Background: Although insect-based foods (IBF) have been recently proposed as a way to face climate crisis and starvation, they encounter the aversion from Western countries which perceive fear, disgust, and high risk. The contribution of psychology research to food choices highlighted how decisions are taken not only through reasoned attitudes and goal-directed behavior, but also through more automatic associations (dual-systems models). Methods: In this paper we investigated people’s disposition towards IBF by combining (a) explicit attitudes (as assessed via self-report scales), (b) automatic associations (as measured via indirect measures), (c) intention to taste, and comparing different profiles based on (d) psychological factors, including decision-making style, food neophobia, and trust in science and scientist. A pilot sample of 175 Italian University students participated in the study. Results: The analyses on the general sample highlighted rather negative attitudes. The cluster analysis identified 4 decision-making profiles: “the gut-feeling”, “the suspicious”, “the vicarious”, and “the mind”. It revealed more favorable opinions in “the mind” profile, characterized by a rational decision-making style and high trust in science, and very aversive reactions from “the suspicious” profile, characterized by high food neophobia and low trust in science. Conclusions: The results underline the importance of psychological factors in interpreting people's reactions to IBF and changes in dietary habits based on the decision-making process. They suggest possible strategies to promote eco-friendly diets