Personality Traits and Disgust Sensitivity in Shaping Consumer Intentions toward Insect-Based Foods in Croatia

Krešimir Jakšić; Raquel  Guiné; Marijana Matek Sarić

doi:10.19090/pp.v19i1.2630

Authors

Krešimir Jakšić Department of Psychology, University of Zadar, Zadar, Croatia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2056-3604
Raquel Guiné Polytechnic Institute of Viseu, Campus Politécnico, Viseu, Portugal https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0595-6805
Marijana Matek Sarić Department of Health Studies, University of Zadar, Zadar, Croatia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2734-7955

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.19090/pp.v19i1.2630

Keywords:

disgust sensitivity, personality traits, insect eating, neophobia, Croatian sample

Abstract

Insects represent a nutritious and environmentally friendly alternative to meat. However, cultural acceptance is a significant challenge in promoting insect consumption; in Western societies, insects are often associated with negative experiences rooted in cultural and religious beliefs, traditions, myths, and personal experiences. To better understand the barriers to insect consumption in the Croatian national context, we conducted a paper-and-pencil study, using a sample of 609 participants who had never eaten insect-based food to replicate previous findings on the role of disgust sensitivity and personality traits. Our findings showed that, for both males and females, pathogen disgust sensitivity was negatively related to the intention to consume insect-based food; moral disgust (violation of social norms) was not associated with consumer intention. For females, conscientiousness was negatively related to the consumption of insect-based food. For males, consumption intention was positively related to openness and negatively related to extraversion and agreeableness. The study results partially align with previous findings from other cultural contexts and point to the role of psychological mechanisms in explaining insect-based food consumption.

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