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The present set of studies developed and tested the Food Disgust Picture Scale (FDPS). This is a tool for the assessment of food disgust sensitivity that will measure disgust and predict possible reactions. This eight-picture tool can be used in complement to or as a replacement for currently available text-based measures. In an exploratory Study 1 (N = 57), we constructed a scale consisting of eight pictures. Most of them were taken from validated picture databases. They proved powerful in the assessment of food disgust sensitivity. Study 2 built on these results and refined the scale by substituting pictures from Study 1 with freely available images displaying similar content. The basic structure of the FDPS was then replicated in a bigger sample of Swiss adults (N = 538). Correlational analyses using the eight-item Food Disgust Scale (FDS short), the revised version of the Disgust Scale (DS-R), and the food neophobia scale (FNS) supported the convergent validity of the FDPS. In Study 3 (N = 226), we used a test-retest design to demonstrate the short-term stability of the FDPS. As a result of these studies, the present work provides a short and comprehensive measure of food disgust sensitivity. This novel approach of using pictures to induce a disgust response independently of language significantly facilitates intercultural research on disgust. The FDPS will further contribute to the understanding of food-related disgust and its impact on our food choices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2020, the first COVID-19 lockdowns resulted in food panic buying and excessive food stockpiling across many countries around the world. Many governments recommend keeping emergency food stocks for three to ten days for times of potential shortages in food supply. Based on data from an online survey conducted among Swiss inhabitants, we investigated the effect of knowledge level and stockpiling behaviour according to governmental stockpiling recommendations in normal times on the decision to build up more food stocks than usual during the first lockdown in 2020. For this purpose, we applied a combination of latent class analysis and logistic regression. Latent classes were constructed based on knowledge level and stockpiling behaviour according to governmental stockpiling recommendations in normal times. Subsequently, the information on class membership was used as predictor of the decision to excessively stockpile food during the first lockdown. The variable "class membership" revealed that respondents with a low knowledge level and food stocks below governmental recommendations in normal times had a 7.6 percentage points lower probability of excessively stockpiling food during the first lockdown than respondents with a high knowledge level and recommended food stocks in normal times. Excessive stockpiling was additionally driven by the worry that certain food products would disappear from the supermarket shelves entirely or would be in short supply. Moreover, regression results revealed that respondents who reduced their shopping frequency during the first lockdown in 2020 showed a higher probability of building up more food stocks than usual. Our findings are crucial for food suppliers and policymakers to understand the drivers of panic buying and to prevent this phenomenon in future crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cross-cultural testing of scales represents an important step in the scale validation process. The present study evaluated whether the eight-item short version of the recently developed Food Disgust Scale (FDS-short) is a reliable and valid tool for measuring food disgust sensitivity in ten countries: Australia, China, England, France, Germany, Mexico, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, and the USA. In an online survey, the participants (N = 6128) answered items from the FDS-short and other scales related to (food) disgust sensitivity so as to test the construct and criterion validity of the FDS-short. Confirmatory factor analysis of the one-factor structure of the FDS-short revealed an adequate to good model fit in all the countries except for China. Multiple group analysis to test measurement invariance showed the FDS-short to be metrically invariant in all the tested countries (except for China) relative to Australia. With regard to the construct validity, significant positive correlations were observed in all the countries between the FDS-short and pathogen disgust sensitivity, sexual disgust sensitivity, moral disgust sensitivity, germ aversion, and food neophobia. Criterion validity of the FDS-short in all the tested countries was confirmed by the positive correlations between it and having a sensitive stomach, experiencing gastrointestinal complaints after eating animal-based foods (except for France and Germany), and the perceived infection risk of food-borne diseases in one's country. The direction of the correlations indicated that for each country, those with higher FDS-short scores also scored higher on all the tested constructs than those with lower FDS-short scores. Taken together, the present results indicate that the FDS-short is a reliable and valid tool for assessing food disgust sensitivity across countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]