'Just imagine…': mental imagery correlates with Food Neophobia

Food neophobia (FN), characterised by a reluctance to consume, or a tendency to avoid novel foods, is a prevalent but complex trait with significant implications for dietary diversity and nutritional health. While prior research has investigated sensory and emotional drives of FN, the cognitive mechanisms that shape anticipatory responses to novel foods remain relatively underexplored. The present work reported two studies investigating whether individual differences in mental imagery (MI) are associated with FN tendencies. Study 1 (N = 1443) employed a large-scale online survey in which participants completed the Food Neophobia Scale and rated the vividness of multisensory MI using the Plymouth Sensory Imagery Scale and Spontaneous Use of Imagery Scale. The results revealed a small but significant negative correlation between FN and multisensory MI vividness (rho: -0.07 to -0.15; p < 0.05). Study 2 used a laboratory-based, computerised imagery task. A total of 82 participants were shown the pictures of common fruits and vegetables and instructed to imagine each item's flavour and texture, before rating vividness, difficulty, and onset speed of the sensory image. Individuals with a high FN reported greater difficulty in generating food-related flavour imagery for specific food stimuli, although differences in vividness ratings between FN groups were small. Across both studies, MI emerged as a meaningful cognitive correlate of FN, suggesting that the ability to mentally simulate sensory experiences may represent an underappreicated dimension of FN. Highlighting this cognitive perspective offers new directions for understanding and potentially addressing reluctance to engage with unfamiliar foods.