Skip to main content
OpenTrials
Completed

NCT Number: NCT04704726

Examining Essentialistic Beliefs About Food

This project seeks to test whether people maintain essentialistic beliefs about food (foods as having immutable underlying 'essences' that contribute to the food's attributes and properties). Currently, there are studies on essentialistic beliefs on topics such as: race, genes, and natural objects. However, there is limited research applying the concept of essentialism to food. In addition, in food studies, participants' perception and acceptability of foods were being explored but what remains unknown is whether they have any degree of essentialistic beliefs towards food which influences their perception and acceptability of food.

Therefore, the aim of this study is to gain in-depth knowledge and understanding on whether people maintain essentialistic beliefs about food, and determine whether these beliefs may be associated with attitudes and expectations of foods that vary in their levels of processing.

Completed

Looking for future studies?

Notify Me

Key information

Conditions

Adults

Age range

21 year–65 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Observational

Primary location

Singapore

Singapore

About this study

Objectives:

  • To gain in-depth knowledge and understanding on whether people maintain essentialistic beliefs about food (foods as having immutable underlying 'essences' that contribute to the food's attributes and properties).
  • To determine whether these beliefs may be associated with attitudes and expectations of foods that vary in their levels of processing.
  • To explore the perceptions of essentialistic transference: The belief that the essence of a food is transferred to a person who consumes the food, which manifests the properties of the food in the consumer (E.g., the belief that people who have a diet of eating fast-running animals are also fast runners).

Study Design:

This study involves 2 parts: Study 1A & Study 1B.

Study 1A:

300 participants in Singapore, aged between 21-65 years old will be recruited to do an online survey on Qualtrics. Participants would first rate their baseline appetite before proceeding to the survey. For this study, the food categories will be: Milk, Rice, Carrot and Chicken. There will be a total of 7 different kinds of foods varying in the levels of processing per category and the images of these foods will be presented in a randomized order. Participants will rate their perceptions of the properties of foods (e.g. nutritiousness, naturalness, familiarity, liking, taste, stereotypical trait, and processing) on a scale that ranges from "Not at all" to "Very much".

After rating their perceptions of the properties of foods, participants will complete questionnaires measuring: Essentialistic beliefs about food (EFS: 6-point scale from "Strongly Disagree" to "Strongly Agree"), perceptions of essentialistic transference (ETS: 6-point scale with 2 opposite traits as anchors e.g. "Very Irritable" to "Very good-natured"), nutrition knowledge (NKS: 6-point scale from "Strongly Disagree" to "Strongly Agree"), importance of food naturalness (FNS: 6-point scale from "Strongly Disagree" to "Strongly Agree") and consumers' fears towards food technology (FTNS: 7-point scale from "Strongly Disagree" to "Strongly Agree").

Study 1B:

300 participants in Singapore, aged between 21-65 years old will be recruited to do an online survey on Qualtrics. Participants would first rate their baseline appetite before proceeding to the survey. For this study, the food categories will be: Fish, Orange, Napa Cabbage, Peanut and Beef. There will be a total of 7 different kinds of foods varying in the levels of processing per category and 2 foods-in-name (e.g. Vuna and Impossible burger), and the images of these foods will be presented in a randomize order. Participants will rate their perceptions of the properties of foods (e.g. nutritiousness, naturalness, familiarity, liking, taste, stereotypical trait, and processing) on a scale that ranges from "Not at all" to "Very much".

After rating their perceptions of the properties of foods, participants will complete questionnaires measuring: Essentialistic beliefs about food (EFS: 6-point scale from "Strongly Disagree" to "Strongly Agree"), perceptions of essentialistic transference (ETS: 6-point scale with 2 opposite traits as anchors e.g. "Very Irritable" to "Very good-natured"), nutrition knowledge (NKS: 6-point scale from "Strongly Disagree" to "Strongly Agree"), importance of food naturalness (FNS: 6-point scale from "Strongly Disagree" to "Strongly Agree") and consumers' fears towards food technology (FTNS: 7-point scale from "Strongly Disagree" to "Strongly Agree").

Who can participate

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • 21-65 years old

Exclusion criteria

  • None

Treatment and study plan

Primary outcomes

  1. Consumers' perceptions of food

    Time frame: Baseline measure

    Participants will be shown images of different kinds of foods varying in the levels of processing and they will rate their perceptions of the properties of foods (e.g., nutritiousness, naturalness, familiarity, liking, taste, stereotypical trait, and processing) on a scale that ranges from "Not at all" to "Very much".

  2. Essentialistic beliefs about food (food as having immutable underlying 'essences' that contribute to the food's attributes and properties)

    Time frame: Baseline measure

    The essentialistic beliefs about food will be measured by a scale that we developed: Essentialism of Food Scale (EFS): 6-point scale from "Strongly Disagree" to "Strongly Agree".

  3. Perceptions of essentialistic transference

    Time frame: Baseline measure

    Perceptions of essentialistic transference refers to the belief that the essence of a food is transferred to a person who consumes the food, which manifests the properties of the food in the consumer (e.g., the belief that people who have a diet of eating fast-running animals are also fast runners). It will be measured by a scale that we developed: Essentialistic Transference Scale (ETS): 6-point scale with 2 opposite traits as anchors e.g. "Very Irritable" to "Very good-natured"

  4. Nutrition knowledge

    Time frame: Baseline measure

    Nutrition knowledge will be measured by the Nutrition Knowledge scale (NKS): 6-point scale from "Strongly Disagree" to "Strongly Agree".

  5. Perception towards the importance of food naturalness

    Time frame: Baseline measure

    Importance of food naturalness will be measured by the Food Naturalness Scale (FNS): 6-point scale from "Strongly Disagree" to "Strongly Agree".

  6. Consumers' fears towards food technology

    Time frame: Baseline measure

    Consumers' fears towards food technology will be measured by the Food Technology Neophobia Scale (FTNS): 7-point scale from "Strongly Disagree" to "Strongly Agree".

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation

Other Gov

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2020
Primary completion
2020
Study completion
2020
First posted
Jan 12, 2021
Registry last updated
Jan 12, 2021

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Related clinical trials

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.