Filthy fruit! Confirmation bias and novel food

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Food Science
• Behavioral Economics

Background:

• Low fruit and vegetable intake globally contributes to poor diet quality and health issues.
• Confirmation bias, the tendency to favor information confirming existing beliefs, is documented in anxiety research.
• This bias may reduce willingness to try novel foods by reinforcing negative perceptions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if confirmation bias extends to food stimuli.
• To investigate if food neophobia exacerbates this confirmation bias.
• To explore the relationship between confirmation bias, food neophobia, and willingness to try novel fruits.

Main Methods:

• 117 participants completed the Food Neophobia Scale (FNS) and a Search for Additional Information Scale (SAIS) task online.
• Participants rated willingness to eat four novel fruits (two appealing, two unappealing).
• Participants indicated preference for positive or negative information about each fruit.

Main Results:

• Participants showed higher willingness to try appealing fruits compared to unappealing ones.
• Increased food neophobia correlated with lower willingness to try all fruits.
• Confirmation bias was evident, with more negative information sought for unappealing fruits, irrespective of neophobia levels.

Conclusions:

• Confirmation bias can negatively influence perceptions of novel foods.
• This bias may contribute to reduced fruit and vegetable consumption, particularly for less visually appealing options.
• Understanding confirmation bias is crucial for developing strategies to increase healthy eating behaviors.