Deliberate ignorance-a barrier for information interventions targeting reduced meat consumption?

Area of Science:

• Behavioral Science
• Environmental Psychology
• Consumer Behavior

Background:

• Meat consumption in Western countries significantly exceeds recommendations despite available negative health and environmental information.
• Deliberate ignorance, the conscious avoidance of information, may explain this discrepancy.
• Understanding deliberate ignorance is crucial for designing effective interventions to modify dietary habits.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate deliberate ignorance as a barrier to reducing meat consumption.
• To identify predictors and outcomes of deliberate ignorance.
• To experimentally test interventions aimed at reducing deliberate ignorance.

Main Methods:

• Three studies with 1133 participants examined the impact of ignoring information on meat consumption intentions.
• Deliberate ignorance was quantified by the number of ignored information chunks.
• Interventions included self-affirmation, contemplation, and self-efficacy exercises.

Main Results:

• Higher levels of deliberate ignorance correlated with smaller changes in intention to reduce meat consumption (r = -0.124).
• Cognitive dissonance partially mediated the relationship between ignored information and intention change.
• Self-efficacy interventions significantly reduced deliberate ignorance, unlike self-affirmation or contemplation.

Conclusions:

• Deliberate ignorance presents a significant barrier to information-based interventions aimed at reducing meat consumption.
• Future interventions and research should address and consider deliberate ignorance.
• Self-efficacy exercises offer a promising strategy for mitigating deliberate ignorance and should be further investigated.