Values and beliefs of vegetarians and omnivores

Following the claim by some anthropologists and sociologists that 1 symbolic meaning of meat is a preference for hierarchical domination (C. J. Adams, 1990; N. Fiddes, 1989; D. D. Heisley, 1990; J. Twigg, 1983), the authors compared the values and beliefs of vegetarians and omnivores in 2 studies conducted in New Zealand. They compared the full range of vegetarians and omnivores on right-wing authoritarianism, social dominance orientation, human values, and consumption values. The participants tending toward omnivorism differed from those leaning toward veganism and vegetarianism in 2 principal ways: The omnivores (a) were more likely to endorse hierarchical domination and (b) placed less importance on emotional states. Accordingly, the acceptance or rejection of meat co-varied with the acceptance or rejection of the values associated with meat; that finding suggests that individuals consume meat and embrace its symbolism in ways consistent with their self-definitions.     

The humanity of what we eat: Conceptions of human uniqueness among vegetarians and omnivores

Studies on dehumanization demonstrated that denying certain human characteristics might serve as a strategy for moral disengagement. Meat consumption—especially in the times of cruel animal farming—is related to the exclusion of animals from the human scope of justice. In the present research, it was hypothesized that the conception of human uniqueness (denying animals certain psychological characteristics) might be a strategy of meat‐eaters' moral disengagement. Three studies compared the extent to which vegetarians and omnivores attribute psychological characteristics to humans versus animals. In Study 1, vegetarian participants ascribed more secondary (uniquely human) emotions to animals than did the omnivores; however, there were no differences in primary (animalistic) emotions. Study 2 showed that omnivores distinguish human characteristics from animalistic ones more sharply than vegetarians do, while both groups do not differ in distinguishing human characteristics from mechanistic ones. Study 3 confirmed the results by showing that omnivores ascribed less secondary emotions to traditionally edible animals than to the non‐edible species, while vegetarians did not differentiate these animals. These results support the claim that the lay conceptions of ‘human uniqueness’ are strategies of moral disengagement. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Using the Implicit Association Test to investigate attitude-behaviour consistency for stigmatised behaviour

To consciously bolster behaviour that is disapproved by others (i.e., stigmatised behaviour) people may hold and report a favourable attitude toward the behaviour. However, achieving such bolstering outside awareness may be more difficult. Explicit attitudes were measured with self-report measures, and the Implicit Association Test was used to assess implicit attitudes toward behaviour held by stigmatised actors (smokers) and nonstigmatised actors (vegetarians and omnivores). Smokers' showed greater attitude-behaviour consistency in their explicit attitudes toward smoking that in their implicit attitudes. By contrast, vegetarians and omnivores showed attitude-behaviour-consistency at both implicit and explicit levels. Smokers' implicit negative attitudes toward smoking may reflect its status as a stigmatised behaviour, or its addictive nature.     

MORALIZATION AND BECOMING A VEGETARIAN:

Abstract —We describe a rather common process that we call moralization, in which objects or activities that were previously morally neutral acquire a moral component. Moralization converts preferences into values, and in doing so influences cross-generational transmission (because values are passed more effectively in families than are preferences), increases the likelihood of internalization, invokes greater emotional response, and mobilizes the support of governmental and other cultural institutions. In recent decades, we claim, cigarette smoking in America has become moralized. We support our claims about some of the consequences of moralization with an analysis of differences between health and moral vegetarians. Compared with health vegetarians, moral vegetarians find meat more disgusting, offer more reasons in support of their meat avoidance, and avoid a wider range of animal foods. However, contrary to our prediction, liking for meat is about the same in moral and health vegetarians.     

Not being what you claim to be: impostors as sources of group threat

We examine the notion of impostors within groups, defined in this paper as people who make public claims to an identity while disguising their failure to fulfil key criteria for group membership. In Experiment 1, vegetarians showed heightened levels of negative affect toward vegetarians who ate meat occasionally compared to an authentic vegetarian. In contrast, non‐vegetarians saw the impostor to be marginally more likeable than the authentic vegetarian. In Experiments 2 and 3, participants evaluated only a vegetarian who ate meat. Evaluations of the target were influenced by group attachment, such that participants who identified strongly as vegetarians downgraded the target more strongly and experienced more negative affect than did moderate identifiers and non‐vegetarians. Participants were also sensitive to the size of the gulf between the target's claims for identity and their behaviour. Thus, targets who made public claims to being a vegetarian but ate meat were evaluated more negatively than were people who kept their claims for identity private (Experiment 2). Similarly, targets who tried to keep their deviant behaviour secret were evaluated more negatively than were people who openly admitted their deviant behaviour (Experiment 3). The reasons why impostors might threaten the integrity of group identities are discussed. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Implicit attitudes towards meat and vegetables in vegetarians and nonvegetarians

Previous research, in which self‐report measures were used, showed that vegetarians have more negative beliefs about meat than nonvegetarians. An important limitation of this research is that it did not examine differences in spontaneous affective reactions (i.e., implicit attitudes) towards meat and other types of food. We therefore conducted a new study in which not only self‐report measures were used, but also two tasks that have been developed to measure implicit attitudes: The Implicit Association Test (IAT) and a pictorial version of the Extrinsic Affective Simon Task (EAST). Both the IAT and EAST revealed that implicit attitudes towards vegetables (as compared to implicit attitudes towards meat) were more positive in vegetarians than in nonvegetarians. In line with previous findings, the self‐report measures showed that, compared to nonvegetarians, vegetarians had more positive attitudes towards vegetables and more negative attitudes towards meat. The IAT and EAST measures both correlated in the expected manner with self‐reported attitudes. A logistic regression showed that self‐reported attitudes were an almost perfect predictor of group status (vegetarian or nonvegetarian), and that adding the IAT and EAST measures as predictors did not improve prediction of group status. The results suggest that vegetarians and nonvegetarians differ in their spontaneous affective reaction towards vegetables or meat, and provide further evidence for the validity of the IAT and EAST as measures of inter‐individual differences in attitudes. Implicit attitudes could influence eating behaviour indirectly by biasing the decision to become a vegetarian or by determining how difficult it is for someone to maintain a vegetarian diet.     

The Effect of Acceptance/Rejection Status, Status Notification, and Organizational Obligation Fulfillment on Applicant Intentions

Reactions to receiving or failing to receive rejection/acceptance letters were examined from the perspective of psychological contracts. In Study 1, a laboratory experiment, organizational obligation fulfillment was predicted by status (rejection/acceptance) and notification (no notification; notification only; notification plus explanation) such that those rejected without notification reported the lowest level of organizational obligation fulfillment. In Study 2, a field survey, applicants who were rejected with no rejection communication were more likely to believe that the organization failed to fulfill its obligations, and reported more negative intentions toward the organization compared to those who received a rejection communication. In both studies, organizational obligation fulfillment accounted for incremental variance in applicant intentions, beyond that of applicant status and type of rejection notification.     

Veg*ns’ and omnivores’ reciprocal attitudes and dehumanization: The role of social dominance orientation,ingroup identification,and anticipated reproach

Two studies compared omnivores’ and veg*ns’ attitudes and dehumanization tendencies toward each other and identified the social psychological factors explaining them. Study 1 (N = 208, Italians) showed that veg*ns’ hold less positive attitudes toward omnivores than the reverse, and attributed to them less human uniqueness and nature; these differences were explained by veg*ns’ stronger identification with the ingroup and higher perceptions of reproach from the outgroup, even if omnivores’ higher levels of social dominance orientation worsened their attitude toward veg*ns. Study 2 (preregistered, N = 200, mostly from UK) overall replicated Study 1 findings at the explicit level. Interestingly, omnivores’ and veg*ns’ implicit attitudes were equally positive (but less positive than self-reported attitudes) and not predicted by the same mediators associated with the explicit measures. This work suggests that neither veg*ns nor omnivores hold negative attitudes toward each other: they were both positive or neutral toward the outgroup, even if at the explicit level this positivity is greater for omnivores.     

Reactions to acceptance and rejection: Effects of level and sequence of relational evaluation

Two experiments examined the effects of various levels and sequences of acceptance and rejection on emotion, ratings of self and others, and behavior. In Experiment 1, participants who differed in agreeableness received one of five levels of acceptance or rejection feedback, believing that they either would or would not interact with the person who accepted or rejected them. In Experiment 2, participants who differed in rejection sensitivity received one of four patterns of feedback over time, reflecting constant acceptance, increasing acceptance, increasing rejection, or constant rejection. In both studies, rejection elicited greater anger, sadness, and hurt feelings than acceptance, as well as an increased tendency to aggress toward the rejector. In general, more extreme rejection did not lead to stronger reactions than mild rejection, but increasing rejection evoked more negative reactions than constant rejection. Agreeableness and rejection-sensitivity scores predicted participants’ responses but did not moderate the effects of interpersonal acceptance and rejection.     

A BLACK FEMINIST MODEL OF RAPE MYTH ACCEPTANCE

A Black feminist model was used to investigate rape myth acceptance between African American antirape activists and a comparison group of nonactivists using Cross's (1991) racial identity model and Downing and Roush's (1985) feminist identity model. As predicted, activists rejected rape myths more than nonactivists; the earlier stages of both models were associated with rape myth acceptance; the later stages were associated with rape myth rejection; and activists evidenced more sociopolitical maturity (race and gender consciousness) than nonactivists. The findings suggest that researchers may need to investigate to what degree rape myth acceptance serves an overarching system of social domination where racism and sexism overlap.     

Social Norms and Egalitarian Values Mitigate Authoritarian Intolerance Toward Sexual Minorities

In the United States, acceptance of sexual minorities (e.g., gay men and lesbians) has increased substantially since the early 1990s. This study examined whether authoritarians' attitudes have been influenced by the societal shift toward greater acceptance of sexual minorities. Using data from the American National Election Studies (ANES) collected between 1992 and 2012, we tested a model in which authoritarianism, endorsement of egalitarian values, and social norms shifting in the direction of tolerance predict individual attitudes toward sexual minorities and LGBT rights issues. Results indicated that (1) there was a subset of authoritarians who endorsed egalitarian values, (2) authoritarians in general became more tolerant (i.e., held less negative attitudes) toward sexual minorities between 1992 and 2012, and (3) “egalitarian authoritarians” held more positive attitudes toward sexual minorities than other authoritarians. The findings contribute to contemporary theory and research on authoritarianism, which is moving from a monolithic view of authoritarianism to one in which culture and core values activate and shape manifestations of authoritarian tendencies.     

Gender and Nature: A Psychological Analysis of Ecofeminist Theory1

For ecofeminists, the logic of domination (Warren, 1990) subserves the interconnected oppressions of patriarchy (i.e., sexism) and the anthropocentric domination of nature (i.e., naturism). Given this premise, it was hypothesized that interconnections would be found across instruments that assessed the following constructs: right-wing authoritarianism, attitudes toward women, social-dominance orientation, and attitudes toward the environment. As predicted, a correlation was found between attitudes toward women and the environment. Regression analyses indicate that authoritarianism reliably predicted sexism in men and women. Authoritarianism also predicted naturism in women. These results are interpreted as an initial rapprochement between psychology and the ecofeminism framework delineating the social attitudes that are inherent in the oppressive systems of sexism and naturism.     

Internet Shock

SUMMARY

This article discusses information technology and theological libraries. It compares and contrasts the state of the field in 1990 with the current situation. The article describes ways that the Internet is changing the work of all librarians, but also suggests ways in which librarians can continue to find purpose and meaning in the timeless principles and values of librarianship.     

Change and stability with respect to attitudes and practices related to marriage in Ashkabat,Baku, and Ankara: Three Turkic cultures

Changes in practices and views related to marriage were investigated by conducting interviews with respondents of Turkic origin residing in the capitals of Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Azerbaijan: three Turkic cultures with different historical backgrounds. The results revealed that, with some exceptions, practices related to marriage demonstrated a trend toward modernity in all three samples. The most rapid and consistent pattern of transition was evidenced for the Ankara sample, the Ashkabat sample revealed both change and stability, whereas the Baku sample demonstrated the least amount of change with respect to practices related to marriage. Less change was evidenced for attitudes. The results were discussed with reference to historical events and value systems surrounding national identities of the respective cultures. It was argued that, in the case of Turkmenistan, symbols of the clan system were retained and changes were consistent with basic values of the Oguz family. In the case of Azerbaijan, relative gender equality and elaborate ceremonies involving the extended family were construed as attempts at preserving Turkish identity in the face of Russian domination. Lastly, it was argued that the official endorsement of Western‐style families, contact with the West, and rejection of Eastern ways for over a century in Turkey has resulted in the most consistent pattern of relationships between different indicators of the Western‐style family.     

Radical Listening: Transdisciplinarity,Restorative Justice and Change

This article explores transdisciplinarity within childhood studies at the intersection of restorative justice and counseling psychology. It is argued that at this juncture the nexus of radical listening may be uncovered. Radical listening, a term first coined by the critical pedagogue J.L. Kincheloe, is used here to aid in the project of both decolonizing restorative justice practices and deconstructing the hegemonic positioning of psychology in childhood studies through an intersectional understanding of childhood. This is a move toward complexity thinking and a valuing of Indigenous ways of knowing in response to the epistemicide of minoritized voices and the domination of White Western scholarship in childhood studies over the past century. Linkages established among transdisciplinarity, restorative justice, and counseling reorients the scholar/practitioner toward a nuanced understanding of a rights-based perspective and an appreciation of the intersections of social, political, and cultural worlds.     

Psychological variables underlying political orientations in an old and a new democracy: A comparative study between Sweden and Latvia

This study examines in detail the psychological variables underlying ideological political orientation, and structure and contents of this orientation, in Sweden and Latvia. Individual political orientation is conceptualized on two dimensions: acceptance vs. rejection of social change and acceptance vs. rejection of inequality. Swedish (N = 320) and Latvian (N = 264) participants completed measures of political orientation, Social Dominance Orientation (SDO), Right Wing Authoritarianism (RWA), self vs. other orientation, tolerance for ambiguity, humanism and normativism, core political values, system justification, as well as moral foundations questionnaire and portrait values questionnaire. The results showed that the relation among the measured variables was similar in both samples. Swedish participants showed stronger endorsement of egalitarian attitudes and social values, whereas we found more self‐enhancing and socially conservative values and attitudes among the Latvian participants.     

Comparing acceptance and rejection in the classroom interaction of students who stutter and their peers: A social network analysis

PurposeRecent work has reported adverse effects of students’ stuttering on their social and emotional functioning at school. Yet, few studies have provided an in-depth examination of classroom interaction of students who stutter (SWS). The current study uses a network perspective to compare acceptance and rejection in the classroom interaction between SWS and their peers in secondary education.MethodsThe sample comprised 22 SWS and 403 non-stuttering peers (22 classes) of secondary education in Flanders (Belgium). Students' nominations regarding three acceptance and three rejection criteria were combined. Social network analysis offered procedures that considered direct and indirect interaction between all classmates.ResultsWe found few significant differences: SWS and their peers were distributed similarly across positive and negative status groups. Both considered and were considered by, on average, six or seven classmates as ‘a friend', who they liked and could count on, and nominated or were nominated by one or two classmates as ‘no friend', somebody who they disliked and could not count on. On average, SWS and their classmates also did not differ in terms of structural position in the class group (degree, closeness and betweenness), reciprocated rejection, and clique size. However, SWS do tend to be slightly more stringent or more careful in nominating peers, which led to fewer reciprocated friendships.ConclusionOur results suggest that SWS are quite accepted by peers in secondary education in Flanders. Such positive peer interaction can create a supportive and encouraging climate for SWS to deal with specific challenges.     

Human values,utilitarian benefits and identification: the case of meat

The present studies explored the associations among food's utilitarian benefits, the human values symbolised by meat, individuals' endorsement of those values, and individuals' meat identification, attitudes and consumption. A preliminary study revealed that participants perceived that meat, particularly red meat, symbolises the endorsement of inequality and hierarchy values more than other basic foods. Studies 1 and 2 found that the endorsement of inequality and hierarchy formed the basis to the meat attitudes and consumption of high meat identifiers. Study 2 found that the meat attitudes of high meat identifiers were also founded, though to a lesser extent, in the endorsement of Conservation and rejection of Openness values. Study 1 also showed that food's nutritional benefits did not form the basis of meat consumption among high meat identifiers. Moreover, Study 3 found that informing individuals (in the treatment group) of the nutritional deficiencies of meat did not alter the meat attitudes of high meat identifiers, meat identification per se, or the meat attitudes of individuals who have a predisposition to attend to the symbolic meanings of products. In contrast, the negative nutritional information did produce unfavourable meat attitudes among low meat identifiers and those who have a predisposition to attend to the utilitarian features of products. The formation of meat identification is discussed. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Eating Ethically: 'Spiritual' and 'Quasi-religious' Aspects of Vegetarianism

Much contemporary belief and behaviour that is not ostensibly religious has yet been perceived to have religious overtones. A variety of terms such as 'invisible religion', 'implicit religion' and 'quasi-religion' have been used to characterise them. This article examines vegetarianism and especially vegetarianism based upon ethical concerns in order to ascertain the extent to which it can be said to exhibit religious or spiritual themes in its ideology and underlying motives. A number of 'quasi-religious' themes, including taboo and avoidance behaviour, reverence for life, the denial of death, reincarnation, observance of disciplines and the rejection of domination and oppression are found to characterise ethical vegetarianism. Support for these conclusions is found in the data from a survey of vegetarians carried out in the Reading area of South Eastern England, of which some results are presented and discussed. The article concludes with a discussion of the appropriateness of using concepts such as 'quasi-religion'. It is argued that although such terms are currently useful, they must in the longer term be replaced by concepts which do not imply that such behaviour is a form of religion or which characterise it always in relation to religion, but which recognise its own distinctive and essentially non-religious character.     

Rejection and Acceptance Across Contexts: Parents and Peers as Risks and Buffers for Early Adolescent Psychopathology. The TRAILS Study

In a large sample of early adolescents (T2: n = 1023; M age = 13.51; 55.5% girls) it was investigated whether the effects of parental and peer acceptance and rejection on psychopathology (externalizing and internalizing problems) remain when taking into account both contexts simultaneously. Moreover, we examined whether acceptance in one context can buffer rejection in the other. It was found that when analyzing peer and parent effects simultaneously (1) the protective effect of parental acceptance and the risk effect of peer rejection were diminished; (2) the protective effect of peer acceptance and the risk-effect of parental rejection remained strong; and (3) peer acceptance buffered parental rejection but parental acceptance did not buffer peer rejection. The results imply that the parent and peer contexts are interdependent. Implications and directions for future research are given.