Research Associate

Maria Ioannidou, PhD, is a researcher affiliated with the University of Bradford (UK) and the University of Kent (UK). She completed her PhD in 2024 on the psychology of animal product consumption. Her primary research focus is on the psychology of meat, dairy, egg and fish consumption, and the motivations that shape human behavior and attitudes towards other animals. She investigates people’s perceptions and moral considerations of other animals and the root causes of speciesism. She has published on these and related topics in prominent journals including Appetite and Food Quality and Preference and presented her work at a range of international conferences and public events. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Society for the Psychology of Human-Animal Intergroup Relations (PHAIR Society) and was co-organizer of the Animal Advocacy Conference: Insights of the Social Sciences in 2021 and 2023.

Email: mioanni1@bradford.ac.uk or m.ioannidou@kent.ac.uk

Selected Publications

Ioannidou, M., Francis, K.B., Stewart-Knox, B., & Lesk, V. (2024). Minding some animals but not others: Strategic attributions of mental capacities and moral worth to animals used for food in pescatarians, vegetarians, and omnivores. Appetite, 200, 107559. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2024.107559  

Ioannidou, M., Lesk, V., Stewart- Knox, B., & Francis, K. (2024). Don’t mind milk? The role of animal suffering, speciesism, and guilt in the denial of mind and moral status of dairy cows. Food Quality and Preference, 114, 105082. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2023.105082

Dhont, K., & Ioannidou, M. (2024). Similarities and differences between vegetarians and vegans in motives for meat-free and plant-based diets. Appetite, 195, 107232. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2024.107232

Dhont, K., & Ioannidou, M. (2024). Health, environmental, and animal rights motives among omnivores, vegetarians, and vegans and the associations with meat, dairy, and egg commitment. Food Quality and Preference 118, 105196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2024.105196

Ioannidou, M., Lesk, V., Stewart- Knox, B., & Francis, K. (2023). Feeling morally troubled about meat, dairy, egg, and fish consumption: Dissonance reduction strategies among different dietary groups. Appetite, 107024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2023.107024

Ioannidou, M., Lesk, V., Stewart- Knox, B., & Francis, K. (2023). Moral emotions and justifying beliefs about meat, fish, dairy and egg consumption: A comparative study of dietary groups. Appetite, 186, 106544. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2023.106544