The construct of food involvement in behavioral research: scale development and validation

Area of Science:

• Consumer Behavior
• Food Science
• Psychology

Background:

• Consumer involvement influences purchasing decisions and responses to marketing.
• Traditionally, involvement was viewed as a product or individual trait.
• This study explores food involvement as a stable individual characteristic.

Purpose of the Study:

• To hypothesize that food involvement varies among individuals.
• To test if higher food involvement correlates with better sensory discrimination.
• To develop and validate a reliable measure of food involvement.

Main Methods:

• Developed a 12-item Food Involvement Scale based on food-related activities.
• Utilized standard scale construction and validation techniques.
• Conducted a behavioral study to link food involvement with sensory ratings.

Main Results:

• The Food Involvement Scale demonstrated good test-retest reliability and internal consistency.
• Higher food involvement was associated with enhanced discrimination of food samples.
• Food involvement correlated with hedonic ratings in a laboratory setting.

Conclusions:

• Food involvement is a measurable and relatively stable individual characteristic.
• The Food Involvement Scale is a reliable tool for assessing this trait.
• Food involvement acts as a mediator in research concerning food and eating behaviors.