Perceptions of social norms around healthy and environmentally-friendly food choices: Linking the role of referent groups to behavior

Frontiers in Psychology

article

Elif Naz Çoker¹  Susan A. Jebb¹  Cristina Stewart¹  Michael Clark²  Rachel Pechey¹ 

[1] Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford;Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford

关键词: Social norm;    referent groups;    food choice;    Norm and behavior congruence;    Sustainable food choice;    healthy food choice;    social norms;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2022.974830

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Referent groups can moderate the perception of social norms and individuals’ likelihood to model them norms in food choice contexts, including vegetable intake and reduced meat consumption. The present study investigated whether having a close vs. a distant social group as the referent changed perceptions of social norms around making healthy and eco-friendly food choices. It also assessed whether these changes were associated with a difference in food choice in a virtual grocery shopping task. A nationally representative sample of UK adults (N = 2488) reported their perceptions of making healthy and eco-friendly food choices being the norm among people they share meals with (close referent group) and most people in the UK (distant referent group). The former was more commonly perceived to be making both healthy (Z= -12.0, p .05, 95% CIs: -.37, .25) impacts. Framing social norms around making healthy and eco-friendly food choices to refer to a closer referent group may change their perceptions and ability to encourage sustainable and healthy food purchasing.

【 授权许可】

CC BY