Planned versus instinctive behaviour: The connection between personality and food waste

Stefan Mann

Article ID: 2404
Vol 2, Issue 2, 2024
DOI: https://doi.org/10.54517/ssd.v2i2.2404
VIEWS - 94 (Abstract)

Abstract

Personality may influence food waste through planned as well as instinctive behaviour. Considerable attention has been devoted to planned behaviour because instincts are difficult to measure using attitudes, behaviours, and intentions. Our study intends to include the instinctive side of behaviour. We used a survey of 339 Swiss households regarding the amount of food waste generated to explore the pathways of how personality influences food waste behaviour. A regression analysis showed that agreeableness and conscientiousness are negative predictors of the amount of food waste. However, the different behaviour of conscientious consumers can be explained by an intermediate variable, whereas the different behaviour of agreeable people can’t. This lack of link can be due either to missing suitable intermediate variables or to the role of instinctive behaviour.

Keywords

personality; food waste; Switzerland; instincts; behaviour; survey

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