Plant-based meat and the perceived familiarity gap hypothesis: the role of health and environmental consciousness

• Main Authors: Ai, Pengya, Contreras-Yap, Sofia, Ho, Shirley S.
• Other Authors: Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2024
• Subjects: Arts and Humanities; Social Sciences; Plant-based meat; Knowledge gap hypothesis; Sustainable food; Meat alternative; Mass media; Survey
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/174084; https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/19732
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

This study investigates the effect of motivational factors on the perceived familiarity gap in the context of plant-based meat alternatives (PBMAs). Through a nationally representative survey of 1,008 adults in Singapore, this study finds a perceived familiarity gap for PBMAs between less-and more-educated people and that attention to television news, newspapers, television programs, the Internet, and social media narrows the perceived familiarity gap. Furthermore, the study finds significant three-way interactions among newspaper attention, education, and environmental consciousness, as well as three-way interactions among television news attention, education, and environmental consciousness. Theoretical and practical contributions are discussed.