Perceptions about meat reducers: Results from two UK studies exploring personality impressions and perceived group membership

Current levels of meat consumption pose a significant threat to human, animal, and planetary wellbeing, presenting an urgent need for widespread reduction in meat eating behaviour. Changing meat-rich diets is difficult. However, a growing number of individuals, termed Meat Reducers (MRs), are actively reducing their meat intake and offer a potential strategy to shift meat-rich diets using social influence. Social influence significantly affects eating behaviours, and is strongest when individuals or groups are perceived as aspirational or positive. Therefore, across two studies a free association task and vignettes were used to assess social representations, perceived personality traits, and perceived group membership about meat reducers, compared to vegetarians and habitual meat consumers. Results indicate that MRs are perceived positively and, for some traits, more positively than vegetarians and habitual meat consumers. These results confirm that MRs are an appropriate referent group for use in future social influence-based interventions aiming to reduce meat intake. This will become incrementally important as the mounting environmental and health crises add urgency to the need to reduce meat eating.