Emotional Approaches to Challenging Meat Consumption, Not Evidence-Based Arguments
The PsyLab of the Catholic University of Milan has conducted a study that suggests emotional and moral appeals can be key factors in encouraging a shift towards plant-based diets.
The research, led by Professor Patrizia Catellani and her team at the Psychology, Law, and Policy Lab (PsyLab), investigated messages that evoke physical or moral disgust, and a neutral message with no disgust-inducing content. The findings indicate that these appeals can influence social norms and individual behavior by invoking deeper values and ethical considerations.
The study aligns with previous findings that interventions incorporating emotional engagement and moral messaging may foster stronger commitment to dietary changes like reducing meat consumption or adopting plant-based diets. However, it also emphasizes the ethical importance of respecting individuals’ autonomy. If appeals become manipulative or exert pressure without recognizing the person’s existing knowledge and needs, effectiveness may decrease or backlash may occur.
The study found that messages triggering physical or moral disgust can indirectly reduce participants' enjoyment of meat eating and increase the likelihood of choosing plant-based foods. Challenging moral distance through targeted messaging may be more effective than appealing to individuals who already share ethical concerns but continue to eat meat for other reasons.
Addressing both the pleasure and justifications of meat consumption can influence dietary change. The enjoyment of meat, or meat hedonism, continues to be a major obstacle in dietary change.
The effect of moral disgust was more pronounced among participants who believe moderately to strongly in human supremacy. Those who strongly believe in human superiority may rely on moral disengagement to resolve cognitive dissonance between their values and dietary habits. Participants with lower levels of belief in human supremacy were less influenced by moral disgust messages, possibly because their meat consumption was more likely due to habit or enjoyment.
Emotions, values, and social norms are increasingly seen as central to shaping behavior, particularly in areas such as diet, health, and climate change action. Disgust can be a powerful tool to challenge deeply held beliefs and habits, including meat consumption. Such messages may reach audiences that resist conventional arguments or are indifferent to environmental and health data.
Policy makers, activists, and advocates seeking to reduce meat consumption might consider integrating disgust-based appeals into broader strategies. The study offers insights into the psychological barriers to dietary change and supports a broader shift in behavioural science and public health communication that recognizes the limitations of rational appeals.
[1] Catellani, P., et al. (2022). Emotional and moral appeals in promoting plant-based diets: An experimental study. Appetite, 156, 105641.
- The study conducted by PsyLab at the Catholic University of Milan suggests that emotional and moral appeals, such as those that evoke physical or moral disgust, can be effective in encouraging a shift towards plant-based diets.
- The research indicates that these appeals can influence social norms and individual behavior by invoking deeper values and ethical considerations, especially in areas such as diet, health, and climate change action.
- However, the study also stresses the importance of respecting individuals’ autonomy, as manipulative appeals or those that exert pressure without acknowledging the person’s existing knowledge and needs may decrease effectiveness or trigger a backlash.
- Interestingly, the effect of moral disgust was more pronounced among participants who believe moderately to strongly in human supremacy, suggesting that these individuals may rely on moral disengagement to resolve cognitive dissonance between their values and dietary habits.
