assignment
The way we use animals for human consumption causes problems for 1) the environment (e.g., climate change, pollution; e.g., Reisch et al., 2013; Springmann et al., 2016), 2) our personal and global health (e.g., zoonoses; e.g., Santo et al., 2020; Stel et al., 2022), and 3) animal welfare (e.g., Bègue, 2020; Sollund, 2011). In fact, a reduction of animals held for human aims is acknowledged as crucial for reaching climate targets, dealing with health issues, and reducing animal suffering (for an overview see Kwansy et al., 2022). Therefore it is important to focus on changing our current unsustainable consumption pattern.
This assignment consists of creating a scientific, but practical information message focusing on changing people’s unsustainable behaviours regarding animal product intake. Within this assignment you can choose to focus on creating awareness for climate change, zoonoses, and/or animal welfare. For instance, you can do so by focusing on taking perspective of the animals, or by focusing on social norms. The internship student will start by getting acquainted with the existing literature. Then, based on the literature, the internship student will design an information message on the focus the student chose.
KEYWORDS
Sustainability; animal product consumption; climate change; zoonoses; animal welfare.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION ORGANIZATION
The section Psychology of Conflict, Risk and Safety at the University of Twente has a distinctive and unique profile in the areas of risk perception and risk communication, conflict and crisis management and the antecedents of risky, antisocial and criminal behaviour. It currently includes 16 research staff members and 8 PhD students. We work from both a psychology and an engineering perspective and cooperate with other scientific disciplines, based on the “high tech, human touch” profile of the University of Twente.
AVAILABILITY
This internship is open for 2 students. Note that, subsequently, a master thesis can be done on testing the information message.
INTERESTED?
Please contact the PCRS internship coordinator Miriam Oostinga (m.s.d.oostinga@utwente.nl).
LITERATURE
- Caviola, L., Everett, J. A. C., & Faber, N. S. (2018). The Moral Standing of Animals: Towards a Psychology of Speciesism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Advance online publication. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000182
- Harguess, J. M., Crespo, N. C., Hong, M. Y. (2020). Strategies to reduce meat consumption: A systematic literature review of experimental studies, Appetite, 144, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2019.104478.
- Rothgerber, H., & Rosenfeld, D. L (2021). Meat‐related cognitive dissonance: The social psychology of eating animals. Social and Personality Psychology Compass 15, DOI: 10.1111/spc3.12592