On being a foodie: development of The Foodie Index and association with personality and taste phenotype

Gary J Pickering; Hannah M.G Pickering

doi:10.1016/j.foodqual.2021.104451

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On being a foodie: development of The Foodie Index and association with personality and taste phenotype

Journal article

Peer reviewed

On being a foodie: development of The Foodie Index and association with personality and taste phenotype

Gary J Pickering and Hannah M.G Pickering

Food Quality and Preference, Vol.96, pp.1-8

2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2021.104451

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Abstract

Big Five Inventory

food involvement

gastronome

individual differences

IVE scale

PROP taster status

thermal taster status

thermal tasting

Although foodies represent an important and growing consumer segment, and the term itself is widely used in popular writings and social media, foodies are poorly described in the academic literature. Additionally, little is known regarding how 'foodiness' associates with personality and taste acuity, despite these dimensions being important components of consumers' food preferences and intake. In this explorative study, we describe the development of a 12-item instrument – the Foodie Index (TFI) – comprising of four subscales: food enjoyment and interest, time investment, monetary investment, and knowledge. Overall, TFI and its subscales display good internal reliability (Cronbach's alpha and mean interitem correlation). As hypothesised, TFI scores differ between individuals and associate positively with food adventurousness (p(r) < 0.001). Responses to TFI allowed participants to be categorised as foodies (n = 185) or non-foodies (n = 188), and we assessed whether personality measures (the Adult Impulsiveness, Venturesomeness and Empathy Scale and the Big Five Inventory) and taste acuity (the PROP Taster Status and Thermal Taster Status phenotypes) differ between these groups. Compared with non-foodies, foodies are more venturesome (p(t) = 0.05), extraverted (p(t) = 0.01) and open to experience (p(t) = 0.02). PROP responsiveness did not vary with TFI scores nor differ between foodies and non-foodies. In contrast, foodies were more likely to be thermal tasters (p(χ2) = 0.005) and scores on all four subscales of TFI were higher for thermal tasters than for thermal non-tasters (p(t) < 0.05). TFI will support further research into identifying the characteristics of foodies and provide opportunities for retailers and marketers of food-related products and services to segment and more fully understand their consumers.

Details

Title: On being a foodie: development of The Foodie Index and association with personality and taste phenotype
Authors: Gary J Pickering (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Sustainability Research Centre
Hannah M.G Pickering (Author) - Brock University
Publication details: Food Quality and Preference, Vol.96, pp.1-8
Publisher: Elsevier, Ltd
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodqual.2021.104451
ISSN: 1873-6343
Organisation Unit: University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; Sustainability Research Centre
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99583908902621
Output Type: Journal article

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Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration; International collaboration
Web Of Science research areas: Food Science & Technology

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Source: InCites