Experiment testing communication styles of Melanie Joy vs. Gary Francione

Personal bias: The results are favourable to my own previous beliefs.

This is an animal welfare relevant master's thesis by Antonia Gefahrt. Abstract and some tables/figures:

"Animal rights activists seek an end to animal exploitation and often use one of two strategies: abolitionism, calling for the immediate cessation of all animal use, or new welfarism, embracing a gradual approach. This AI-powered study assessed the effectiveness of these strategies, introducing a sociofunctional framework adapted for vegan advocacy, that grounded the hypotheses. Participants (N = 216) were randomly assigned to one of the two strategies. Before and after a video message and chat, self-reported measures of perceived threats, emotions, and various (un)favorable outcomes were collected. Partially supporting the hypotheses, the abolitionist strategy triggered greater negative feelings toward vegans and rejection of vegan products. However, the new welfarist strategy showed a trend toward greater intentions to reduce animal product consumption. All these effects shared a common mediator: perceived threats to rights. Exploratory analyses offered further insights into the determinants of (un)favorable outcomes. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed."