ABSTRACT

As incidences of human–wildlife interaction escalate, it is useful to increase understanding of the perceptions that might underpin these interactions or explain human behavior so associated. This study sought to identify public perceptions of the animal mind across wildlife species and to examine how states or qualities such as conscious thinking and feeling are perceived. We also aimed to evaluate whether people anthropomorphize species as readily as is often postulated. Using an online survey of 2,342 participants from the United States, we characterized perceptions of 36 wildlife species. In doing so, we also sought to stabilize inconsistent terminology in previous animal mind studies, by characterizing and measuring attributions of two specific traits, which we categorized as “cognitive” and “emotive.” We found that people differentiate between cognitive traits (intellectual traits) and emotive traits (experiential, emotional states). Contrary to some past studies as well as popular assumptions, cognitive traits were ascribed more frequently than emotive traits for all animals. In addition, different animal classes were perceived as having varying levels of capacity of both traits. Mammals were ranked highest on qualities that defined both traits, followed by birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. The ranges within class also varied. Our findings provide new insights on how the public view the mental capabilities of wildlife species. The study further suggests that perceptions regarding the cognitive ability of animals may be higher than previously believed and that emotive traits may not be as notable as traditionally assumed. Elucidating these points may contribute to further progress in wildlife discussions and conservation strategies.

摘要

随着人类与野生动物互动的发生率不断上升，增加对可能支持这些互动或解释如此相关的人类行为的看法的理解是有用的。这项研究旨在确定公众对野生动物物种的动物思维的看法，并研究如何感知状态或品质，例如有意识的思考和感觉。我们还旨在评估人们是否像通常假设的那样容易将物种拟人化。通过对来自美国的 2,342 名参与者的在线调查，我们描述了对 36 种野生动物物种的看法。在这样做的过程中，我们还试图通过表征和测量两个特定特征（我们将其归类为“认知”和“情感”）的属性来稳定之前动物心理研究中不一致的术语。”我们发现人们区分认知特征（智力特征）和情感特征（经验、情绪状态）。与过去的一些研究以及流行的假设相反，所有动物的认知特征比情感特征更频繁地被归因。此外，不同的动物类别被认为具有不同水平的两种特征的能力。哺乳动物在定义这两个特征的品质上排名最高，其次是鸟类、爬行动物、两栖动物和鱼类。班级内的范围也各不相同。我们的发现为公众如何看待野生动物物种的心理能力提供了新的见解。该研究进一步表明，对动物认知能力的看法可能比以前认为的要高，而且情感特征可能不像传统假设的那么显着。