Relationships between the Food Expectancy Questionnaire (FEQ) and the Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ)

The outcome expectancies of 250 respondents were examined using the Food Expectancy Questionnaire (FEQ), comparing expectancies about four different foods: fruit, vegetables, chocolate and sweets and plain biscuits. These expectancies were related to diet as assessed by a Food Frequency Questionnaire. As with alcohol expectancies [Jones, B. T., Corbin, W. & Fromme, K. (2001). A review of expectancy theory and alcohol consumption. Addiction, 96, 57–72], on which this research was modelled, positive and negative outcomes were the main factors for all foods, accounting jointly for between 33 and 40% of expectancy variance in factor analysis and predicting as much as 16% of the variance in relevant food intake measures by linear regression. Expected positive and negative outcomes of eating were predominantly immediate psychological after-effects, rather than including orosensory experiences, or longer-term effects on health or well-being. Other expectancies varied from food to food. FEQ expectancies for different foods have similar factor structure and were related to self-reported diet, the FEQ therefore shows promise as a means of modelling cognitions about eating.