Animals Like Us: Leveraging the Negativity Bias in Anthropomorphism to Reduce Beef Consumption

Using Evidence-based Scientific Research to Influence Dietary Behavioral Change: Taking a Look in the Mirror

Science can provide accurate information to society to inform decision-making and behavior. One contemporary topic in which the science is very clear, yet behavioral change has lagged, is climate change mitigation. Climate change scientists use evidence-based research to advocate to the public to adopt emission-reducing behaviors in various sectors such as transportation and food. However, scientists themselves often do not change their own behaviors according to the scientific consensus. We present a case study of a group of natural sciences PhD students, who, when presented with evidence and an opportunity for a behavioral change with implications for climate change mitigation, demonstrated defensive reactions that would undoubtedly frustrate these same scientists if they were doing public outreach about their own work. Our goal is to raise awareness that we scientists do not always practice what we preach but could perhaps overcome this by understanding the defense mechanisms that impede meaningful change.

Too anthropomorphized to keep distance: The role of social psychological distance on meat inclinations

Keeping a distance from food animals helps alleviate moral conflicts associated with meat consumption. Prior research on the 'meat paradox' has shown that physical distance from animals reduces negative emotional responses when consuming meat. However, even with physical distance, the presence of animals in meat advertisements and packaging can establish psychological contact. The impact of psychological distance on meat consumption and purchase inclinations has not been well explored. Through four experiments, we discovered that animal anthropomorphism psychologically brings consumers closer to food animals, resulting in reduced intentions to consume and purchase meat. Anthropomorphized animal images notably reduced social psychological distance for consumers with moderate to high (vs. lower) levels of anthropomorphic tendencies. Furthermore, the effect of anthropomorphism was influenced by moral self-efficacy. Specifically, when social psychological distance was reduced, consumers with higher (vs. lower) moral self-efficacy exhibited a significant decrease in their willingness to consume and purchase meat. These findings expand our understanding of the role of anthropomorphism in meat marketing, its limitations, and offer insights for sales strategies. Additionally, the research could inform public health policies on meat consumption, addressing environmental and ethical concerns tied to meat production amid growing worries about animal welfare.

Increased perception of the experience dimension of the animal mind reduces instrumental violence against animals

In this study, we investigated whether the perception of animal experience capacities, enabling individuals to recognize animals as moral patients, decreases instrumental violence against animals. Additionally, we aimed to distinguish this effect from the influence of perceptions of agency capacities, referred to as anthropomorphization. To achieve this, we conducted an online experimental study (N = 471, 54% women). Participants performed a manipulation task that increased their perception of the experience dimension of the animal mind and completed online questionnaires as part of a manipulation check to measure acceptance and intentions of instrumental violence against animals. Regression and mediation analyses revealed that increasing perception of the experience dimension of animal mind decreases instrumental violence against animals, particularly intentions to commit such violence, and this effect is unique and distinct from the effect of perception of the agency dimension, i.e., anthropomorphization. The key capacities in lowering violence were homeostatic emotions (pain, fear, hunger, and thirst) which indicate suffering that humans would want animals to avoid. However, when people perceive homeostatic emotions, increased perception of more complex capacities (anger, joy, pleasure, personality) and anthropomorphization do not result in an additional reduction in violence. We interpret these results to mean that people limit violence by using perception of animal experience capacities as pre-violation justification. These findings expand our knowledge about the functions of perception of experience capacities and demonstrate that people diminish animal experience capacities not only to rationalize violence but also as pre-violation justification to facilitate instrumental violence against animals.

The effects of food anthropomorphism on consumer behavior: A systematic literature review with integrative framework and future research directions

Anthropomorphizing or humanizing food is a common marketing practice that has gained significant scholarly attention in the past few years. The present systematic review analyzes articles that examined the effects of anthropomorphizing various food and food ingredients on consumers' behavior to synthesize the existing body of work into an integrative framework, provide managerial recommendations, and identify avenues for future research. Using the Prisma 2020 statement for systematic reviews, a systematic search of four databases (EBSCO, PubMed, SCOPUS, and Web of Science) for peer-reviewed, quantitative articles published in English till the March 10, 2023 was undertaken, resulting in a final number of 21 articles meeting our selection criteria. The identified articles studied anthropomorphism of one of the three categories of food - regular food, misshapen/irregularly-shaped food, and meat animal. Analysis based on an integrative framework suggests that, in general, anthropomorphizing misshapen produce and regular food has a positive effect on behavior towards the food (e.g., purchase intention) and the restaurant/brand (e.g., restaurant visit intention) among adult consumers through elicitation of cognitive and affective responses. However, anthropomorphizing meat animals reduces consumers' intention to buy or eat meat by evoking negative emotions such as guilt. Similarly, anthropomorphizing regular food discourages consumption among children. The framework highlights several moderating variables of these effects. Based on the insights from this literature review, several recommendations for practitioners and researchers are suggested.

Research on Influencing Factors of Food Choice and Food Consumption

Nowadays, most consumers are well aware of what makes up a healthy and sustainable diet [...].

Anthropomorphism as a Differentiation Strategy for Standardized Reusable Glass Containers

The steadily increasing amount of waste requires new strategies for package waste reduction. One strategy is to switch from single-use plastic packaging to glass packaging; however, this strategy is only beneficial from an environmental perspective when complemented with a multi-use deposit refund system with standardized glass containers. This implies the loss of package shape as a differentiation criterion, which has been considered a highly relevant marketing instrument in the fast-moving consumer goods markets. Against this background, the current research investigates in an online experiment the suitability of anthropomorphized label designs on prompting purchase intentions in the context of reusable glass jars. The study further investigates the mediating roles of brand attitude and brand interest. Contrary to the postulated hypotheses, anthropomorphized labels negatively impact brand attitude, and the sequential mediation of anthropomorphism on brand interest and brand attitude on purchase intention was significant. Our findings reveal that anthropomorphized labels stimulate brand interest, which in turn positively affects purchase intention. The results emphasize the relevance of brand interest in package design and guides manufacturers, brand managers, and policymakers to effective differentiation strategies for standardized multi-use packages.

Working like a Dog: Exploring the Role of a Therapy Dog in Clinical Exercise Physiology Practice

Therapy animals in clinical settings are purported to reduce patients’ anxiety, decrease agitated behaviour, serve as social mediators, enhance the social atmosphere, and increase patients’ openness towards practitioners. A therapy dog worked alongside her exercise physiologist handler for approximately 1 day/week in a university clinic. The canine and handler functioned as a team, while the handler simultaneously undertook supervision of students. The clinic was open 24 h/week, and no other therapeutic animal was present for any part of the week. We explored, via surveys and interviews, human responses to the dog. The survey comprised 15 statement items regarding the canine’s role, behaviour, and acceptability in the clinic, ranked from strongly disagree (−2) to strongly agree (2), followed by an open item inviting participants to follow up interviews. Eleven (11) clinical clients and seven (7) students completed the survey. One client had not encountered the canine; these data were excluded. Four (4) participants from the client sample provided subsequent telephone interviews. All participants identified the canine as well-behaved; no participants considered that she detracted from their exercise sessions. Most participants were equivocal to statements regarding social lubrication and openness to practitioners; only three clients and two students identified that they felt more willing to share health information; three students identified that they felt they could confide more in the canine than in the practitioner. Interviewees’ reports were similarly favourable, reinforcing the information obtained from the surveys. Interview transcripts were subject to thematic analysis, which focussed around four key themes: (1) the canine’s good behaviour, (2) clients giving permission, and the canine as both (3) a pleasant distraction from the effort of exercise, and (4) nice to have. A therapy dog may enhance some aspects of exercise physiology service delivery.