The social insectivore: Peer and expert influence affect consumer evaluations of insects as food

Abstract

As conventional animal production is a significant contributor to anthropogenic climate change, eating of insects in Western markets has been primarily discussed from an environmental perspective. Following advances in food technology and regulation, edible insects are an emerging research topic not only in environmental sciences, but also in consumer research. To contribute to this rising interest, the present research presents consumer psychological drivers to promote insect consumption based on research on social influence. Two experiments that assessed the influence of peer (Study 1) as well as expert influence (Study 2) on acceptance indicators suggest that both types of influence are significantly associated with acceptance of insects as foods. Study 2 further reveals that the proposed effect of expert influence on acceptance of insects is moderated by insect-based disgust sensitivity in a way that expert influence is stronger for consumers low in insect-based disgust sensitivity. Taken together, our research shows that managing expectations via social influence can be an important driver to increase the adoption of insects in Western markets.

Keywords: Consumer psychology; Entomophagy; Mealworm; Social influence.