摘要:

Although it is virtually impossible to live in American society without relying on animals to some extent, psychologists have been slow to study the role animals play in human society. The present articles are intended to redress this lack of coverage and to stimulate future research in this area. Three general topics are examined: human‐animal relations, the debate over animal rights and animal research, and issues pertaining to companion animals. Despite the diversity of these topics, several recurring themes are apparent: the tension between animals as property and animals as individuals in their own right, the existence of a hierarchy of privilege among species (with primates and companion animals occupying the most privileged positions), and the fact that society is changing with respect to how it views animal

ISSN:0022-4537    

DOI:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1993.tb00906.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1993

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

American society uses millions of animals each day for food, recreation, and a variety of other purposes, yet psychologists—in contrast to other social scientists—have devoted very little attention to studying how people think about their use of animals. In this article, I propose that many factors supporting the use of animals are psychological in nature and are therefore legitimate topics for psychological research. After a brief review of research on attitudes toward the use of animals, I discuss several psychological factors that enable people to harm animals for human benefit: (1) structural variables that dissociate consumptive practices from the infliction of harm, (2) mechanisms that reduce personal conflict when dissociation is threatened, (3) ingroup‐outgroup biases, and (4) factors relating to the perceived similarity of animals and humans. Throughout, the emphasis is on opportunities for empirical research rather than ideological or philosophical arguments concerning animal r

ISSN:0022-4537    

DOI:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1993.tb00907.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1993

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

This paper examines attitudes, knowledge, and behavior toward wildlife in the United States, Japan, and Germany. These countries collectively account for some 40% of the world's gross national product, and they have a major impact on the global environment. A similar conceptual and methodological approach was used to study national samples in each country over a roughly ten‐year period. The primary conceptual approach was a typology of basic attitudes toward animals. The main methodological procedure involved closed‐ended surveys of national samples in each country. Respondents in each country had a distinctive pattern of basic attitudes, knowledge, and behavior toward wildlife and its conservation. These differences are described and interpreted in terms of the biogeographical, cultural, and historical characteristics of each coun

ISSN:0022-4537    

DOI:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1993.tb00908.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1993

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Animals share our physical world, but the moral rules, values, and concerns about fairness that apply to those within our scope of justice rarely apply to animals. This paper reports an experiment that investigated the effect of three variables hypothesized to modify subjects' inclusion of animals in their scope of justice: (1) the animal's similarity to people, (2) the animal's utility to people, and (3) the severity of conflict between people and the animal. Three hundred and sixty‐three high school students read materials that led them to perceive an animal, the Bombardier beetle(Brachinus),as similar or dissimilar to people and as beneficial or harmful. Subjects then read a low‐conflict scenario and a high‐conflict scenario, each followed by dependent measures. The findings indicated that subjects' scope of justice was modified by the perceived utility of the animal and by conflict severity. Surprisingly, perceived similarity in the high‐conflict scenario decreased subjects' scope of justice. The paper discusses the implications of these findings for theory and for environmental conse

ISSN:0022-4537    

DOI:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1993.tb00909.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1993

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Subjects were asked to indicate the likelihood that each of 30 animals (chosen as exemplars of the major phylogenetic classes) could engage in three complex cognitive tasks. Subjects were also asked to rate the extent to which they felt each animal was similar to themselves and whether they felt the animal experienced the world in a manner similar to the way they experienced it. The results showed that in all cases the perceived similarity and inferred cognitive abilities of animals proceeded from lesser to greater in the following order: invertebrates, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals (excluding dogs, cats, and primates). For pets (dogs and cats) and primates, there was a marked increase in perceived similarity and in the tendency to make attributions about complex cognitive characteristics. The data are discussed in the context of viewing anthropomorphism as a derivative of our ability to infer the mental states of conspecifics—an ability that evolved as a consequence of the need to take into account the experience and intentions of other humans. Although we routinely generalize this capacity to species other than our own, the evidence that the effects are reciprocal is extremely limite

ISSN:0022-4537    

DOI:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1993.tb00910.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1993

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

I used a qualitative research approach to investigate psychological aspects of involvement in the animal rights movement. Interviews were conducted with 23 rank‐and‐file activists, focusing on cognitive and emotional aspects of involvement with the movement, concomitant lifestyle changes, effects on interpersonal relations, and the happiness and well‐being of the participants. Three main themes emerged from these interviews. First, there was a surprising degree of diversity in attitudes and behavior of the activists. Second, animal rights activism usually entailed major changes in lifestyle; almost all interviewees strove to achieve consistency between their ideals and their actions. Third, there were several parallels between an involvement with the animal rights movement and religious conversion. The potential for increased communication between the animal protection and scientific communities is disc

ISSN:0022-4537    

DOI:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1993.tb00911.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1993

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

The debate over animal research in psychology has centered on charges of abuse in the laboratory, made by animal rights activists who seek to abolish all laboratory research on animals. Concerned members of the public, most of whom support animal research, have asked scientists for assurance that animals are being treated humanely. There is an elaborate regulatory system to safeguard animal welfare, including federal regulations, Public Health Service guidelines, and state and local laws. The benefits of behavioral research with animals are substantial, with every expectation that these benefits will continue. I argue that animals do not have the same moral rights as humans, but people do have responsibilities to ensure the humane treatment of animals under their care.

ISSN:0022-4537    

DOI:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1993.tb00912.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1993

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

The use of animals in psychological research and teaching raises complex scientific, social, and ethical questions. Indeed, the animal rights movement has specifically targeted behavioral research for its invasive procedures and often trivial or repetitive results. The response of the psychological establishment—particularly the American Psychological Association—has been to adopt a defensive posture and to trivialize the concerns of animal protectionists. However, a growing number of psychologists are expressing reservations about animal research on both scientific and ethical grounds. We discuss the dimensions of this debate and offer practical suggestions for the protection of animals in psychology, beginning with the provision of choice for students who object to the use of animals in classroom or laboratory demonstrations. We also advocate a shift from laboratory‐based invasive research to minimally manipulative naturalistic st

ISSN:0022-4537    

DOI:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1993.tb00913.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1993

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Because the veterinary profession serves both animals and people, it occupies a unique position in current discussions of animal welfare and animal rights. Veterinarians are confronted daily by the central ethical fact underlying all human‐animal interaction: animals as well as humans often have legitimate interests and moral claims that flow from these interests. This article explores some of the ways in which veterinarians must face the difficult task of balancing animal and human interests. I argue that the resolution of many ethical issues facing veterinarians will require consideration of fundamental questions regarding the value of animal life, careful analysis of key concepts that are applied to animals, and empirical investigations of animals and people who interact with the

ISSN:0022-4537    

DOI:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1993.tb00914.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1993

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

The literature on animals as human companions is divided into studies of naturally occurring pet ownership and studies in which pets have been introduced as some form of intervention. Research on naturally occurring pet ownership has yielded mixed results, although there is a tendency for studies that are stronger methodologically to show some mental or physical health advantage to ownership. The evaluation of interventions has not yet progressed beyond clinical impressions. Thus, the potential of such interventions has not been adequately assessed. I discuss human‐animal relations in terms of attachment and stress reduction, using data from my research to illustrate the stress reduction perspectiv

ISSN:0022-4537    

DOI:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1993.tb00915.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1993

数据来源: WILEY