Study’s insight into eating habits

New research has deepened understanding of why pescatarians choose to eat fish but not the meat of land animals.

The perceived distance between marine life and participants in the study was a key factor, researchers in the University of Stirling’s Division of Psychology found.

The team used the construal-level theory of psychological distance to investigate further how this distance is created and how this might be experienced.

The theory argues that we interpret people, animals, objects or situations differently depending on how much we know about them.

Dr Carol Jasper, co-author of the study, said: “when we do not know much about someone or something we think of it in more abstract and general terms because we lack information.

“For our sample of pescatarians, this meant that they felt less emotionally connected to marine animals than they felt to land animals with whom we share some more obvious similarities.

“This social distance seemed to be maintained by spatial distance. We feel distanced from marine animals because we rarely see them. As we do not share a common space with fish, they are, as one participant put it: ‘Out of sight, out of mind’.

“We believe that this distance on multiple levels – social and spatial – can help us understand why pescatarians choose to eat fish but not other animals like cows and chickens.”

Devon Docherty, teaching assistant at the University of Stirling and co-author of the study, added: “The plant-based alternatives industry may benefit from this research by gaining deeper insight into the mindset and needs of fish consumers, enabling them to tailor their products towards this specific demographic.”