Reasoning to Justify Eating Animals Varies With Age
The present study examined the justifications used by children, adolescents, and adults to justify eating animals. Children (n = 100, M<sup>age</sup> = 9.82, SD = 0.77, female n = 49) as compared to adolescents (n = 76, M<sup>age</sup> = 14.0, SD = 1.62, female n = 36) and adults (n = 113, M<sup>age</sup> = 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.
Authors
- Luke McGuire (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6094-8819)
- Alexander G. Carter (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-4205-5792)
- Emma Fry
- Nadira S. Faber (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9373-9549)
- Tina Bagus
Institutions
- University of Bremen (DE)
- University of Exeter (GB)
- University of Oxford (GB)
- DIPF | Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in Education (DE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Child Development
- Published
- 2025-02-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.14217
- Citations
- 7
- Primary Topic
- Agriculture Sustainability and Environmental Impact
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 12.01