The conflict between Social Norms of different groups and their effects on Meat Consumption Behavior

Resumo

The challenges related to climate change require a structural change in the economic chain, from production to consumption, including habits and dietary choices of individuals. There is increased social pressure for changes in diet, especially in meat consumption patterns. Eating meat is part of the dominant dietary habit in many societies and is considered the social norm in most areas of the world. Humans are social beings by nature and live in a complex social environment, which influences important decisions, such as those related to food. Groups present a single and specific system of social norms that must be followed to confirm and maintain the affiliation. However, social norms from different groups can be important, salient, and incompatible at the same time, which can lead to normative conflicts. Despite the relevance of focus theory of normative conduct theory (Cialdini et al., 1990) to understand and predict intentions and behaviors, the conflict of social norms among groups and its effect on behavior has been neglected by previous research on consumer behavior area. To collaborate in solving this gap, this project aims to investigate the effect of conflict of social norms between different groups on consumption behavior, using meat consumption as context