Psychological Processes Underlying an Omnivorous, Vegetarian, or Vegan Diet: Gender Role Self-Concept, Human Supremacy Beliefs, and Moral Disengagement from Meat

Autor(en)

Magdalena Weber, Marlene Kollmayer

Abstrakt

Most people consume meat regularly but simultaneously claim to be animal lovers, which should lead to a state of cognitive dissonance and cause distress. Against this backdrop, it is important to understand why some people decide to stop consuming meat or completely eschew animal products, while others do not. Research has shown gender and self-regulatory mechanisms as important factors, but the underlying psychological processes require further examination. In total, 3259 vegans, vegetarians, and omnivores completed an online questionnaire about their diet, gender role self-concept, moral disengagement from meat consumption, and human supremacy beliefs. The results showed that male vegans described themselves as more feminine but no less masculine than male omnivores, while no such differences were found in women. Furthermore, omnivores reported the highest moral disengagement from meat consumption, followed by vegetarians and vegans. The same was true of human supremacy beliefs. Moreover, the results showed that not only is diet itself related to differences in human supremacy beliefs but also the motives for this diet, with health and environmental motives being associated with stronger human supremacy beliefs than animal-related motives. These findings present practical implications for animal rights activists, marketing, and the health and education sectors.

Organisation(en)

Institut für Psychologie der Entwicklung und Bildung

Journal

Sustainability

Band

14

Anzahl der Seiten

22

DOI

https://doi.org/10.3390/su14148276

Publikationsdatum

07-2022

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ÖFOS 2012

501021 Sozialpsychologie, 504014 Gender Studies

Schlagwörter

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

Computer Science (miscellaneous), Environmental Science (miscellaneous), Geography, Planning and Development, Energy Engineering and Power Technology, Hardware and Architecture, Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law, Building and Construction, Computer Networks and Communications, Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment

Link zum Portal

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/ab9844a2-2463-4303-8648-cde50a132649