Measuring Implicit Attitudes & Behavioural Tendencies Toward Insect-Based Food

Insect-based foods offer a sustainable and protein-rich alternative to conventional meat, yet they remain largely rejected in Western cultures due to deeply ingrained negative attitudes. We investigate implicit attitudes and behavioral tendencies toward insect-based foods using two indirect assessment methods: the Brief Implicit Association Test (B-IAT) and the Manikin Task. While explicit measures such as self-reports can be biased by social desirability, implicit measures capture automatic reactions, providing a deeper understanding of food acceptance mechanisms. A total of 260 participants completed either a standard or an extended version of the B-IAT and Manikin Task, with variations in trial number and training phases. Results revealed good internal consistency for the B-IAT and the Manikin Task. Increasing the number of trials and introducing training phases did not improve internal consistency. Additionally, no significant correlations were found between implicit and explicit measures, suggesting that attitudes toward novel foods are multifaceted and may not align across different assessment methods and highlighting the need for an integrated approach in investigating reactions to these foods. This study was funded through grant CUP H53D23009810001, financed by the European Union under the Next Generation EU initiative.