Cognitive dissonance in food and nutrition : the development and initial efficacy test of the food cognition dissonance framework

Abstract

The study of cognitive dissonance in food and nutrition has been relatively neglected and under-developed. The Food Cognition Dissonance (FCD) conceptual framework is theoretically derived to address current gaps and critical issues underlying cognitive dissonance research in food and nutrition. Integrating the basics of cognitive dissonance theory and the tri-partite model of attitude, in the context of food and nutrition, the proposed FCD conceptual framework provides a novel perspective of structural food-related cognitive dissonance in relation to the examination of food-related attitudes and behaviours. The basic tenets and predictions of the FCD framework are tested in three studies that examine the viability of the proposed intra- and inter-attitudinal dimensions of food-related cognitive dissonance, including their measurement, as well as, the structural pathways via which these would impact upon food-related attitudes and/or behaviours. The perennial public health challenge of promoting the consumption of vegetables for a healthier diet provides the context for the main structural pathway test. Overall, multiple-group confirmatory factor analyses supported the intra- and inter-attitudinal dimensions of cognitive dissonance as proposed by the FCD framework. Structural equation modelling analyses further showed differential pathways via which measured food-related attitudinal and/or behavioural outcomes were impacted, depending on whether cognitive dissonance was aroused at the level of a superordinate attitude object (i.e., healthy eating), subordinate attitude object (i.e., attitude towards vegetable consumption) or both. Implications, along with suggested future cognitive dissonance research in food and nutrition, are discussed.