A communicational approach to enhance open-mindedness towards meat-refusers

Area of Science:

• Social Psychology
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Meat-eaters often derogate vegetarians and vegans, perceiving them as a threat to their moral self-image.
• This 'do-gooder' derogation can hinder intergroup relations and sustainable dietary shifts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how communication style influences the 'do-gooder' derogation experienced by meat-refusers.
• To explore whether dynamic communication can mitigate negative perceptions and moral threat.

Main Methods:

• Two preregistered online experiments (N=323 and N=243) were conducted.
• A paradigm was developed to induce moral threat in participants.
• Participants evaluated meat-refusers based on their communication style (static vs. dynamic) and stated motives.

Main Results:

• Meat-refusers communicating dynamically (uncertain, process-oriented) elicited less moral threat and were perceived as less arrogant compared to static communicators.
• Meat-refusers with non-moral motives were perceived as less threatening and arrogant, irrespective of communication style.

Conclusions:

• Dynamic communication strategies can improve intergroup relations between meat-eaters and meat-refusers.
• Reducing perceived arrogance and moral threat may positively influence meat-eaters' willingness to decrease meat consumption.