Summary: A new study finds that describing certain foods in a foreign language can reduce disgust and increase willingness to try them.
Source: University of Chicago.
Restaurateurs may be on to something when they list “escargot” instead of “snails.” New research indicates that people are more willing to try foods they find disgusting when those foods are described in a foreign language.
That is the central finding from a series of studies co-authored by a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Chicago. The research suggests a simple psychological nudge—presenting sustainable but aversive foods in a foreign language—could help increase acceptance of environmentally beneficial products that many consumers otherwise reject.
Many people in the U.S. and Europe have a strong aversion to eating insects or to eating artificial or lab-grown meat, and recycled wastewater for drinking has historically been difficult to market despite advances in purification. “In people’s minds, once in contact (with a disgusting entity), always in contact,” said Janet Geipel, a postdoctoral scholar in the lab of Professor Boaz Keysar and the study’s lead author. “No matter how good your technology is, it will not convince these people. So we need psychology to nudge sustainable consumption. And one nudge could be presenting sustainable-but-disgusting products in a foreign language.”
Geipel and her European collaborators built on prior research, including work from the Keysar group, which demonstrates that using a foreign language can reduce the emotional intensity of certain topics. The team designed three experiments that tested reactions to recycled wastewater, cookies made from mealworms, and artificial meat. Participants were native speakers of German, Italian or Dutch who had learned either English or German as a second language. Each participant read descriptions of the product either in their native language or in their foreign language and then reported whether they would be willing to eat or drink the item.
The studies revealed notable differences between native- and foreign-language framing. When products were described in participants’ native tongues, only about 18 percent said they would be willing to try either artificial meat or cookies made from mealworms. Approximately 40 percent of those participants ruled out the artificial meat completely, and almost 55 percent gave an absolute “no” to the mealworm cookies. When the same products were presented in the participants’ second language, rejection rates dropped: 25.8 percent completely ruled out the artificial meat, and 35.5 percent said “never” to the mealworm cookies.
Similarly, presenting information about recycled wastewater in a foreign language raised people’s willingness to try it by about 12 percentage points. The wastewater experiment also included a behavioral component: participants were asked how recently they had drunk something and were then offered a glass of what was described to them as recycled wastewater (in reality it was ordinary tap water). In this direct consumption test, the language effect was smaller and interacted with participants’ thirst, indicating real-world factors can influence whether reduced disgust translates into action.
Geipel noted that the language effect appeared particularly meaningful for products that people already found strongly aversive, such as insect-based foods and artificial meat in European samples. The pattern fits the broader idea that a native language typically carries more emotional resonance because it is used in more affective contexts, while a foreign language tends to be processed with more emotional distance. “By using a foreign language you take away some of the emotionality attached to ‘insects,’ and thus help override a barrier that prevents the consumption of insect-based food,” she said.
The researchers plan follow-up studies to determine whether a brief foreign-language label alone—rather than a full foreign-language description—can produce similar effects. If a short foreign-language label proves effective, it could be a more scalable intervention for marketplaces where many consumers do not speak a second language fluently. The authors believe language-based interventions could become one tool among many to increase acceptance of sustainable food and beverage options.
Source: University of Chicago. Carla Reiter reported on the findings.
Publisher: Organized by NeuroscienceNews.com.
Image source: Image adapted from the University of Chicago news release.
Original research: Open-access study published in Nature Sustainability (2018).
DOI: 10.1038/s41893-017-0005-9
University of Chicago (2018). Describing Certain Foods in a Foreign Language Reduces Aversion. NeuroscienceNews.
Abstract
Barriers to sustainable consumption attenuated by foreign language use
The adoption of certain innovative products, such as recycled water, artificial meat and insect-based food, could help promote sustainability. However, the disgust these products elicit acts as a barrier to their consumption. Here, we show that describing such products in a foreign language attenuates the disgust these products trigger and increases both intended and, in some contexts, actual consumption.