response to prevent illness, and foods that appear to be contaminated elicit a higher disgust response than other disgusting items (Becker, et al., 2016). Individuals evaluation of disgust differs when viewing disgusting meat versus disgusting plants (Tybur, et al., 2016). Research has shown that when meat was cued with disgust, individuals were less likely to want to eat it. However, when vegetables were cued with disgust, it did not change the individuals desire to eat it (Ammann, et al., 2018). The present study will investigate the effects of priming on attitudes toward animals and disgust Method. Approximately 50 undergraduate students are expected to participate in this online study. Participants will be asked to view photos of disgusting or delicious plant or animal items. Thus the design of the study will adhere to a 2 (food type: plant vs. animal) X 2 (food quality: disgusting vs. delicious) between participants design. A variation of the Food Disgust Picture Scale will be used. Participants will receive one (of four) photo sets. Photos will consist of delicious plant-based foods; disgusting plant-based foods; delicious meat-based foods; or of disgusting meat-based foods. After viewing the photos, participants will respond to the Animal Attitudes Scale (5-item scale), Disgust Emotion Scale (15-item scale), and a modified version of the Food and Beverage Preferences Questionnaire (16-item scale). Finally, participants will fill out a demographics survey, The first hypothesis is that participants in the meat group will score higher on the Animal Attitudes Scale than participants in the plant group. The next hypothesis is that participants in the Disgusting groups will score higher on the Disgust Emotion Scale. The third hypothesis is that participants in the disgusting meat group will score higher on both scales, and report being less likely to want to eat those food products. The significance of this study is that if researchers have a better understanding of priming and its effects on attitudes toward animals and disgust, researchers can further develop methods to prime individuals in a way that can make healthy foods seem more appealing, and unhealthy foods less appealing. Using simple food photos, research can show if priming has an effect on how individuals view these basic foods. In the future, research can be done using more complex pictures of healthy meals and unhealthy meals of different forms. In addition, unhealthy/healthy foods can be paired with photos of the negative or positive consequences