How is farm animal welfare internalized in consumers’ mental models at point of purchase?

In this study we use the concept of mental models to investigate how farm animal welfare (FAW) is internalized in consumers' purchasing decisions at point of purchase. Mental models are the lenses through which humans see the world. Based on laddering interviews with 57 consumers at point of purchase we could identify a summary representation of their mental models with respect to an animal food product and evaluate the place FAW takes in a representation of consumers' understandings of product attributes, consequences of these attributes and why these consequences are important to the consumers. Findings indicate that FAW is a salient element of consumers' mental models of an animal food product and that it enters the mental models at an abstract level as a consequence of other product attributes. Findings are useful for understanding the potential for market driven initiatives to mitigate poor FAW.