Examining Essentialistic Beliefs About Food

Adults Clinical Trial

Official title:

Examining Essentialistic Beliefs About Food

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT04704726
• Other study ID #: 2020-05-045
• Status: Completed
• Start date: September 14, 2020
• Est. completion date: December 23, 2020

Study information

• Verified date: January 2021
• Source: Clinical Nutrition Research Centre, Singapore
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Observational

Clinical Trial Summary

This project seeks to test whether people maintain essentialistic beliefs about food (foods as having immutable underlying 'essences' that contribute to the food's attributes and properties). Currently, there are studies on essentialistic beliefs on topics such as: race, genes, and natural objects. However, there is limited research applying the concept of essentialism to food. In addition, in food studies, participants' perception and acceptability of foods were being explored but what remains unknown is whether they have any degree of essentialistic beliefs towards food which influences their perception and acceptability of food.

Therefore, the aim of this study is to gain in-depth knowledge and understanding on whether people maintain essentialistic beliefs about food, and determine whether these beliefs may be associated with attitudes and expectations of foods that vary in their levels of processing.

Description:

Objectives:

1. To gain in-depth knowledge and understanding on whether people maintain essentialistic beliefs about food (foods as having immutable underlying 'essences' that contribute to the food's attributes and properties).

2. To determine whether these beliefs may be associated with attitudes and expectations of foods that vary in their levels of processing.

3. To explore the perceptions of essentialistic transference: The belief that the essence of a food is transferred to a person who consumes the food, which manifests the properties of the food in the consumer (E.g., the belief that people who have a diet of eating fast-running animals are also fast runners).

Study Design:

This study involves 2 parts: Study 1A & Study 1B.

Study 1A:

300 participants in Singapore, aged between 21-65 years old will be recruited to do an online survey on Qualtrics. Participants would first rate their baseline appetite before proceeding to the survey. For this study, the food categories will be: Milk, Rice, Carrot and Chicken. There will be a total of 7 different kinds of foods varying in the levels of processing per category and the images of these foods will be presented in a randomized order. Participants will rate their perceptions of the properties of foods (e.g. nutritiousness, naturalness, familiarity, liking, taste, stereotypical trait, and processing) on a scale that ranges from "Not at all" to "Very much".

After rating their perceptions of the properties of foods, participants will complete questionnaires measuring: Essentialistic beliefs about food (EFS: 6-point scale from "Strongly Disagree" to "Strongly Agree"), perceptions of essentialistic transference (ETS: 6-point scale with 2 opposite traits as anchors e.g. "Very Irritable" to "Very good-natured"), nutrition knowledge (NKS: 6-point scale from "Strongly Disagree" to "Strongly Agree"), importance of food naturalness (FNS: 6-point scale from "Strongly Disagree" to "Strongly Agree") and consumers' fears towards food technology (FTNS: 7-point scale from "Strongly Disagree" to "Strongly Agree").

Study 1B:

300 participants in Singapore, aged between 21-65 years old will be recruited to do an online survey on Qualtrics. Participants would first rate their baseline appetite before proceeding to the survey. For this study, the food categories will be: Fish, Orange, Napa Cabbage, Peanut and Beef. There will be a total of 7 different kinds of foods varying in the levels of processing per category and 2 foods-in-name (e.g. Vuna and Impossible burger), and the images of these foods will be presented in a randomize order. Participants will rate their perceptions of the properties of foods (e.g. nutritiousness, naturalness, familiarity, liking, taste, stereotypical trait, and processing) on a scale that ranges from "Not at all" to "Very much".

After rating their perceptions of the properties of foods, participants will complete questionnaires measuring: Essentialistic beliefs about food (EFS: 6-point scale from "Strongly Disagree" to "Strongly Agree"), perceptions of essentialistic transference (ETS: 6-point scale with 2 opposite traits as anchors e.g. "Very Irritable" to "Very good-natured"), nutrition knowledge (NKS: 6-point scale from "Strongly Disagree" to "Strongly Agree"), importance of food naturalness (FNS: 6-point scale from "Strongly Disagree" to "Strongly Agree") and consumers' fears towards food technology (FTNS: 7-point scale from "Strongly Disagree" to "Strongly Agree").

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 600
• Est. completion date: December 23, 2020
• Est. primary completion date: December 23, 2020
• Gender: All
• Age group: 21 Years to 65 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• 21-65 years old

Exclusion Criteria:

• None

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Adults

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Singapore	Singapore	Singapore

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Clinical Nutrition Research Centre, Singapore

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Singapore, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Consumers' perceptions of food	Participants will be shown images of different kinds of foods varying in the levels of processing and they will rate their perceptions of the properties of foods (e.g., nutritiousness, naturalness, familiarity, liking, taste, stereotypical trait, and processing) on a scale that ranges from "Not at all" to "Very much".	Baseline measure
Primary	Essentialistic beliefs about food (food as having immutable underlying 'essences' that contribute to the food's attributes and properties)	The essentialistic beliefs about food will be measured by a scale that we developed: Essentialism of Food Scale (EFS): 6-point scale from "Strongly Disagree" to "Strongly Agree".	Baseline measure
Primary	Perceptions of essentialistic transference	Perceptions of essentialistic transference refers to the belief that the essence of a food is transferred to a person who consumes the food, which manifests the properties of the food in the consumer (e.g., the belief that people who have a diet of eating fast-running animals are also fast runners). It will be measured by a scale that we developed: Essentialistic Transference Scale (ETS): 6-point scale with 2 opposite traits as anchors e.g. "Very Irritable" to "Very good-natured"	Baseline measure
Primary	Nutrition knowledge	Nutrition knowledge will be measured by the Nutrition Knowledge scale (NKS): 6-point scale from "Strongly Disagree" to "Strongly Agree".	Baseline measure
Primary	Perception towards the importance of food naturalness	Importance of food naturalness will be measured by the Food Naturalness Scale (FNS): 6-point scale from "Strongly Disagree" to "Strongly Agree".	Baseline measure
Primary	Consumers' fears towards food technology	Consumers' fears towards food technology will be measured by the Food Technology Neophobia Scale (FTNS): 7-point scale from "Strongly Disagree" to "Strongly Agree".	Baseline measure