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Consumer Attitudes and Food Faddism: The Case of Vitamin E
Author(s) -
SAEGERT JOEL,
SAEGERT MERRY MAYNE
Publication year - 1976
Publication title -
journal of consumer affairs
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.582
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1745-6606
pISSN - 0022-0078
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-6606.1976.tb00580.x
Subject(s) - misinformation , personality , socioeconomic status , product (mathematics) , extraversion and introversion , psychology , consumption (sociology) , government (linguistics) , environmental health , vitamin , consumer education , big five personality traits , social psychology , marketing , business , medicine , political science , sociology , population , social science , linguistics , philosophy , geometry , mathematics , law
Attitudes toward vitamin E were studied in an effort to gain insight into the variables associated with consumption of fad food products. Vitamin E was chosen as a typical fad food product because nutrition researchers and government agencies have generally agreed that supplementation is unnecessary in the normal human diet. A survey of 252 students revealed a 15% incidence of vitamin E use. The backgrounds, attitudes and self‐report personality inventories of the students did not support the view that use of such health products as vitamin E is necessarily associated with low socioeconomic status, lack of education, ageing, desperation associated with illness or bizarre personality traits. Vitamin E usage may be associated with such personality variables as personal disorganization or extroversion. Students are distrustful of the scientific community and Federal agencies as sources of product information. The need for consumer protection from misinformation provided by popular nutrition sources is discussed.