We know that in simple conversations with non vegans it becomes clear they use a variety of tactics switching between one argument to another in justification of their behavior. This has been explored previously as the Dark Tetrad in brief in article one of this series.
The Dark Tetrad includes Sadism as explored in the second article of this series linking non veganism and sadism in animal farming or slaughter and within the purview of Anti-social behavior or sociopathy (pathological disorder that can lead to some form of criminality or harm to others). There is also The traditional dark Triad composed of the three angles commonly of Psychopathy, Narcicissm and Machiavellianism as explored by preliminary research on meat eating.
According to researchers exploring the Dark Triad and ‘omnivorism’ in diet versus ‘vegan’ diet (plant based actually) they reported higher scores in not only Machiavellianism but also Psychopathy and Narcissism also with non-vegan lifestyle in a second study to follow up on Study 1 that indicated Machiavellianism was found associated with non veganism. The results were found to correleate closely with gender of participants on both studies. The researchers concluded that the existing negative stereotypes prevalent amongst masses regarding veganism might be reconsidered. [Sariyska R, Markett S, Lachmann B, Montag C. What Does Our Personality Say About Our Dietary Choices? Insights on the Associations Between Dietary Habits, Primary Emotional Systems and the Dark Triad of Personality. Front Psychol. 2019 Nov 22;10:2591. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02591. PMID: 31824377; PMCID: PMC6883900.]
One concern with researches such as these are that they keep confusing veganism as a diet choice alongside ‘omnivorism’ and might be involving subjects who were merely plant based for health or environmental reasons rather than for the real meaning of veganism as a moral duty towards animals from a compasionate point of view of avoiding their exploitation or abuse. Therefore further researches are certainly needed with correct selection of participants as ‘moral vegans versus non vegans’ as opposed to evaluating plant based diets versus omnivorism as one needs to take into consideration the graphic violence and psychopathy actually present in the slaughter and farming industries that non vegans dismiss cruelly.
Another previous research had reported findings of a survey measuring the Dark Triad, attitudes towards animals, and acts of animal cruelty. The results revealed that individuals with higher levels of the Dark Triad demonstrated less positive attitudes towards animals and reported engaging in more acts of animal cruelty. Age and sex were found to be significant predictors of less positive attitudes and behaviors towards animals, independent of the Dark Triad. [Kavanagh, Phil & Signal, Tania & Taylor, Nik. (2013). The Dark Triad and animal cruelty: Dark personalities, dark attitudes, and dark behaviors. Personality and Individual Differences.]
In the next three articles we will try to lineate the Dark Triad namely Psychopathy, Narcissism and Machiavellianism and how non vegans might fit into the behaviour traits associated with all three separately with examples. Hope further scientific research is announced soon to establish the hypothesis or data empirically as these are based on in depth interviews and discussions with non vegans as outlined in the free book Shamelessly Arguing With Vegans downloadable on http://www.earthhealingnetwork.com/books/
Swati Prakash 