2019/06/24 by Megan Earle, Gordon Hodson, Kristof Dhont +1 · 1 citation
Environmental Science · Psychology · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Agriculture Sustainability and Environmental Impact #Animal and Plant Science Education #Human-Animal Interaction Studies
paper · doi:10.1177/1368430219861848
openalex publication_date 2019/06/24 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22
Negative attitudes toward vegetarians/vegans (i.e., veg*ns) are common, particularly among those who desire/like/consume meat more. In two studies, we replicated and extended past work, showing that visual reminders of meat’s animal origins (vs. images of meat alone) decreased meat consumption willingness via increased empathy for animals, distress about meat consumption, and disgust for meat. We also assessed how animal–meat reminders influence antiveg*n attitudes. In Study 1 ( N = 299) experimental animal–meat reminders (vs. meat-alone images) indirectly reduced negative attitudes toward veg*ns via increased empathy and distress (together, but not independently). The same manipulation in Study 2 ( N = 280) lowered antiveg*n attitudes through greater empathy and lowered veg*n threat through greater distress. Implications for promoting less antiveg*n attitudes are discussed.