Good Attitudes Are Not Good Enough: An Ethnographical Approach to Investigate Attitude-Behavior Inconsistencies in Sustainable Choice

Abstract

This research explores reasons for the attitude-behavior gap of consumers involved with sustainable food choice. For this purpose, the Food Choice Process Model by was applied. The study follows a qualitative approach. Data were collected through ethnographical fieldwork. Over the course of nine months, researchers repeatedly accompanied six families. Each visit lasted several hours and included multiple in-depth discussions, food shopping observations and participation in everyday food behavior. Findings show that beliefs, positive attitudes, and behavioral intentions do play an important role for sustainable choice. Rooted in one’s personal life course experiences and the socio-cultural conditions one grew up in, however, their determinacy is heavily impaired by household realities and by various personal and situational factors. Sustainability attributes, even if dominant on an abstract level, tend to be inferior for actual choice, especially when competing with the taste, price, and preferences of other household members. Product evaluation and food choice are seldomly a result of comprehensive information processing, but rather based on simplifications and strategies. Conflicts are aggravated by competing sustainability values and attributes. Confronted with diverse product-related, personal, external, and situational influences, sustainable choices come with conflicts, tensions, and ambivalences forcing participants to make compromises and remain flexible in their decisions. However, participants were aware of their inadequacies and accept personal inconsistencies, without showing much dissonance. This research extends current knowledge about the impact and the origin of attitudes towards and barriers for sustainable food choice behavior that help to understand the complexity of the phenomena in its natural setting. It points out practical implications for practitioners, updates the theoretical framework, and can widen researchers’ perspective on sustainable food choice behavior.

Evaluation of Disparities in Adults’ Macronutrient Intake Status: Results from the China Health and Nutrition 2011 Survey

“…Another important finding in our study is that the awareness of CDGs had no significant influence on lowering or increasing relative macronutrient intakes. The underlying reason for the lack of link between CDG knowledge and levels of macronutrient intakes is not yet understood, but it may be potentially explained by previous qualitative research on this issue showing that knowledge itself is not enough to influence food choice [ 26 ]. Some studies demonstrated that food choice can depend on the reliability of public information and a broader environment [ 34 ], suggesting that disseminating CDGs to the public alone would not significantly improve the nutrient status of Chinese population.…”

“…In terms of priorities of a healthy diet, adults who had a higher priority in a healthy diet were more likely to meet the DRI for macronutrients compared to those who had lower priority in a healthy diet. This could be interpreted by one study that demonstrated that personal evaluation or belief in foods, in our case, the priority given to healthy diet, can influence personal food choice [ 26 ]. Since one’s food attitude and values placed in a healthy diet can be developed over time [ 26 ], it is crucially important to implement dietary education and intervention targeting people of younger age.…”

“…This could be interpreted by one study that demonstrated that personal evaluation or belief in foods, in our case, the priority given to healthy diet, can influence personal food choice [ 26 ]. Since one’s food attitude and values placed in a healthy diet can be developed over time [ 26 ], it is crucially important to implement dietary education and intervention targeting people of younger age. Moreover, the finding that females are having more fat intake than males suggests that women are at higher risk of developing obesity and other diet-related NCDs compared to men in China.…”

“…Additionally, the CHNS also included a five-point Likert scale of self-rated healthy diet priority. In order to assess whether an individual’s healthy diet priority can influence his or her macronutrient intake [ 26 ], this study also included one variable that summarized participants’ perception of a healthy diet as not important, important, and very important.…”

Strategies for reducing meat consumption within college and university settings: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…To better account for the asymmetries in the effect sizes associated with each of the three included outcome measures, future investigations should prioritize using observational methods to track changes in dietary behaviors where possible. In addition to providing more precise approximations of changes in food choice (Webb and Sheeran, 2006;Loy et al, 2016;Meyer and Simons, 2021) and minimizing the risks of bias that stem from the so-called "intention-behavior gap, " collecting observational data has the additional benefit of equipping institutional policymakers and foodservice providers with a practical means of making complementary supply-side changes based on information that is collected at the point of purchase. Furthermore, to allow for a better sense of whether the investigated approaches can lead to lasting changes in behavior, researchers should endeavor to evaluate the effects of these initiatives more frequently and over longer intervals of time.…”