IDENTITY DENIAL AND FOOD CHOICE: DO CHINESE AMERICANS REASSERT THEIR AMERICAN IDENTITY THROUGH FOOD?
Date of Award
2024
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Philosophy (Ph.D)
Department
Psychology
First Advisor
Melissa Peckins
Second Advisor
Raymond DiGiuseppe
Third Advisor
Beverly Greene
Abstract
Food choice is impacted by a variety of different factors, including cultural, social and socioeconomic (Chen & Antonelli, 2020; Contento, 2008; Rozin, 2015). Food choice has a major impact on an individual’s health, and research has shown an association between the prototypical “American diet” and an increased risk for health conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, and stroke (Liu et al., 2020). One important social factor that can influence food choice is the desire to appear as a prototypical member of a social group (Cruwys et al., 2012). For example, when an individual’s social identity is questioned (identity threat), they may be more likely to eat foods consumed by the “in-group” (Bosson et al., 2009; Guendelman et al., 2011). However, previous research investigating the role of identity threat on food choice only included Asian American college students from Washington state (Guendelman et al., 2011). The present study filled a gap in the literature by experimentally testing the impact of American identity denial on food choice in Chinese-American adults from across the U.S., the largest subgroup of Asian-Americans. Participants were randomly placed in one of two conditions – one in which American identity denial was made salient before being presented with a menu of food options and one in which food options were presented first. When participants viewed the food menu, they were asked to report their preference and their daily consumption of American and Chinese dishes. Preference and daily consumption of American versus Chinese food did not differ between the American identity denial and control conditions. However, compared to participants born in the U.S., participants who were not born in the U.S. found prototypical American food to be less appealing than prototypical Chinese food. Participants who endorsed cultural food security were also less likely to eat American food daily than Chinese food. These findings suggest that both generational status and cultural food security are important factors for food choice in the Chinese-American population, with important implications for designing health interventions targeted to this population.
Recommended Citation
Mahbubani, Shelagh, "IDENTITY DENIAL AND FOOD CHOICE: DO CHINESE AMERICANS REASSERT THEIR AMERICAN IDENTITY THROUGH FOOD?" (2024). Theses and Dissertations. 850.
https://scholar.stjohns.edu/theses_dissertations/850