Christina Marlow

Food neophobia, defined as an unwillingness to try novel foods (Pliner & Hobden, 1992), is related to a lower consumption of fruits and vegetables in children (Cooke, Carnell, & Wardle, 2006). Factor analyses of the Food Neophobia Scale have found two related factors, one consisting of items associated with approach motives and another consisting of items associated with avoidance motives (Nezlek & Forestell, 2018). Conceptualizing acceptance of novel foods as a combination of independent but related motives could provide insights into effectively addressing neophobic children’s dietary challenges. The current study aims to address the degree to which neophobic children approach or avoid foods. Eighty children aged seven to ten years old will complete an implicit approach-avoidance reaction time task. This task evaluates automatic behavioral avoidance and approach tendencies. Food stimuli will include familiar and unfamiliar fruits, vegetables, and desserts. In addition, children will engage in a behavioral task in which they are asked to try a series of familiar and unfamiliar foods. Mothers will complete a measure of their child’s food neophobia. We hypothesize that neophobic children will be less likely to approach novel foods relative to nonneophobic children. Further, we predict that while some neophobic children will actively avoid novel foods, others will demonstrate low levels of approach and avoidance behavior toward novel foods. Distinguishing between these behavioral tendencies will allow us to better identify effective interventions for all neophobic children.

Christina Marlow is a first-year M.S. student in the Psychological Sciences Department at William & Mary. She has a broad interest in developmental psychology and her current research looks at the development of food preferences in childhood. She holds a B.A. (Psychology) from the University of Virginia.