Peer reviewed
Direct linkERIC Number: EJ1469515
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-May
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0009-3920
EISSN: EISSN-1467-8624
Available Date: 2025-02-01
Reasoning to Justify Eating Animals Varies with Age
Luke McGuire1; Tina Bagus2; Alexander G. Carter1; Emma Fry1; Nadira S. Faber3,4
Child Development, v96 n3 p953-965 2025
The present study examined the justifications used by children, adolescents, and adults to justify eating animals. Children (n = 100, M[superscript age] = 9.82, SD = 0.77, female n = 49) as compared to adolescents (n = 76, M[superscript age] = 14.0, SD = 1.62, female n = 36) and adults (n = 113, M[superscript age] = 44.1, SD = 14.4, female n = 54) were more ambivalent or opposed to eating animals, and they showed a distinct reasoning pattern. Children relied less on arguments about meat eating being natural or with to humane slaughter practices. These findings align with recent theoretical perspectives that reasoning may be used to counter cognitive dissonance arising from knowledge of food production systems.
Descriptors: Abstract Reasoning, Childrens Attitudes, Eating Habits, Animals, Food, Persuasive Discourse, Altruism
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1University of Exeter, Exeter, UK; 2DIPF Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in Education, Frankfurt, Germany; 3University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany; 4University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
