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Exploring Food Neophobia and Perceptions of Ethnic Foods: The Case of Chinese and Thai Cuisines. Amelia Asperin, Ph.D. - North Dakota State University WooMi Jo Phillips, Ph.D. - North Dakota State University Kara Wolfe, Ph.D.- Bradley University. INTRODUCTION. Purpose
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Exploring Food Neophobia and Perceptions of Ethnic Foods: The Case of Chinese and Thai Cuisines Amelia Asperin, Ph.D. - North Dakota State University WooMi Jo Phillips, Ph.D. - North Dakota State University Kara Wolfe, Ph.D.- Bradley University
INTRODUCTION • Purpose • Explore how students attending a university in the upper Midwestern portion of the U.S. perceive Chinese and Thai cuisine in the context of food attitudes. • Measure students’ willingness, or lack thereof, to try new or different types of food in general. • Explore whether food neophobia is reflected on their perceptions of familiar or unfamiliar ethnic cuisines. • Test the stability of the Food Neophobia Scale (FNS) and Food Attitudes Scale (FAS) when using a college-age population
METHODOLOGY • Data Collection • An online questionnaire via external survey software provider was distributed to undergraduate students in a Food and World Cultures class • Data Analysis • Descriptive statistics • Confirmatory Factor Analysis* • Mean comparisons *Secondary Exploratory Factor Analysis was performed on FAS items because the model was a poor fit for the data
RESULTS FOOD NEOPHOBIA SCALE
RESULTS • Secondary EFA extractions and reliability testing resulted in two factors: FOOD ATTITUDE SCALE (CHINESE FOOD)
RESULTS • Secondary EFA extractions and reliability testing resulted in four factors: FOOD ATTITUDE SCALE (THAI FOOD)
RESULTS • Respondents with low food neophobia scores were more likely to have more positive attitudes towards the cuisines and were more likely to have tried the cuisine. • Highly food neophobic respondents generally had negative attitudes towards Chinese and Thai cuisine and were more likely to have no experience with the cuisines. • No significant differences based on age, gender, or characteristic of residential area prior to attending college MEAN DIFFERENCES
DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS FAS is not stable when measuring a general perception of a cuisine as a whole. • Implications • Midwest population may look at ethnic cuisines in a general manner such as being positive or negative • FAS may factor into different dimensions depending on the particular cuisine.
DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS Researchers may be able to use the FAS if specific examples of food are provided. • Implications • This could be used for testing the acceptability of specific menu items as a component of menu planning for ethnic restaurants. • Information gleaned can be utilized for development of marketing platforms to address any negative attributes perceived.
Future Research • Methodology and framework can be used to evaluate the viability of other lesser-known cuisines in unchartered markets • Comparing food neophobia and food attitude scores pre and post education about ethnic cuisines