Abstract
Children and animals can have a great impact on each other’s lives yet little is known about the underpinnings of these relationships. One particular aspect that may have a great influence on these relationships, is the belief in animal mind, that animals are sentient beings that experience thoughts and feelings including happiness, pain and distress. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between children’s beliefs about animal mind and factors relating to positive and negative interactions with animals. Using a questionnaire-based survey of over 1000 6 to 13 year olds in the UK, the results show that children’s beliefs about animal mind was positively related to attachment to pets, compassion toward animals, reported humane behaviour, caring behaviour and emotional attachment to animals as well as positive attitudes towards animals. Children were less accepting of intentional, unintentional and neglectful animal cruelty if they believed that animals are sentient. Pet ownership, including number of pets and whether children had a pet of their own, as well as age, influenced children’s beliefs about animal mind. This study enhances our understanding of the psychological underpinnings of child-animal relationships and highlights the implications for animal welfare education and for preventing childhood animal cruelty.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages | 69 |
| Number of pages | 1 |
| Publication status | Published - 11 Jul 2016 |
| Externally published | Yes |
| Event | 14th Triennial IAHAIO International Conference: Unveiling a New Paradigm: HAI in the Mainstream - Paris, France Duration: 11 Jul 2016 → 13 Jul 2016 http://iahaio.org/event/iahaio-14th-triennial-conference-paris/ (Conference website.) |
Conference
| Conference | 14th Triennial IAHAIO International Conference |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | France |
| City | Paris |
| Period | 11/07/16 → 13/07/16 |
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