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Episode 3: Bugs on the Menu

Bugs on the Menu: Positive Attitudes Versus Consumer Skepticism

Study finds emotional barriers often outweigh sustainability beliefs

According to international sustainability reports, alternative protein sources are increasingly seen as a key component of future-proof food systems. Insects have long been considered one of the most promising alternatives to conventional meat. They require fewer resources, produce lower CO₂ emissions, and provide high-quality protein. Nevertheless, the willingness of many Europeans to actually consume insect-based products remains rather low. A study by international researchers now shows why this is the case and how these barriers can be overcome.

Johanna Palcu from the Institute for Marketing Management at WU Vienna University of Economics and Business and an international research team investigated the psychological reasons for people’s reluctance to include insects in their diet.

People follow gut feelings, not rational convictions

Many people in Western societies view insects as a sensible and sustainable food source in principle, but a preliminary study revealed a clear contradiction between people’s attitudes and their actual behavior:

  • Around 70 percent of respondents stated that more people should eat insects.

  • Yet, fewer than one in three were willing to try an insect snack themselves.

“Many recognize the ecological benefits of insects as food. At the same time, their emotional reaction is rejection or disgust. It’s precisely this gap between attitudes and behavior that we wanted to understand better,” explains Dr. Palcu of WU Vienna.

The researchers assume that this emotional barrier is the key reason why positive beliefs are often not reflected in consumer behavior.

What works better: distraction or reframing?

In two experimental studies involving a total of more than 900 participants, the researchers examined various strategies for what is called emotion regulation.

The first study tested whether distraction is more effective than cognitive reappraisal when people are faced with the decision of whether to try insects.

  • Participants who had previously learned a distraction strategy were more willing to try the insect snack they were offered than

  • those who were presented only with rational arguments, that is, an attempt at reappraisal, before being offered the insect chips.

Conclusion: Providing information alone resulted in significantly fewer people trying the snack than when combined with a learned distraction strategy.

In the second study, participants received promotional materials for an insect snack that differed as follows:

  • While one group saw a fact-oriented product advertisement with the slogan “Try our bugs”,

  • another group received a humorous version with the slogan “Eat them before they eat you.”

Humor– or rather, humorous advertising – served as an effective form of distraction and made it significantly easier for participants to engage with the product.

According to the authors, “Previous communication strategies have relied heavily on facts about the environment and nutrition. Our findings suggest that emotional responses are just as important.”

The findings provide new insights for designing communication strategies around alternative protein sources. They demonstrate that the introduction of new foods is not merely a matter of product development and information; it also depends on how consumers are guided through their first tasting experiences.

About Johanna Palcu

Johanna Palcu has served as an assistant professor at the Institute for Marketing Management at WU Vienna since 2018. Her research and teaching interests lie at the intersection of basic psychological research (e.g. social influence and social identity, attention, emotion regulation, unconscious information processing, impulsive behavior) and applied questions of consumer behavior.

Her work focuses on promoting socially relevant, sustainable, and prosocial consumer behavior, for example through psychological needs-based approaches, targeted nudging, or the design of effective marketing communication.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Paper and universities involved

References (excerpt)

Welthandelsplatz 1. Der Wissens-Podcast der WU Wien

  • Episode 3: Insekten als Fleischalternative: Augen zu und durch? (“Bugs on the Menu: Close Your Eyes and Go for It?”, Episode 3 in German language)