A comparison of dietarian identity profiles between vegetarians and vegans. (March 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Rosenfeld, Daniel L.
• Is Part Of: Food quality and preference. Volume 72(2019)
• Page Start: 40
• Page End: 44
• Publication Date: 2019-03
• Subjects: Vegetarian -- Vegan -- Plant-based -- Identity -- Meat; Food preferences -- Periodicals; Food -- Quality -- Periodicals; Food industry and trade -- Quality control -- Periodicals; Préférences alimentaires -- Périodiques; Aliments -- Qualité -- Périodiques; Aliments -- Industrie et commerce -- Qualité -- Contrôle -- Périodiques; Food industry and trade -- Quality control; Food preferences; Food -- Quality; Periodicals; 664
• DOI: 10.1016/j.foodqual.2018.09.008
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0950-3293

Abstract

Highlights: Vegans view their diets as more central to their identity than do vegetarians. Vegans take more pride in their diets than do vegetarians. Vegans feel more stigmatized for following their diets than do vegetarians. Vegans have stronger dietary motivations than do vegetarians. Vegans judge omnivorous dieters more harshly than do vegetarians. Abstract: Vegetarianism and veganism are often grouped together in nutritional and psychological investigations. Yet an emerging body of literature has highlighted that vegetarians and vegans differ along a number of neurological, attitudinal, and behavioral variables. In this research, I found that vegetarians and vegans exhibit different dietarian identity profiles. Compared to vegetarians, vegans saw their dietary patterns as more intertwined with their identity (higher centrality), had more positive feelings toward their dietary in-group (higher private regard), felt as if other people judge them more negatively for following their dietary patterns (lower public regard), evaluated out-group dieters more negatively (lower out-group regard), and had stronger motivations for following their dietary patterns (higher prosocial, personal, and moral motivations). By distinguishing between vegetarians and vegans more concretely, investigators can capture meaningful within-group heterogeneity in how people think, feel, and behave when it comes to eschewing animal products.