Abstract/Summary

Curiosity is a powerful motivator of exploratory behaviour. Theories of curiosity suggest the awareness of a knowledge gap elicits a strong motivation to seek new knowledge and this process is said to be intrinsically rewarding. The role of curiosity in consumer behaviour has received surprisingly little attention given that experiencing curiosity about products or brands often results in favourable attitudinal change. This thesis examines the role of curiosity in the willingness to try novel foods, specifically insect foods. Entomophagy (eating insects) poses a unique challenge compared to many other consumer behaviours, it is often met with revulsion in Western societies despite possessing many benefits. Therefore, a strong motivational force is needed to overcome the negative associations and encourage willingness to try. The three reported empirical papers examine the potential of curiosity as a motivator for entomophagy. The first paper assessed the relative contribution of curiosity on willingness to try using a rating task. The results showed that curiosity predicts willingness to try insect foods above several other previously identified factors. Furthermore, a “curiosity-boosting” effect specific to insect foods was uncovered, curiosity interacted with other factors boosting the effect on willingness to try. The second paper manipulated curiosity (increasing interest with a utility-value intervention) and found that promoting interest in the benefits of entomophagy encourages willingness to try. However, similar results were also achieved using insect food recipes. The third paper manipulated curiosity (via uncertainty) using a gambling task with varying probabilities of eating insects. The results showed no significant effects of uncertainty on choices to eat insects but found other positive results potentially related to curiosity, further research is needed to clarify this. The findings from this thesis further the understanding of curiosity in encouraging the adoption of novel foods and suggests avenues for further research and practical implications.