University of Twente Student Theses
Overcoming Strategic Avoidance : The Role of Self-Affirmation on Exposure to Information about Animals Reared for Consumption
Brockmann, I. (2024) Overcoming Strategic Avoidance : The Role of Self-Affirmation on Exposure to Information about Animals Reared for Consumption.
|
PDF
360kB |
| Abstract: | The consumption of animal products is in stark contrast to moral values humans hold about the treatment of sentient beings. The discrepancy between moral beliefs and behaviours manifests in psychologically painful dilemmas, such as the meat paradox and meat-related cognitive dissonance. To prevent and relieve emotional distress, some individuals strategically avoid reminders about the mistreatment of animals reared for consumption. Avoiding information that conflicts with personal beliefs changes the conceptions, thus beliefs, about animals. This is in an subconscious attempt to fit beliefs to current behaviour. However, interventions aimed at sustainable behaviour change rather desire a change of behaviour to align with properly informed beliefs, instead. This study investigated whether self-affirmation is an effective means to decrease such strategic avoiding tendencies. Two experimental studies were conducted. Study 1, set in the context of a social media scenario, showed an effect of self-affirmation on a hypothetical behavioural choice of information exposure, but no effect on general strategic avoidance tendencies. Study 2, set in the context of a media streaming scenario, could not replicate those findings, as self-affirmation neither affected the behavioural choice, nor general strategic avoidance tendencies. The findings suggest that the effectiveness of self-affirmation may be context-dependent, with social incentives possibly playing a crucial role. To prove beneficial for interventions aimed at moral behaviour change, more research is needed to precisely identify conditions under which self-affirmation can be used as a reliable tool to consistently decrease strategic avoidance tendencies. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Bachelor) |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Subject: | 77 psychology |
| Programme: | Psychology BSc (56604) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/100704 |
| Export this item as: | BibTeX EndNote HTML Citation Reference Manager |
Show download statistics for this publication
Show download statistics for this publicationRepository Staff Only: item control page