The assessment of consumer sensitivity to animal welfare: An application of Rasch Model

The sensitivity has become a mass phenomenon, still in expansion. The European Commission, during last decade, carried out several surveys on food quality and animal welfare. This research, using data from a survey conducted on 320, respondents and applying the Rasch model on 14 selected questions (items), wants to develop a measure that appears representative of a latent variable defined as ‘Sensitivity towards Animal Welfare’. The ability to measure the individual level of this ‘Sensitivity’ therefore represents an interesting and important result, especially if there are correlations between this variable and other variables characterizing the opinions and habits of individuals, both in general and in relation to consumer decisions.