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According to the study, researchers found that vegetarians are more prone to rebellious behavior than omnivores.
It is noted that the study, conducted by psychologist John Nezlek, covered more than 3,800 people from the United States and Poland. The researcher found that vegetarians are less concerned about traditions, conformity, and benevolence than people who eat meat. At the same time, there are more vegetarians are excited about achievements, incentives and power.
Currently, there are more than 1.5 billion vegans in the world, which is about 22% of the world’s population. In some countries, the refusal to eat meat is associated with religious beliefs, such as in India. Others go vegan for health reasons.
John Nezlek conducted three large-scale surveys — one in the United States and two in Poland. Each survey used the following tools «The Schwartz Portrait Values Questionnaire», which helps to determine the core values of an individual.
Schwartz’s theory of values includes 10 universal human values tied to motivational goals. The model sorts human values into ten categories — for example, universalism (concern for nature and humanity), self-direction (independence), and power (influence and control).
The study participants were able to independently determine your own diet and then assess how well it corresponds to statements such as «He likes to do things his way», «It is important for her to be rich. She wants to have a lot of money». In some cases, the results were quite surprising and contrary to common sense.
Overall, vegans scored lower on values such as safety, tradition, and conformity. What was even more surprising, however, was that vegetarians were more likely to support values related to stimulation, achievement, and power. This means that they are more likely to seek challenge, success, and even control and power.
As meat consumption is considered a general norm in western culture, the rejection of this by vegans in a sense challenges traditional western values. Previous studies have identified vegans as being more friendly and more socially oriented. However, Nezlek’s study found the opposite. Their motivation seems to be more focused on success, so they may emphasize personal growth more than others In particular, the surveyed vegetarians from Poland expressed less concern about environment among the reasons for their own refusal to eat meat. Vegans from the United States were more concerned about environmental damage, which was more often the reason for not eating meat.
The study also showed that women are more likely than men to become vegetarians. And women, according to many psychological studies, also tend to score higher on traits such as agreeableness and conformity. However, female vegetarians do not fit this picture.
In the United States, vegetarians were more likely to score high on universalism (caring for others and the environment). In Poland — these scores were lower. These are can be explained by cultural differences between vegetarians in different countries. In Poland, where vegetarianism may be even more exotic, giving up meat may require a particularly independent mindset. In the United States, there is no such gap.
The results of the study were published in the journal PLOS One
Source: ZMEScience