“Thought for food”: A systematic review of how psychological state factors affect sustainable food outcomes

Given the harmful environmental, social, and economic impacts of our current food system, it is essential to develop a comprehensive understanding of how to effectively shift consumers towards more sustainable food options. Since consumers' psychological state variables are highly susceptible to change, identifying those that significantly influence sustainable food outcomes (i.e., attitudes, intentions, behaviours) is crucial for both policymakers and marketing professionals.

Therefore, this review synthesises scientific research on consumers' psychological state variables and examines how these variables influence sustainable food outcomes. In doing so, this review includes a wide range of sustainable food types, covering environmental, social, and economic dimensions of sustainability. A systematic search across three online databases (Web of Science, PubMed, and Scopus) for quantitative and qualitative studies resulted in 290 relevant articles for full-text analysis.

Eight dimensions of highly researched psychological states were identified: Attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, perceived barriers and resources, pro-social values, individualistic values, self-identity, and emotions. Relevant for intervention communications, we found strong evidence for the positive effect of specific attitudes (e.g., attitude towards meat alternatives) but not for more general pro-environmental attitudes. There was also strong evidence for an association between knowledge and sustainable food outcomes. Additionally, research gaps were identified, especially with regards to plant-based eating as findings indicate that some consumers hold beliefs about the healthfulness, price and needed cooking skills of plant-based diets that potentially negatively influence consumer outcomes.

Overall, this paper identifies key opportunities for policymakers and marketing professionals to encourage sustainable food outcomes among consumers, such as designing educational campaigns to address misconceptions, or creating visually appealing packaging that enhances product visibility and communicates its value.