Personality and Meat Consumption Among Romantic Partners in Daily Life

Abstract

ObjectiveEating is often a social activity that can be influenced by others, particularly in close relationships when dietary preferences reflect underlying value differences. We sought to examine the personality traits of meat‐eating couples who differ in their preferences for meat.MethodWe recruited Swiss romantic couples in which one partner typically consumed more meat than the other (N = 272, couples = 136). At baseline, participants completed survey measures of self‐ and informant‐rated personality traits at the domain (e.g., agreeableness) and aspect level (e.g., compassion) and meat consumption. Participants then completed 28 daily meal surveys about their meat consumption.ResultsAmong high‐meat eating partners, those higher in openness/intellect and compassion ate less meat. Additionally, higher intellect among low‐meat eating partners predicted lower meat consumption among high‐meat eating partners.ConclusionsThese findings replicate evidence that personality plays an important role in meat‐eating and extend this evidence to meat consumption in a relational context.