Benedikovičová, Ellen (2024) To Eat or Not to Eat Meat: A Deep Dive Into Motivated Reasoning Behind Dietary Choices. Bachelor thesis, Psychology.
|
Text
BachelorThesisEllenBenedikovicova.pdf Download (291kB) | Preview |
Abstract
The present study critically examines the role of motivated reasoning in dietary choices. Particularly, we focus on the meat paradox and explore whether the saliency of the moral implications of meat consumption influences moral disengagement. The sample size (N = 75) consists mainly of international university students. Participants read a fictitious article presenting three arguments focused on the environmental, health, and moral consequences of meat consumption. Subsequently, they answered questions related to the supposed author´s motive for writing the article (prosocial or selfish), the persuasiveness of the presented arguments, and several theorized moderators, including ‘niceness’ (Piazza et al., 2015), which examined the pleasure derived from meat consumption. The analysis revealed that the arguments significantly less convinced omnivores compared to vegans and vegetarians. However, there was no difference between the dietary groups and the extent to which they inferred either motive from the supposed author of the text. Notably, the moderation analysis indicated that the higher the score on niceness, the more participants were convinced by the arguments in the article. We suggest that motivation is a crucial factor influencing human reasoning and should not be neglected in theoretical models. Furthermore, the results have significant implications for constructing health and meat-reduction-focused campaigns. Keywords: dietary habits, the meat paradox, moral disengagement, cognitive dissonance, hedonism, niceness
| Item Type: | Thesis (Bachelor) |
|---|---|
| Supervisor name: | Gutzkow, B. |
| Degree programme: | Psychology |
| Differentiation route: | None [Bachelor Psychology] |
| Date Deposited: | 09 Jul 2024 14:16 |
| Last Modified: | 09 Jul 2024 14:16 |
| URI: | http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/3766 |
Actions (login required)
 |
View Item |