Eating meat is a prime example of cognitive conflict. Research on meat-related conflict has focused on people who eat meat (omnivores), and mostly neglected that people who avoid eating meat (vegetarians and vegans; veg*ans) can also experience conflict in the form of ambivalence. Here, we provide a conceptual model explaining how ambivalence comes to exist in omnivores and veg*ans, and how it is associated with dietary behavior. We hypothesize that ambivalence in omnivores arises when they become aware of the negative aspects of meat. Yet, even veg*ans, who predominantly hold negative attitudes towards meat, may experience ambivalence if past positive attitudes resurface. We investigated this model in a cross-sectional study ( = 1028) via the stages of change, which explain qualitative steps in people's adoption and maintenance of new behaviors such as a veg*an diet. Our data show that meat consumption decreases linearly across the five stages of change. In line with our model, ambivalence increases from the pre-contemplation via the contemplation to the preparation stage among omnivores and decreases right after people become veg*ans (action stage) until they reach the maintenance stage. This inverted u-shaped trajectory was accompanied by a) an increase in negative evaluations of meat and b) a decrease in positive evaluations of meat from the pre-contemplation to the preparation stage. However, especially positive hedonic evaluations that render meat pleasurable partly persisted in the action stage and only dissolved in the maintenance stage. We thus argue that the observed pattern of felt ambivalence might explain why a growing number of people become open to eschewing meat and why veg*ans often eat meat and/or return to their omnivorous diets shortly after becoming veg*an.

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同一栅栏的两侧：杂食动物和素食主义者中肉类相关冲突的起源和后果模型

吃肉是认知冲突的一个典型例子。关于肉类相关冲突的研究主要集中在吃肉的人（杂食者）上，而大多忽视了不吃肉的人（素食者和纯素食者；素食主义者）也可能以矛盾心理的形式经历冲突。在这里，我们提供了一个概念模型，解释了杂食动物和素食主义者的矛盾心理如何存在，以及它如何与饮食行为相关。我们假设，当杂食动物意识到肉类的负面影响时，他们就会产生矛盾心理。然而，即使是对肉类持消极态度的素食主义者，如果过去的积极态度重新出现，也可能会感到矛盾。我们在一项横断面研究（= 1028）中通过变化阶段对这个模型进行了调查，它解释了人们采用和维持纯素饮食等新行为的定性步骤。我们的数据显示，肉类消费在五个变化阶段呈线性下降。根据我们的模型，杂食动物的矛盾心理从预沉思经过沉思到准备阶段逐渐增加，并在人们成为素食主义者（行动阶段）后立即减少，直至达到维持阶段。从预考虑到准备阶段，这种倒U形轨迹伴随着a）对肉类的负面评价增加和b）对肉类的正面评价减少。然而，特别是使肉变得令人愉悦的积极享乐评价在行动阶段部分持续存在，仅在维持阶段消失。因此，我们认为，观察到的矛盾心理模式可能解释了为什么越来越多的人愿意避开肉类，以及为什么素食主义者经常吃肉和/或在成为素食主义者后不久恢复杂食饮食。