Plate, glass, and social class: how dominance and prestige orientation shape food preferences

Abstract

Studies suggest that individuals may display their food preferences as vehicles for seeking status: a universal motive across cultures. According to the dual model of status-seeking, individuals attain higher status either through dominance, which involves evoking fear and intimidation, or through prestige, which is achieved by offering valued skills, knowledge, and other behaviors that are seen as benefitting a group. We conducted two studies to test the prediction that choosing pro-environmental foods over environmentally harmful options is associated with prestige rather than dominance, because these choices are perceived to benefit society more than the individual. In Study 1, we found that prestige orientation was positively associated with a preference for foods that were considered sustainable (e.g., apples). There was no such association for dominance orientation. In Study 2, participants considered a manager using prestige tactics to prefer sustainable foods (e.g., a salad) over non-sustainable alternatives (e.g., a burger). In contrast, a manager using dominance was assumed to prefer non-sustainable foods over sustainable alternatives. These results shed light on how various approaches to seeking status influence preferences for sustainable foods. The present findings hold relevance for both theoretical and practical considerations within the broader domain of personality predictors of food preferences.

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