The sector for food and agriculture has an extensive impact on climate change, there the understanding of sustainable consumer behaviour from a psychological stance is more important than ever. The...Show moreThe sector for food and agriculture has an extensive impact on climate change, there the understanding of sustainable consumer behaviour from a psychological stance is more important than ever. The present study explores the association between the extent to which consumers perceive themselves as sustainable and their attributions made regarding sustainable and non- sustainable foodstuffs. It is hypothesized that in-group identity has a significant main effect on the experience of sustainable foodstuffs. A cross-sectional survey was conducted on higher education students (n=166), using the Adjusted In-Group Identity Scale and the Food Attributes Assessment (FAA). In a mixed-model design, one-sample t-tests and repeated measures ANOVAs were run. Analysis showed that in-group identity only had a small influence on food attribution. Overall, the presence of a sustainability label prompts a sustainability halo regardless of ones’ identity. The effect was strongest for non-hedonic foodstuffs among participants that do not identify as being sustainable.Show less
This work aims to research whether social inclusion levels and the presence of bystanders at a store affect “green” consumption - more accurately, whether participants choose sustainable over...Show moreThis work aims to research whether social inclusion levels and the presence of bystanders at a store affect “green” consumption - more accurately, whether participants choose sustainable over conventional versions of products. We expected ostracism, induced by a game of Cyberball, to negatively affect the choice of sustainable products. Furthermore, we predicted that the presence of bystanders influenced product choice depending on the bystanders' attitude towards “green” behaviour. In addition, an interaction between the two variables was anticipated. We expected that the effect of the social identity of bystanders on green consumption depends on the level of social inclusion. Hypotheses were not confirmed, however a significant interaction between the level of social inclusion and social identity of bystanders was found for male participants.Show less
