Broad Themes of Difference between French and Americans in Attitudes to Food and Other Life Domains: Personal Versus Communal Values, Quantity Versus Quality, and Comforts Versus Joys
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Analysis of previous literature on the role of food in life in France and the United States suggests some fundamental differences in attitudes which may generalize outside of the food domain. Questionnaire results from French and American adults suggest that, compared to the French, Americans emphasize quantity rather than quality in making choices, Americans have a higher preference for variety, and Americans usually prefer comforts (things that make life easier) over joys (unique things that make life interesting). The American preference for quantity over quality is discussed in terms of the American focus on abundance as opposed to the French preference for moderation. The American preference for variety is reflective of Americans' more personal as opposed to communal food and other values.
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Yielding to pleasure is thought to reflect on the moral character of the individual, and overweight people are seen as lacking self-discipline and as morally inferior.
“Further, yielding to pleasure is thought to reflect on the moral character of the individual. Hence, overweight people are seen to not only as lacking self-discipline, but also as morally inferior (Rozin et al., 2011).”
From Food attitudes and well-being: The role of culture (2016) · cites this paper as Rozin et al., 2011
The Discussion (page not provided) says pleasure is associated with sin and guilt among Protestants and that Americans attribute fatness to a lack of individual control and attach a moral component to it. This supports the claim's substance in the American cultural context, but the citing sentence presents the judgment of overweight people without that qualifier. (LLM, conf=0.82)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredIn terms of health, individualistic values lead to an emphasis on individual responsibility for staying fit and eating healthy, and attributing being overweight to a lack of individual control and self-discipline.
“In terms of health, this leads to an emphasis on individual responsibility for staying fit and eating healthy, and attributing being overweight to a lack of individual control and self-discipline (Quinn & Crocker, 1999; Rozin et al., 2011).”
From Food attitudes and well-being: The role of culture (2016) · cites this paper as Rozin et al., 2011
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Research works printed but not linked: 23
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Cited by
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de Wit, J. B. F., Stok, F. M., Smolenski, D. J., de Ridder, D. D. T., de Vet, E., Gaspar, T., Johnson, F., Nureeva, L., & Luszczynska, A. (2015) · Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being · doi:10.1111/aphw.12034 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Food attitudes and well-being: The role of culture
Rodríguez-Arauz, G., Ramírez-Esparza, N., & Smith-Castro, V. (2016) · Appetite · doi:10.1016/j.appet.2016.05.019 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
- Authors
- Rozin, P., Remick, A. K., & Fischler, C.
- Affiliations
- University of Pennsylvania (US)
- University of Toronto (CA)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Corresponding author
- Rozin, Paul
- ORCID
- Rozin, Paul
- Venue
- Frontiers in Psychology
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media SA
- Published
- 2011
- Volume
- 2
- Pages
- 177-177
- ISSN
- 1664-1078 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC3145256
- OpenAlex
- W2013962226
- Cited by
- 55
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 2 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 2.85
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by
- Locations
- Frontiers in Psychology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Cultural Differences and Values
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Food, Nutrition, and Cultural Practices
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Nutrition, Health and Food Behavior
- Keywords
- cross-cultural comparison, food attitudes, French Americans, quality versus quantity, food choice, variety preference, comfort food, cultural values, life satisfaction
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