Personality and Meat Consumption Among Romantic Partners in Daily Life

Objective

Eating 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.

Method

We 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.

Results

Among 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.

Conclusions

These findings replicate evidence that personality plays an important role in meat-eating and extend this evidence to meat consumption in a relational context.