Brown, Nicolas A.

Behavior in everyday situations depends on the activation of an individual’s specific
goals and motives. Research suggests that basic goals such as protecting oneself, forming
coalitions, and avoiding disease have emerged as the result of evolutionary processes Kenrick,
Li, & Butner, 2003. However, no scale exists to measure the characteristics of situations that
might promote or prevent the achievement of these goals. Participants described a situation they
encountered the previous day and rated that situation using 64 items designed to tap seven
adaptive problems identified by Kenrick and colleagues 2003. Using both exploratory and
confirmatory factor analyses a 28-item measure of situational characteristics that promote or
prevent the achievement of evolutionarily important goals was created. The results suggest that
this 28-item measure has both adequate bandwidth and fidelity. Future research should
investigate the discriminant and convergent validity of this newly created measure.

Animal protein production systems are reaching production
capacity limits due to their associated ecological
detriments. Therefore, a global shift towards
an ecologically sustainable alternative is vital, and
hence exploring the scope of market for such alternatives.“
Cultured meat”, or ex vivo cultivated meat,
may indeed serve as a viable alternative. However,
although this method aims to lessen environmental
woes, one current drawback is the ambiguity of consumer
acceptance. This study addresses this concern
through calculus of potential markets. Indeed,
through surveying about 5,000 people worldwide,
with focused populations in the United States and
University undergraduates, statistically significant
results of positive consumer interest in cultured meat
were attained. After survey completion, over 75%
of participants expressed interest in eating cultured
meat (interested in “probably” or “definitely” eating
cultured meat). Ultimately, this novel study ought
to serve as a foundational framework for catalyzing
funding towards privatized and academic research
on cultured meat.