Approach and Avoidance Motivation and Interest in New Foods: Introducing a Measure of the Motivation to Eat New Foods

Abstract In this paper we introduce a new measure of the motivation to eat new foods, the MENF. The measure is based upon the assumption that people’s interest in new foods reflects a combination of two distinct motives, an approach motive and an avoidance motive. In a series of studies (ns of 703, 411, and 777; collegians and nationally representative samples in the US and Poland) we developed a ten-item measure that has two subscales, one measuring approach motives to new foods, labeled AppNF- Motivation to Approach New Foods, and another one measuring avoidance motives to new foods AvdNF - Motivation to Avoid New Foods. The existence of these subscales was confirmed by Confirmatory Factor Analyses. The scales are reliable, and convergent validity was established by examining relationships between the scales and measures of motivation, curiosity, and personality. The scales also possessed incremental validity when compared to the Food Neophobia Scale. Distinguishing approach and avoidance motives locates the study of the motivation to eat new foods more firmly in the study of motivation per se, in which approach and avoidance motives are conceptualized as two distinct, albeit related, systems.