Attitude to Animals and Empathy: Comparing Animal Protection and General Community Samples

Although a number of studies have examined a range of demographic and personality variables that may impact upon attitudes towards the treatment of non-human species, little consensus has been reached within the literature. The aim of the current study was to evaluate and assess levels of human-dire...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Anthrozoös 2007-06, Vol.20 (2), p.125-130
Main Authors: Signal, Tania D., Taylor, Nicola
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
animal protection
Animal welfare
animals
Attitude (Psychology)
attitudes
Davis Interpersonal Reactivity Index
Empathy
Influence
Personality
Psychological aspects
Surveys
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Summary:Although a number of studies have examined a range of demographic and personality variables that may impact upon attitudes towards the treatment of non-human species, little consensus has been reached within the literature. The aim of the current study was to evaluate and assess levels of human-directed empathy and attitudes towards the treatment of animals in two diverse populations, namely the general community (n = 543) and those within the animal protection field (n = 389). Both groups of participants completed the Attitude Towards the Treatment of Animals Scale (AAS) and the Davis Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), a measure of human-directed empathy. Comparisons between the two samples indicated that those within the animal protection community scored more highly on both the animal attitude and human-directed empathy measures. Correlational analyses revealed a positive relation between AAS and IRI scores for both samples, whilst the strength of the correlation was greater for those within the animal protection sample. These findings are discussed.
ISSN:0892-7936
1753-0377
DOI:10.2752/175303707X207918