Leary R Bret, MacDonnell Mesler Rhiannon, Montford William J, Chernishenko Jennifer
College of Business, University of Nevada, Reno, NV, United States.
Dhillon School of Business, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Canada.
Front Nutr. 2023 Mar 7;10:1111681. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2023.1111681. eCollection 2023.
This research integrates literature on masculinity stress-the distress experienced as the result of a perceived discrepancy with male gender norms-with research on goal conflict to examine preferences for plant-based meat alternatives (PBMAs). Men experiencing masculinity stress are likely to hold salient a goal of being masculine, which should lead to less preference for PBMAs. However, many of these men simultaneously hold competing goals, such as making ethical food choices, which remain inhibited in favor of the focal masculinity goal. We argue that once men experiencing masculinity stress highlight their masculinity through the selection of a manly product, they satisfy that higher-order goal and are then free to pursue previously inhibited goals, such as making an ethical choice through the selection of PBMAs.
We present the results of three studies supporting these expectations. Study 1 tests the link between masculinity stress and meat (alternative) consumption using consumer search behavior collected from Google Trends, showing that masculinity stress is positively (negatively) correlated with searches for red meat (PBMAs). Study 2 shows that men experiencing masculinity stress are more inclined to choose PBMAs, provided they are presented within a masculine product context. Study 3 presents a parallel mediation model, showing that ethical considerations (as opposed to masculine goals) shape the choice of PBMA preference.
We conclude with a discussion of theoretical implications for the impression management strategies utilized by men experiencing masculinity stress and practical implications for the growing PBMA industry.
本研究将关于男性气质压力（即因感知到与男性性别规范存在差异而产生的苦恼）的文献与目标冲突研究相结合，以考察对植物性肉类替代品（PBMA）的偏好。经历男性气质压力的男性可能突出表现出追求男子气概的目标，这会导致他们对PBMA的偏好降低。然而，这些男性中的许多人同时持有相互竞争的目标，比如做出符合道德的食物选择，但这些目标仍因优先考虑男子气概目标而受到抑制。我们认为，一旦经历男性气质压力的男性通过选择具有男子气概的产品来凸显自己的男子气概，他们就满足了那个更高层次的目标，进而能够自由地追求之前受到抑制的目标，比如通过选择PBMA做出符合道德的选择。
我们展示了三项支持这些预期的研究结果。研究1使用从谷歌趋势收集的消费者搜索行为来测试男性气质压力与肉类（替代品）消费之间的联系，结果表明男性气质压力与红肉搜索量呈正相关（与PBMA搜索量呈负相关）。研究2表明，经历男性气质压力的男性更倾向于选择PBMA，前提是它们出现在具有男子气概的产品情境中。研究3提出了一个平行中介模型，表明道德考量（而非男子气概目标）塑造了对PBMA的偏好选择。
我们最后讨论了经历男性气质压力的男性所采用的印象管理策略的理论意义，以及对不断发展的PBMA行业的实际意义。
