Abstract:

As people become more and more concerned with health, environmental protection and animal welfare, vegetarianism is emerging and has drawn increasing attention from psychologists. Psychological research on vegetarianism is still at an early stage. Psychological processes regarding vegetarianism involve cognitive, emotional, motivational aspects and vegetarian identity. Individual differences, stereotype, and macro factors also influence vegetarianism. Future research could further explore how socio-cultural factors influence vegetarian food choice, social representations about vegetarianism in China, the embodied cognition effect of vegetarian food, as well as the dynamic development of vegetarianism as a subculture. Implications can be drawn for developing effective interventions on healthy and pro-environmental dietary patterns.

Key words: vegetarianism, vegetarian identity, food choice, meat paradox