Belief in Animal Mind: Does Familiarity with Animals Influence Beliefs about Animal Emotions?
In: Society & AnimalsSearch for other papers by Paul Morris in
Current site
Google Scholar
Search for other papers by Sarah Knight in
Current site
Google Scholar
Search for other papers by Sarah Lesley in
Current site
Google Scholar
Abstract
Belief in the mental lives of nonhuman animals can have an impact on how we view and treat them, yet little is known about how and why laypeople attribute emotions to other species. The current study investigated how familiarity with animals (in terms of ownership) relates to beliefs regarding different emotions within and across species. An opportunity sample of 200 participants completed a questionnaire that measured familiarity with animals and beliefs about the capacity of a variety of species to experience a range of 16 different emotions. Participants reported varied levels of experience with animals and it was found that, regardless of familiarity, participants reported a wide variety of emotions in all the species they were asked to consider. However, participants who had never lived with an animal reported far fewer emotions than those who had, regardless of species. Keeping more than one animal did not increase the number of emotions reported. Keepers of a particular species always reported more emotions for that species than nonkeepers of that species. We conclude that familiarity with animals is an important determinant of belief about emotions in animals and animal mind in general.
Purchase
Buy instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):
Institutional Login
Log in with Open Athens, Shibboleth, or your institutional credentials
Personal login
Log in with your brill.com account
-
Arluke A. Moral elevation in medical research. Advances in Medical Sociology 1990 1 189 204
-
Bekoff M. , Gruen L. , Townsend S. E. & Rollin B. E. Animals in science: Some areas re-visited Animal Behaviour 1992 44 473 484
-
Broida J. , Tingley L. , Kimball R. & Miele J. Society & Animals 1993 1 129 144
-
Carporael L. R. & Heyes C. M. Mitchell R. W. , Thompson N. S. & Miles H. L. Why anthropomorphize? Folk psychologies and other stories Anthropomorphism, Anecdotes & Animals 1997 Albany State University of New York Press 59 73
-
Driscoll J. W. Attitudes toward animal use Anthrozoös 1992 5 32 39
-
Eddy T. J. , Gallup G. C. Jr. & Povinelli D. J. Attribution of cognitive states to animals: Anthropomorphism in comparative perspective Journal of Social Issues, 1993 49 87 101
-
Fidler M. , Light P. & Costall A. Describing dog behaviour psychologically: Pet owners versus non-owners Anthrozoös 1996 9 196 200
-
Fraser J. , Maust-Mohl M. , Morrison R. , Reiss D. , Knight & Weiss M. A transdisciplinary framework for understanding animal minds: Aligning animal cognition and social science research Journal of Comparative Psychology
-
Gallup G. G. Jr & Beckstead J. W. Attitudes toward animal research American Psychologist 1988 43 474 476
-
Herzog H. A. The moral status of mice American Psychologist 1988 43 473 474
-
Herzog H. A. & Galvin S. Mitchell R. W. , Thompson N. S. & Miles H. L. Common sense and the mental lives of animals: An empirical approach. Anthropomorphism, anecdotes & animals 1997 Albany State University of New York Press 237 253
-
Hills A. M. Empathy and belief in the mental experience of animals. Reviews and research reports Anthrozoös 1995 8 132 142
-
Kiesler S. , Lee S. & Kramer A. Relationship effects in psychological explanations of nonhuman behaviour Anthrozoös 2007 19 335 352
-
Knight S. E. , Vrij A. , Cherryman J. & Nunkoosing K. Attitudes towards animal use and belief in animal mind Anthrozoös 2004 17 43 62
-
Lewis M. The self in self-conscious emotions Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1997 818 119 142
-
Lewis M. Slater A. & Lewis M. Early emotional development Introduction to Infant Development 2002 Oxford Oxford University Press 192 209
-
Lockard R. B. Reflections on the fall of comparative psychology: Is there a message for us all? American Psychologist 1971 26 168 179
-
Mameli M. & Bortolotti L. Animal rights, animal minds, and human mindreading Journal of Medical Ethics 2006 32 84 89
-
Morris P. H. , Doe C. & Godsell E. Secondary emotions in non-primate species? Behavioral reports and subjective claims by animal owners Cognition & Emotion 2008 22 3 20
-
D. W. Rajecki , D. W. Rasmussen & H. D. Craft Labels and the treatment of animals: Archival and experimental cases Society & Animals, 1993b 1 1 45 60
-
Rajecki D. W. , Rasmussen D. W. , Sanders C. R. , Modlin S. J. & Holder A. M. Good dog: Aspects of humans’ causal attributions for a companion animals’ social behavior Society & Animals 1999 7 1 17 34
-
Rasmussen D. W. , Rajecki D. W. & Craft H. D. Humans’ perceptions of animal mentality: Ascriptions of thinking Journal of Comparative Psychology 1993a 107 283 290
-
Schilhab T. S. Anthropomorphism and mental state attribution Animal Behaviour 2002 63 1021 1026
| All Time | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 3125 | 663 | 54 |
| Full Text Views | 644 | 113 | 19 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 593 | 186 | 35 |
Belief in Animal Mind: Does Familiarity with Animals Influence Beliefs about Animal Emotions?
In: Society & AnimalsSearch for other papers by Paul Morris in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Sarah Knight in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Sarah Lesley in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Abstract
Belief in the mental lives of nonhuman animals can have an impact on how we view and treat them, yet little is known about how and why laypeople attribute emotions to other species. The current study investigated how familiarity with animals (in terms of ownership) relates to beliefs regarding different emotions within and across species. An opportunity sample of 200 participants completed a questionnaire that measured familiarity with animals and beliefs about the capacity of a variety of species to experience a range of 16 different emotions. Participants reported varied levels of experience with animals and it was found that, regardless of familiarity, participants reported a wide variety of emotions in all the species they were asked to consider. However, participants who had never lived with an animal reported far fewer emotions than those who had, regardless of species. Keeping more than one animal did not increase the number of emotions reported. Keepers of a particular species always reported more emotions for that species than nonkeepers of that species. We conclude that familiarity with animals is an important determinant of belief about emotions in animals and animal mind in general.
| All Time | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 3125 | 663 | 54 |
| Full Text Views | 644 | 113 | 19 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 593 | 186 | 35 |