New research: Vegetarians are not more docile, but more ambitious

By: Trademagazin Date: 2025. 08. 25. 10:21

A new study challenges the widespread stereotype that meat-free dieters are more peaceful and gentle than meat-eaters. According to psychological research published in the prestigious journal PLOS One, vegetarians, on average, desire social status, power, and personal success more than their meat-eating counterparts.

Western pop culture has long associated vegetarians with peaceful, sandal-wearing hippies—figures who tried to make the world a better place with tofu and love. But this image is more nuanced than stereotypes suggest. The research, led by Professor John Nezlek, a psychologist at SWPS University in Warsaw, involved more than 3,500 people from Poland and the United States, including about 800 vegetarians.

Participants were shown different personality descriptions that reflected different value systems – for example: “It is important for him to be successful. He likes to make a good impression on others.” Respondents were asked to rate how close they felt to themselves on a scale of 1 to 6.

The results showed clear differences: vegetarian participants identified with values that refer to power, assertiveness, and a desire for new experiences and challenges to a much greater extent than meat-eaters.

The research therefore suggests that the motivations of those who follow a meat-free diet are not only ethical and environmental: many of them also strive for personal advancement and social influence. This image is far from the peaceful, conflict-avoidant vegetarian stereotype that is often associated with them in public opinion.