Food neophobia and the Five Factor Model of personality

John Nezlek , Catherine A. Forestell

Abstract

Although food neophobia is a widely researched individual difference, little is known about relationships between food neophobia and personality. Participants in the present study (716 undergraduates) completed measures of the Five Factor Model of personality and food neophobia. A factor analysis suggested that food neophobia consisted of two factors, which we labeled as approach and avoidance factors. Multiple regression analyses found that scores on the approach factor were positively related to Agreeableness and Openness, whereas scores on the avoidance factor were negatively related to Extraversion and Openness. These findings suggest that it might be useful to think of food neophobia as consisting of two distinct, albeit related factors, and that the origins of food neophobia may lie, at least partially, in basic personality characteristics.