Biraglia, A orcid.org/0000-0002-1323-2586 and Brizi, A (2021) "Do I Have Enough Food?" How Need for Cognitive Closure and Gender Impact Stockpiling and Food Waste During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-national Study in India and the United States of America. Personality and Individual Differences, 168. 110396. ISSN 0191-8869
Abstract
Food waste is considered to be one of the biggest issues affecting individuals around the globe. The COVID-19 pandemic, with the consequent lockdown processes, has recently triggered individuals to stockpile foodstuffs. Recent data shows, however, that individuals have not consumed a good proportion of the stockpiled food, resulting in increasing amounts of products ending up wasted. Using a cross-national survey conducted in the United States and India, we investigate how individuals' levels of need for cognitive closure (NFC) relate to food stockpiling and waste during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through a sequential mediation model, we show how individuals high in NFC did not perceive to have enough food at home, ending up buying more food than usual and, eventually, wasting more. Individuals' gender and country of residence moderate such phenomenon, with the effect being more pronounced among Indian (rather than American) women. We discuss how gender roles in different countries can correlate with the stockpiling and food waste processes. We conclude the manuscript by suggesting how public communication and policy making could develop targeted programs to mitigate such issues.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. This is an author produced version of an article published in Personality and Individual Differences. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | COVID-19; Need for cognitive closure; Food waste; Gender; Cross-national survey |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Business (Leeds) > Marketing Division (LUBS) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 23 Sep 2020 15:43 |
Last Modified: | 19 Sep 2022 00:13 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.paid.2020.110396 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:165837 |