Personality Profiles, Values and Empathy: Differences between Lacto-Ovo-Vegetarians and Vegans

Area of Science:

• Nutritional Science
• Psychology
• Sociology

Background:

• Vegetarian diets are increasingly popular globally.
• Few studies compare the distinct motivations and personality traits of lacto-ovo-vegetarians and vegans.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate differences in motives, values, empathy, and personality between lacto-ovo-vegetarians and vegans.
• To understand the psychological and ethical underpinnings of different vegetarian subgroups.

Main Methods:

• An anonymous online survey of 10,184 participants (4,427 vegetarians, 4,822 vegans) was conducted.
• Data collected included motives, World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF), Big Five Inventory-SOEP (BFI-S), Portraits Value Questionnaire (PVQ), and Empathizing Scale.
• Statistical analyses included univariate analyses of covariance with adjusted P values for multiple testing.

Main Results:

• Vegans prioritized food taste, animal welfare, and humanitarian reasons more than vegetarians.
• Vegans reported higher quality of life, lower neuroticism, higher openness, and greater empathy.
• Vegans scored higher on self-determination and universalism, and lower on power, achievement, safety, conformity, and tradition values.

Conclusions:

• Vegans demonstrate more open personality traits, greater universalism, empathy, and ethical orientation than vegetarians.
• A slightly higher quality of life was observed in vegans compared to vegetarians.
• The practical significance of these subtle differences warrants further investigation in diverse populations.