Episode Details

Leading researchers from the Psychology of Human Animal Intergroup Relations (PHAIR) Society join us to explore the science behind effective animal advocacy. Social psychologists Kristof Dhont and Jared Piazza share evidence-based insights about why people resist changing their behavior toward animals despite claiming to care about them and what this means for vegan advocacy and animal rights activism.

This episode explores:

• Understanding cognitive dissonance and the “meat paradox” – key psychological barriers to veganism
• Research-backed strategies for effective animal rights advocacy and behavior change
• How social identity, masculinity, and food familiarity impact plant-based eating
• Science-based approaches to reducing animal product consumption and promoting veganism

ABOUT OUR GUESTS

Dr Kristof Dhont is a Reader in Psychology at the University of Kent (UK). He is founder and director of SHARKLab and co-founder and President of the PHAIR Society, dedicated to the psychological study of human-animal relations. He investigates the psychological underpinnings and ideological roots of speciesism, racism, and sexism, and the moral psychology of eating and exploiting animals. He has co-edited Why We Love and Exploit Animals (Dhont & Hodson, 2020) and currently serves as Associate Editor for the journal Psychology of Human-Animal Intergroup Relations (PHAIR). Previously, he served as Associate Editor for Group Processes & Intergroup Relations (GPIR) and as Consulting Editor for the European Journal of Personality (EJP). 

Dr Jared Piazza is a Senior Lecturer of Psychology at Lancaster University (UK). He studies moral decision making as it relates to consumer choices, our treatment of animals, and one another. His research applies perspectives from moral, social, and developmental psychology. He is co-founder and Vice President of the Society for the Psychology of Human-Animal Intergroup Relations (PHAIR), serves as an Associate Editor of the PHAIR journal, and chief editor of the PHAIR blog.

RESOURCES