Many vegetarians report that meat is unpleasant, but little else is known about their affective responses to meat and non-meat foods. Here we explored affective responses to food images in vegetarians and omnivores and tested the hypothesis that vegetarians have global differences in affective processing (e.g., increased disgust sensitivity). We presented pictures of different food items and recorded participants' affective experience while we recorded peripheral physiology. We found that vegetarians' self-reported experience of meat meal images was less pleasant than omnivores', but that other food images were equally pleasant across the two groups. Moreover, vegetarians and omnivores had strikingly similar physiological responses to all food images - including meat meals. We interpret these results from a psychological constructionist perspective, which posits that individuals conceptualize changes in their bodily states in ways that match their beliefs, such that increased sympathetic nervous system activity may be conceptualized as an experience of excitement about a delicious meat meal for omnivores but as an experience of displeasure for a vegetarian who believes meat is cruel, wasteful, impure, or unhealthy. This interpretation is consistent with emerging neuroscience evidence that the brain constructs experience by predicting and making meaning of internal sensations based on past experience and knowledge.

中文翻译：

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素食者和杂食者对食物图像的情感和生理反应

许多素食者报告说肉类令人不快，但关于他们对肉类和非肉类食物的情感反应知之甚少。在这里，我们探讨了素食者和杂食者对食物图像的情感反应，并检验了素食者在情感处理方面具有全球差异（例如，厌恶敏感性增加）的假设。我们展示了不同食物的图片并记录了参与者的情感体验，同时我们记录了外周生理。我们发现素食者自我报告的肉食图像体验不如杂食者的令人愉悦，但两组的其他食物图像同样令人愉悦。此外，素食者和杂食者对所有食物图像（包括肉食）的生理反应惊人地相似。我们从心理建构主义的角度解释这些结果，该观点假设个体以符合他们信念的方式将其身体状态的变化概念化，例如交感神经系统活动的增加可能被概念化为对杂食动物的美味肉餐的兴奋体验，但对于相信肉类残忍、浪费、不纯或不健康的素食主义者来说，这是一种不愉快的体验。这种解释与新出现的神经科学证据一致，即大脑通过基于过去的经验和知识预测和理解内部感觉来构建经验。这样，交感神经系统活动的增加可能被概念化为对杂食动物的美味肉类餐的兴奋体验，但对于认为肉类是残忍、浪费、不纯或不健康的素食者来说则是不愉快的体验。这种解释与新出现的神经科学证据一致，即大脑通过基于过去的经验和知识预测和理解内部感觉来构建经验。这样，交感神经系统活动的增加可能被概念化为对杂食动物的美味肉类餐的兴奋体验，但对于认为肉类是残忍、浪费、不纯或不健康的素食者来说则是不愉快的体验。这种解释与新出现的神经科学证据一致，即大脑通过基于过去的经验和知识预测和理解内部感觉来构建经验。