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Projeto de investigação
Meet your meat: The effect of meat-animal association on meat comsumption and substitution
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An appetite for meat? Disentangling the influence of animal resemblance and familiarity
Publication . Possidónio, Catarina; Piazza, Jared; Graça, João; Prada, Marília
Consumers in modern society are often less exposed to meat that resembles the animal, and thus are less familiar with it, making it difficult to disentangle the influence of these two inputs (familiarity vs. animal resemblance) on meat appetite. Across three studies, we sought to systematically disentangle the impact of familiarity and animal resemblance on meat appetite using inductive (Study 1) and experimental (Studies 2a-2b) approaches. In Study 1 (N = 229) we separated familiarity and animal resemblance into orthogonal dimensions using 28 meat products. Participants provided free associations and rated the products on familiarity, animal resemblance, and appetitive appeal. In Studies 2a and 2b (N = 514) we experimentally examined the independent contributions of familiarity and animal resemblance, using stimuli normed in Study 1. We hypothesized that animal resemblance has its most pronounced influence on appetite when meat products are unfamiliar. Participants’ free associations and ratings of the products were in line with this conditional hypothesis (Study1), as were the experimental manipulations of familiarity and animal resemblance (Studies 2a-2b), confirmed by a mini meta-analysis. In all three studies, familiarity had a pervasive influence on appetite. These findings suggest that product familiarity can attenuate the psychological impact that animal reminders have on appetite. Thus, interventions aimed at eliciting animal associations with meat should consider the familiarity of the products employed.
Consumer perceptions of conventional and alternative protein sources: A mixed-methods approach with meal and product framing
Publication . Possidónio Da Silva, Catarina; Prada, Marília; Graça, João; Piazza, Jared Raymond
Understanding consumer perceptions of meat alternatives is key to facilitating a shift toward more sustainable food consumption. Importantly, these perceptions may vary according to the characteristics of the consumer (e.g., preferences, motivations), the product (e.g., sensory attributes) and the encounter (e.g., how the meat alternative is presented/framed). Qualitative and quantitative methods were applied to examine consumer perceptions of five proposed alternatives to meat: legumes, tofu, seitan, lab-grown meat, and insects. In Study 1, 138 participants provided free associations with regards to conventional animal proteins (e.g., red/white meat, fish) and the five alternatives. Three profiles of consumers were identified: (1) hedonically motivated meat eaters uninterested in meat substitutes; (2) health-oriented meat eaters open to some meat substitutes; and (3) ethically conscious meat avoiders positively oriented to most meat alternatives. In Study 2, the presentation of the product was experimentally manipulated: 285 participants evaluated the same five meat alternatives along several dimensions (e.g., edibility, healthiness), either when framed as an individual product or as part of a larger meal. Overall, most meat alternatives benefited from a meal framing, with the notable exception of legumes, which benefited from an individual framing, and insects which were evaluated quite negatively regardless of framing. The present findings suggest that there is not a single way to frame all meat alternatives that will improve their appeal to all consumers.
From Pets to Pests: Testing the Scope of the “Pets as Ambassadors” Hypothesis
Publication . Possidónio, Catarina; Piazza, Jared Raymond; Graça, João; Prada, Marília
Positive relationships with pets can sometimes foster more positive
judgments of other animals. The present study sought to examine
the scope of this “pets as ambassadors” effect in relation to four
meaningful animal categories (companion, farmed, predator, and
pest) derived from the Animal Images Database (Animal.ID). The
Animal.ID contains ratings from 376 Portuguese individuals on
pet attachment and several dimensions related to animal
attributes and moral concern for 120 different animals, which
offered insights into the scope and nature of the “pets as
ambassadors” effect. Pet attachment was related positively to
ethical concern for animals and lower levels of speciesism. The
relationship between pet attachment and animal attributions
were expressed, beyond companion animals, most consistently
for predators and farmed animals, and least of all pests. The
benefits of pet attachment centered mostly on aesthetic
judgments and benevolent feelings toward predators and farmed
animals, sentience attributions for pests, and concerns about the
killing of all animal groups for human consumption. Pet
attachment did not reliably relate to the attributions individuals
made about the intelligence or dangerousness of animals, or
their similarity to humans. The findings help clarify how pets
might serve as ambassadors for other animals.
Animal Images Database: Validation of 120 Images for Human-Animal Studies
Publication . Possidónio, Catarina; Graça, João; Piazza, Jared; Prada, Marília
There has been increasing interest in the study of human-animal relations. This contrasts with the lack of normative resources and materials for research purposes. We present subjective norms for a set of 120 open-source colour images of animals spanning a total of 12 biological categories (e.g., mammals, insects, reptiles, arachnids). Participants (N = 509, 55.2% female, MAge = 28.05, SD = 9.84) were asked to evaluate a randomly selected sub-set of 12 animals on valence, arousal, familiarity, cuteness, dangerousness, edibility, similarity to humans, capacity to think, capacity to feel, acceptability to kill for human consumption and feelings of care and protection. Animal evaluations were affected by individual characteristics of the perceiver, particularly gender, diet and companion animal ownership. Moral attitudes towards animals were predominantly predicted by ratings of cuteness, edibility, capacity to feel and familiarity. The Animal Images Database (Animal.ID) is the largest open-source database of rated images of animals; the stimuli set and item-level data are freely available online.
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Entidade financiadora
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Programa de financiamento
OE
Número da atribuição
PD/BD/135440/2017